Apr 3rd, 2008
Professors, staff and students have caught the dancing bug at Jackson State Community College and it's for a good cause. The college will host a night of ballroom dancing on April 12 to benefit the young victims of methamphetamine abuse and domestic violence.
Dancing with the Professors will be at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 12 at the Jackson State Community College gymnasium. Couples composed of either students or professors and staff will compete in the fox trot, salsa, swing and waltz. Judges will rank the couples based on personal style, footwork and form with the winners receiving medals.
The event also will feature a social dance with evening wear requested for all attendees and a silent auction. Admission to the event will be one teddy bear per person or $5.
The teddy bears and all monetary proceeds will be donated to Methbusters Buddy Bear Program. The program collects stuffed bears and toys for police officers to comfort children when parents are arrested for abusing or manufacturing meth or when they are arrested for other crimes. Though this may seem like a simple gesture, these bears are often responsible for making a devastating event a less devastating memory. Additionally, children who are victims of meth are not allowed to take any of their possessions because of meth's pervasive toxicity; the bear ensures that the child has at least one possession to call his or her own.
The Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) International Honor Society at Jackson State is sponsoring the event and will make a presentation to the West Tennessee Meth Task Force that night. Last year, PTK chapters across the state collected hundreds of bears and presented them to their respective regions.
For more information about the event, contact Danya McMurtrey, PTK faculty advisor, at 731-424-3520 x424 or dmcmurtrey@jscc.edu or Raina Shults, PTK president, at rshults@class.jscc.edu.