Stars of La Porte County brought in Memorial Weekend with a bang in the Stardust Ballroom at the Blue Chip Casino for Dancing Like A Star In The City By The Lake! The event was brought to the community by the La Porte Family YMCA- Michigan City Elston Branch; a leading nonprofit for youth development, healthy living and social responsibility.
Participants joined in this dance competition to raise funds for the new Y.
Click here to see more photos from the Dancing Like A star In The City By The Lake 2015.
“This is our inaugural event to really kick off our new Michigan City Elston YMCA. All of the proceeds from tonight will be the seed money used to start our scholarship fund. We believe in offering programing to all regardless of their ability to pay. In order to do that, we need to have fundraisers and rely upon the generosity of the community,” stated Cindy Berchem, CEO of the La Porte County YMCA. “We’re out in full force tonight and on target to raise around $40,000. It’s about double what our expectations were and we are beyond thrilled with the support that we’ve received.”
The purpose of this La Porte County Family YMCA fundraising event is to repurpose the former Elston Middle School. There were many sponsorship options levels and benefits to choose from in order to further the cause. Proceeds from the event will also be used for scholarships to support the families in the Michigan City community.
“This event is so important because it’s going to provide dollars for young people and families so that they can come to the Y and participate in activities,” said Bobby Petru, director of the Elston Branch.
This year, the dance competition featured eight local stars in total. The 2015 female celebrities were Sheryl Edwards, Agnes Meer, Cindy Roth and Dawn Zigler, and the male celebrities were Reece Arthur, Marty Corley, Eliot Hay and Adam Parkhouse. Two comedic hosts and a panel of four judges ran the show and presented awards for each performance.
“We are really honored to be part of an event that is going to foster the scholarship program and get the community residents the services that they need through the Y,” shared Danielle Karczewski, owner of Dimension School Social Dance in Chesterton. Her staff had been working diligently with the celebrity contestants over the past few months to get their routines together.
“The Y has been an incredible organization throughout Northwest Indiana, and for LaPorte county, this is going to be a very meaningful addition to the community,” she added.
The night was a huge success and filled with laugher, joy, talent, and most importantly charity. Over 450 people joined together for the common cause of giving back to those in need as well as building a better and stronger community in the future.