WCU Dance Dept. Hosts Fundraiser in Support of Patients with Breast Cancer
Kicking off Breast Cancer Awareness Month, West Chester University’s Dance Department will host the first-ever Dance for HER fundraiser supporting Unite for HER, a West Chester-based non-profit that provides integrative therapies and services for patients with breast cancer. A dance concert featuring West Chester University student dancers, along with 200+ youth dancers from 13 local dance studios, will be presented on Saturday, October 8, at 7 p.m. in the Emilie K. Asplundh Concert Hall, Philips Memorial Building, 700 S. High Street, West Chester. Tickets are $20 at http://www.wcupatix.com/organization-events.
Dance for HER invites local dance studios to showcase the work of their best dancers, teachers, and choreographers, and to perform in a concert in West Chester University’s beautiful and iconic Asplundh Hall with professional technical support provided. A student dancer from West Chester University will open the performance with an original piece. All ticket sales proceeds will be donated to Unite for HER, and some dancers and studios have also chosen to fundraise individually or as a studio. For every $1,000 raised, a monetary gift may be awarded to a dancer or studio with an immediate family member diagnosed with breast or ovarian cancer. To date, over $11,000 has been raised.
Professor of Dance at WCU Gretchen Studlien-Webb says, “West Chester University Dance is excited to host this large group of enthusiastic and talented dancers in support of a terrific organization and cause. It’s staggering to realize that 1 in 8 women will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime and that it is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among American women. It is gratifying that we can come together as a community during Breast Cancer Awareness Month to educate and support this group of young dancers who may one day know someone or be someone living with breast cancer.”
Sue Weldon, Founder and CEO of Unite for HER says, “We are so appreciative of this outpouring of support from West Chester University Dance. As an alumna of West Chester University and a former member of the WCU Dance Department, it is a full-circle moment for me. I couldn’t be more grateful.”
For information on Unite for HER visit www.uniteforher.org. To donate to the Dance for HER event, visit https://uniteforher.salsalabs.org/DanceforHER22/index.html.