It’s time to once again dust off your dancing shoes and join Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois (GSSI) for the 8th annual Dancing With Our Stars (DWOS) fundraiser. The event will be held at the Krieger’s Convention Center in Mt. Vernon on Saturday, August 6. This is the 8th year that GSSI has hosted this popular fundraiser to support its mission of building girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place.
“We are thrilled to be hosting our 8th annual Dancing With Our Stars event. This year is going to be extremely entertaining. We have a record number of dance routines that will be competing; you definitely don’t want to miss it,” said Jill Gobert, GSSI Chief Development Officer
GSSI is once again teaming up with Centre Stage Studios to assist with the event. Shannon Owens, owner of Centre Stage Studios, has donated choreography services for a number of the dance routines. “Shannon brings a tremendous amount of talent to our event,” said Gobert. “We found that many people were willing to dance, but needed some help putting a routine together. Shannon’s choreography has helped us secure dance routines that we may have not gotten otherwise. She knows how to work with people’s strengths to make their dance routines fit their personalities and be very entertaining for our audience,” Gobert added.
The agenda for the event consists of a cocktail hour and silent auction beginning at 5:30 p.m. followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m. and the Celebrity Star Dance competition at 7:30 p.m. After the stars take to the floor, guests can dance until midnight thanks to DJ Fred Klapetzky.
Tickets for the DWOS event are $45, which includes dinner and an evening of dancing. Table sponsorships are available for $500 and include a table for 10 attendees. Other sponsorship opportunities are available and start at $100.
Hosts for this year’s event are Brandon Bullard with Rare Chop House and Rachel Hunsell with Mt. Vernon Convention & Visitors Bureau. Celebrity judges for the evening are Mike Beard of The Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce; Joe Gliosci of Peoples National Bank; Finny Mathew of Crossroads Community Hospital and Mary Beth Mezo of Smokin’ T’s BBQ.
Teams will be competing to win DWOS’ renowned mirror ball trophy by earning the top spot in a two part scoring system. The judges’ scores provide the first element to the dancers’ scores. The second element adds a dash of audience participation and even more excitement, as dancers can accrue points with each donation from their supporters. At the end of the DWOS competition, the mirror ball trophy goes home with the team with the highest overall score.
All proceeds from DWOS will be used to provide financial assistance to at-risk girls, to maintain and improve GSSI camps and to develop Girl Scout leadership programs for nearly 13,000 girls throughout southern Illinois.
For more information about becoming a sponsor for Dancing With Our Stars, or to purchase tickets, please contact Jill Gobert at 618.242.5079 or by e-mail at [email protected].
Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois serves approximately 13,000 girls and 4,500 adult volunteers in more than 40 counties in southern Illinois. Girl Scouting has inspired more than 50 million girls and women since its founding in 1912. Girl Scouting is focused on providing a premier Girl Scout Leadership Experience for girls in the 21st century, while ensuring the traditions and values that have been core to Girl Scouting since its beginning remain strong and relevant.
