DANCING FOR GOOD

By Ryan Trares | Daily J ournal rtrares@dailyjournal.net

E ight dancers will enter.

Only one will emerge victorious. Even so, everyone involved with this year’s Dancing With the Johnson County Stars can consider themselves a winner.

The annual competition will once again unfold this weekend during Friday and Saturday dance spectacles that showcase some of the area’s most well-known philanthropists shaking their groove things. The dancers have spent months both raising money for their nonprofit of choice while learning dance moves with instructors at Five Star Dance Studios that would give Gene Kelly pause.

All of it comes to fruition with the presentation of the coveted Mirror Ball trophy.

While the show is sure to delight audience members who pack the Historic Artcraft Theatre this weekend, the real reason for all the sashaying has been supporting local organizations in need. Since starting 10 years ago, the competition has helped raise $4.3 million.

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“It has been really awesome to be part of something that’s bigger than our individual efforts. To see how everyone comes together, it’s really a Johnson County thing. We all come together to help each other and support each other,” said Liz Cooper, board member for Interchurch Food Pantry. “To have one fundraiser that goes across eight agencies, that’s pretty special.”

In addition to Interchurch Food Pantry, this year’s event benefits Johnson County charities Gateway Services and Access Johnson County, ASSIST Indiana, Bridges Alliance of Johnson County, Johnson County Community Foundation, Turning Point Domestic Violence Services, Creative Grounds Fine Arts Academy and the Humane Society of Johnson County.

Though it’s hard work and requires groups to work throughout the year generating

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funds through different events, participating nonprofits see Dancing With the Johnson County Stars as a boon.

“Fundraising is hard for non—for-profits,” said Becky Allen, director of transportation for Access Johnson County, a subsidiary of Gateway Services. “This is an opportunity for us to share some of the costs associated with doing fundraisers. We share that all together in a big event. It’s a win-win.”

Dancing with the Johnson County Stars was created by local resident Barb Miller in 2014 to play off the popularity of the hit television show, “Dancing with the Stars.” She had seen other similar events in central Indiana, and thought it would be a good way to raise money to support area organizations.

The event is a platform allowing small nonprofits to participate in a major event with no financial risk, Miller said.

“When I started this, I had no idea what I wanted it to be. For the first year, I kept hearing people say they didn’t know about doing this when trying to raise money and make it successful,” she said. “I’ve seen that maturity come, and that’s a legacy. I couldn’t give this kind of money away, but this is a way for me to give back to the community I care about.”

Event sponsors pay all of the costs of the event — printing, venue, dance lessons, etc. The agencies and their dancers do fundraising and keep all of the money they raise.

With the contest format, the fundraiser could help multiple nonprofits at the same time, rather than go to just one agency. That way, everyone can benefit from the experience together.

“Even though they’re in competition, this group shares like crazy. Someone will have an idea, and everyone else is writing it down,” Miller said. “That’s part of the learning process.”

Each dancer is asked to raise $5,000 on their own for the agency they’re representing, while the organizations themselves add on to that number. Whoever raises the most is named the Most Valuable Dancer at the event. The Mirror Ball Trophy goes to the agency and dancer that raises the most money, Miller said.

In the first year of the event, participants raised more than $180,000 combined for their individual groups. That number has increased year after year, including the record $1.6 million that came in 2021. Last year, they brought in about $800,000.

The idea is to put that money toward a major project that the organizations may have hoped to complete, but haven’t had the funding to.

“I ask everyone to have a purpose. Everyone has operating expenses, but folks want to know something special that it’s going towards,” Miller said.

Working with their designated dancers, each agency has come up with unique fundraisers throughout the year. Access Johnson County and Gateway Services planned a masquerade ball in August. ASSIST Indiana held its second-annual Flushing Out Violence concert at Mallow Run Winery.

Bridges Alliance of Johnson County planned a dine-to-donate at Culver’s in Greenwood, while the Humane Society of Johnson County offered cat yoga — special yoga sessions done among some fancy felines.

“The collaboration among all of the nonprofits is nice to see. Normally, you’re solo, fighting for your life,” said Annie Sutton, executive director of the Humane Society of Johnson County.

This weekend’s extravaganza will be divided into two nights. Friday is set aside as a preview night, while Saturday is the main event. With this year being the 10th anniversary of the fundraiser, Miller has invited all past dancers and agencies to join them in celebration during intermission on Saturday.

“We want to recognize and thank them for what they’ve done,” Miller said.