Category Archives: Community Service

The Latest Craze: Rockin’ It For Great Causes

Posted on by
2

By: Shannon Shull

I think we can all agree that we love the opportunity to support a good cause. Bake sales, raffles, dinners and auctions are all great money-raising activities that folks can utilize to support a charity, person in need, or specific cause.  Not many things beat the feeling of knowing you contributed to helping others and helped to make a difference!

Zumbathon logo

The latest money-raising craze is the rockin’ fitness dance party known as the Zumbathon. Whether or not you even know what Zumba is, chances are you’ve heard of or seen the word “Zumbathon.”  They are all over the place these days!  Practically everywhere you go, you see or hear of another Zumbathon.  So what exactly is a Zumbathon?

A Zumbathon charity event is a Zumba Fitness-Party that is open to the public and raises funds and awareness for a selected charity (an organization, individual or community in need). These events can only be hosted by licensed Zumba Instructors who have been granted approval by Zumba Fitness, LLC.

So why are Zumbathons so popular? Well, who doesn’t like the combination of contributing to their health and supporting a good cause? And who doesn’t love a rockin’ dance party?! There’s a reason why Zumba Fitness has become such an international fitness hit… because IT’S FUN! So the idea of having a dance party to raise money is a genius move, if you ask me. Every element of a Zumbathon is doing good for the people involved – raising money, promoting awareness, increasing heart rates for good health, decreasing pounds and inches, and creating smiles by bringing people together. What’s not to love!?

MDA Zumbathon

As a licensed Zumba Instructor, it is a great honor to be a part of something so all-around positive. I recently enjoyed hosting my first Zumbathon and it was a truly amazing experience. After getting approval from Zumba Fitness, LLC, I teamed up with our fabulous sponsor, Gold’s Gym, and we raised money and awareness for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. 100% of the proceeds went to the MDA. With support and planning help from Tammy Wallace with the MDA, David Spence with Gold’s Gym and my wonderful aunt, Susan McPherson, with the Greater Columbia Chamber, we were able to host the Midlands’ first Zumbathon to offer both Aqua and Land Zumba! That’s right, not only did we dance in the studio, we danced in the pool! Our Zumba dance party created smiles, worked muscles, and, best of all, raised money for an awesome charity.

My Mom & Aunt ready for the Zumbathon Dance Party!

So if you love to dance, love a rockin’ party and love to do good for people and your community, a Zumbathon is the way to go!

Shannon & David Making a Muscle for the MDA at our Zumbathon

Making a muscle with the Gold's Gym Team for the MDA Zumbathon

Savannah’s Soldiers

Posted on by
Reply

By: Katie Austin

Thanksgiving morning started off with me leafing through the many sale ads in the newspaper while sipping coffee with The Today Show playing in the background.  I would look up once in awhile to watch the segments that caught my ear, but for the most part, I was happily enjoying the peace and quiet while planning which stores to go to on Black Friday. I was planning my attack to get a chunk of our Christmas shopping finished, so it was going to take something special to lure me away from the sales.  Then, it happened.  I watched the story on Savannah’s Soldiers and I knew then that I wanted to tell my Every Woman blog family about it!

Savannah Maddison Ogden is an 11-year old girl with an inspirational story. When her friend’s father was deployed to Afghanistan, she was sad for her friend and wanted to do what she could to help her friend through it. She wrote a song for her friend to show her support, but she felt that wasn’t enough.  Savannah wanted to do more, not just for her friend’s dad but also for others who had been deployed for a long time.

I can’t imagine my parents going away for that long,” the 11-year-old told the Today Show. “That would crush me.”

She and her friend tried to think of ways to support the troops.  They quickly realized that the way they could comfort the soldiers who are so far away from home would be to send them heartfelt letters expressing their appreciation for the soldiers’ sacrifice.  The idea was to get kids of all ages to write letters.  Savannah and her family would gather the letters, then split them into groups to mail overseas.  That’s when “Savannah’s Soldiers” was born. Since then, the campaign has already encouraged kids to send more than 10,000 letters to troops in Afghanistan.

Savannah's Soldiers

What started out as a local effort is growing by the day!  In the beginning, Savannah and her friends collected approximately 30 letters each week.  Now, as reported on the Today Show, Savannah is speaking at schools and events to encourage kids to write to the soldiers who have been deployed overseas.

“Anything from home always makes you feel good,” Capt. Bryan Durham told the Today Show. “When you get a letter from a little kid saying, ‘Good job,’ ‘We’re thinking of you,’ ‘Thank you,’ you can’t explain it.”

Savannah's Soldiers2

One of the reasons why I wanted to pass this along to my Every Woman Blog family was to spread the word to others, get our kids to mail letters in, and support Savannah!  I am so inspired by this 11-year old girl from Florida and she makes me want to be a better person.  This was exactly the story I needed to hear on Thanksgiving, as this is the time of year to count our blessings and to thank those that sacrifice every day to fight for the freedom we take for granted.

Savannah, thank you for reminding us that there are many soldiers spending time away from home this holiday season and that we need to let them know thankful we are for all that they do every day for our country.  You are a true inspiration to so many, and I, for one, am thankful for all that you are doing!

Be sure to visit Savannah’s Soldiers Facebook page or website!

Katie Austin

Mark Your Calendars: Columbia Style Week Coming in June

Posted on by
4

By: Staci Rutherford

For the first time ever, Columbia, South Carolina will have an official fashion week!

Mayor Steve Benjamin and the Columbia City Council issued an Official Proclamation declaring June 5th-9th, 2012 Columbia Style Week.  This is a major event for the Capital City that will include five days and five nights of fashion, arts and entertainment.  As a style-obsessed blogger, I am beyond excited that we will have an outlet to showcase talented fashion designers, models and local retailers.  I will feature a calendar of runway shows for Columbia Style Week so we can help make it a huge success.

The “Follow Your Heart” Charity Fashion Gala and Auction is the official kick off event for Columbia Style Week’s “Road to Runway Tour.”  It will be held at Tapp’s Center for the Arts (located downtown at 1644 Main Street) on Saturday, January 28, 2012 from 7:30 pm to 10:30 pm.  Partnering with the American Heart Association’s “Go Red for Women” campaign, the gala will be hosted by Arielle Riposta-McConchie and Alicia Zeigler of Wink Magazine.  Dr. Norma Khoury, of the South Carolina Heart Center, is the keynote speaker on heart disease and its impact on women.  The event will also include a silent auction, refreshments and wine, live entertainment and DJ, a Red Dress fashion showcase and more!

A portion of all ticket sales and 100% of silent auction proceeds will go to the American Heart Association.  Click here to purchase a ticket.

If you are interested in becoming involved with Columbia Style Week, they are looking for volunteers!  Visit the www.columbiastyleweek.com for more details.

Helping Hand

Posted on by
6

By: Katie Austin

“The best helping hand that you will ever receive is the one at the end of your own arm.”

What a great quote that is!  It’s so easy to stretch out your hand expecting something in return.  We all did that as kids as we thought that our parents were a walking ATM.  But if you turn your palm over, you are the one reaching your hand out to help someone.  A simple twist of the wrist is all it takes!

I have always been the type of person that strives to treat others the way that I want to be treated, giving what I can through charitable donations. After battling breast cancer last year, I decided that wasn’t enough.  It was too easy to give through a paycheck deduction and leave my involvement at just that.  I wanted to do more, but I wasn’t sure how or where to start.  Then, it happened and everything became clear.

One day I stopped by my local post office and while parking my car, I noticed a homeless man, slumped over on the curb with a sign that read “I will work for food.”   I have seen this situation many times and most often I passed them by, not sure of what to do or if it would be safe to approach them.  This time, it was different. I had just visited the grocery store, having picked up a few extra items so I opened the trunk, pulled out a sandwich combo meal, a bottle of water and walked over to give it to him.  He looked up, telling me “God bless you” as he began to devour the meal.  I smiled, walked back to my car and drove off.  Not sooner than I left that I noticed I forgot to go into the post office to mail the package I had with me.  But, with a smile on my face, I realized that I was there for a bigger reason.  I cried all the way home, struggling with the idea that I could have done more.  Then, it hit me!  I needed to get involved with organizations to do what I could to help those in similar situations.

Soon after, I was signed up to attend the recent United Way sponsored project “SC Mission 2011: Midlands” that provided free medical, dental, vision and mammograms to those that could not afford coverage.  The event took place at the Carolina Coliseum in Columbia, South Carolina on August 5-6, 2011.  I worked from 5AM to 12PM and loved every moment that I was there!  I worked in the medical triage area with the nurses and a few of the volunteers.  We would bring people down to get looked at by the nurses, take them to get an x-ray, echo cardiogram, blood work or to be seen by a doctor.  I met everyone with a smile, called them by their first name and tried to keep their spirits up as they worked through the process.  I will never forget their smiles and how appreciative they were that this event was taking place.  Some waited in line since 4pm the day before, spending the night on the concrete sidewalk that hugged the coliseum.  I will be forever changed by the people I met that day and my prayer for them is that they received half as much as I did from them.

You can read more about this event by going to http://www.thestate.com/2011/08/10/1928599/event-highlights-painful-need.html#storylink=misearch

Remember to reach out your hand to help those in need as you never know when you will need a hand.