Heather Latter
With the biennial “Luncheon of Hope,” organized by the Rainy River District Breast Health Network, set to go this Saturday, local fitness leaders Margitta McLeod and Arlene Georgeson want to support breast cancer, too.
So the pair is organizing a “Zumba Glow Party” this Friday evening, with funds to be donated to the local Breast Health Network at the luncheon the following day.
“I wanted to do a fundraiser and tie it in to breast cancer,” said Georgeson, noting McLeod had held a Zumba Pink Party two years ago so she asked her to help out.
“It’s the same idea as the pink party,” McLeod explained. “And it had an excellent response.”
The event, dubbed “I Don’t Sweat—I Glow,” will run from 6-8 p.m. upstairs at the local Legion.
Tickets cost $20 each, and there will be a raffle and other prizes up for grabs.
“I wanted to do something where we could use the glow sticks, the glow necklaces,” Georgeson said.
“It won’t be totally dark but we will be using black lights, so people can bring things that are UV reactive.
“There is lots of glow-in-the-dark make-up, hair spray,” she noted.
“However, with the lighting we will have, people can just wear neon—pink, orange, yellow, or green—to make it more effective.
“The brighter the better because the black lights will pick that up,” Georgeson added.
“Or they can just wear white.”
Georgeson said a number of people have donated prizes for the raffle, with one of the larger prizes being a $200 travel voucher for International Travel Services.
Funds will be raised by selling tickets for the raffle, as well as from the ticket sales.
“The majority of the $20 is a donation,” Georgeson said.
“So if you’re going to do anything to make a donation towards it, and you don’t want to buy a raffle ticket or go to the luncheon, come out and have an evening with a couple girlfriends,” she remarked.
She and McLeod are donating their time, as well as a little gift that each person will receive at the door.
People also will be able to put their name in for a door prize, and information about breast cancer will be on hand.
“We felt we wouldn’t have a huge overlap of people going to this and the luncheon because it appeals to a different group of people,” Georgeson reasoned, adding they are not going to be doing Zumba for the whole two hours.
“It will be a fun, social evening,” she enthused. “People are encouraged to bring their friends who don’t come to Zumba because we won’t be dancing the whole time.
“They can come and try it, and there will places to sit and socialize,” she remarked.
“It just so happens we’ll be donating money to breast cancer.”
Tickets are still available but numbers are limited.
“We don’t want to dissuade anyone from coming and we certainly don’t want to dissuade any men from coming,” Georgeson added.
To purchase a ticket, call Georgeson at 274-5477 or McLeod at 274-1648.
