The organizers behind the second Kids Danse pour Enfants dropped off cheques worth $10,519.98 today (Wednesday, November 29) to the Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation, but there’s more to come.
“We are not going to announce the final figures until January because I’m still getting donations in,” said Catherine Fyfe, the Montreal originator of the event, which took place on November 10 at Pierrefonds Comprehensive High School. “I’m getting the cheques I have now to the hospital this week so that most of the tax receipts can go out before the end of the year.”
The event celebrated dancing and generosity. Some 600 children and their parents got to watch competitive teams perform and then they got up with them and danced for twenty minutes or so. Later, dance instructors taught them a few steps for more fun. There was also a silent auction for more than $17,000 in goods and services donated by Montreal businesses.
Fyfe and the five other organizers won’t have the final tally about how much their effort garnered until after the Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation fundraising gala in May. That’s when one of their donated items—a 7-by-11ft Turkish carpet in Wedgewood Blue wool on wool—will be sold.
“It’s been amazing,” said Fyfe. “People’s generosity has just bowled me over. Everyone from volunteers to sponsors has been so helpful. People would just phone us up out of the blue to offer time and ideas to promote the event.”
One of the sponsors who helped was Melanie Beaudet who runs Dans’Atout Studio in LaSalle. Beaudet’s competition team performed and two of her instructors, Ashley Couture and Alexandra Pileggi, led the kids in dancing.
“I think that anything that can help kids in general, we’re very keen on doing,” said Beaudet. “Our kids love to dance. The plus was that they got to dance with the kids afterwards for a good 15 or 20 minutes. That was a lot of fun. This is an event that we’re definitely going to again next year.”
Fyfe, who describes herself as a bored stay-at-home mom who would work in a charitable organization if she could, is definitely keen on organizing the event next year. She says she’d like three more people on the organizing team, though, because things got a bit too hectic this year. “For three weeks, this is all I did.
For the final tally and information about next year when it’s available, refer to the event website at www.duonsinc.ca.
Note: This article appeared on page 2 of the City version of the Suburban on Wednesday, November 28.
