MADISON COUNTY, Ala. – One major event and fundraiser for a Madison County nonprofit is still happening this year.
STARS Dancing for HEALS brings together local leaders and instructors for a night of ballroom dancing at the Von Braun Center.
But the fundraising for the event is a year round venture – the leaders have been taking donations for months leading up to the event on November 5, when they perform with their instructor.
HEALS Executive Director Heather Mason says the event is always fun for everyone involved – whether they be in the audience or dancing.
“You have some professional dancers, you have people who have never had dance experience before, but our instructors do an amazing job of taking these community leaders and turning them into dancers. They have a wonderful time and everyone in the audience always enjoys it too.”
While the event will still be in-person, Mason says there will be a few changes.
“To be compliant with social distancing guidelines, we’ve had to reduce the number of people who can actually be in the ballroom that night and change a couple other things to make sure everyone is safe. We can still have a live audience, but in case something gets worse between now and November, our backup plan is to stream it live so people can go onto our Facebook page or onto our website and watch it live as well.”
Mason adds the event makes up around 40% of the nonprofit’s annual budget – and it raised a record $450,000 in 2019.
The clinic has just five physical locations across the county, but the money goes to more than just those locations.
“We have a van that we also use that we can transport the kids from school to school. So that kind of helps, in Huntsville City especially, because we just have one dental clinic that we service all of Huntsville City Schools. So we will pick up the kids from Sonnie Hereford and Morris and take them over to our Martin Luther King clinic to be seen there.”
Every dollar counts, and you can donate to your favorite Star on the HEALS website.
How to Donate
HEALS, Inc. served more than 2,000 patients in 2019. They can’t serve the families of Madison County without financial support. If you’d like to help financially, please click the donate button below.
If you can’t help financially, please consider donating supplies or donate your time by volunteering. The HEALS, Inc. website has all the information you need.
