Stars aligned for dancing, raising funds in Mankato

Local Red Cross board chair Ben Hoffmann in Dancing with the Mankato Stars. Photo Jackson Forderer/Mankato Free Press
Local Red Cross board chair Ben Hoffman performs in Dancing with the Mankato Stars. Photo Jackson Forderer/Mankato Free Press

For the fifth year, the stars aligned in Mankato for a successful Dancing With the Mankato Stars (DWTMS) on February 11, 2017.

More than 2,500 people filled the sold-out Verizon Event Center to watch 11 couples and one group of religious sisters dance to support the American Red Cross serving Southwest Minnesota. The event was spearheaded by the DWTMS board and Dance Express.

Thank you to everyone who helped make this event happen, including more than 30 Red Cross volunteers. Through sponsorships and donations, the event raised over $123,400.

Click here to see more great photos.

Mankato Stars Are Ready to Dance for Red Cross

Support the teams
DWTMSDo you want to start supporting a Dancing with the Mankato Stars team? Check out the new Crowdrise page where you can donate to your favorite dance team and help them win the upcoming competition while supporting American Red Cross programs and services in southwest Minnesota.

Attend the event
DWTMS_2
Join us on the event day, February, 13, to watch the dancing teams. The teams are local celebrities who are paired with professional dance partners from Dance Express and colleagues of Dance Express. They will each compete for trophies, awards and the top spot. This event will raise money for the American Red Cross serving Southwest Minnesota.

Learn about Red Cross
January 2016 Urgent Need_Stamp GraphicAs part of the global Red Cross network, the American Red Cross works to reduce human suffering in the face of emergencies. Primary lines of humanitarian services include disaster relief, recovery and preparedness, emergency communications and financial assistance for military members and their families, health and safety training, blood and platelet donation collection, processing and distribution, reconnection search and messaging for people separated by international conflict and disasters, and immunizations in vulnerable communities around the globe.

12195094_10153609172750630_5228715192139806662_oThe Red Cross in southwest Minnesota serves more than 369,000 people in communities across Blue Earth, Brown, Cottonwood, Faribault, Jackson, Lincoln, Lyon, McLeod, Martin, Murray, Nicollet, Nobles, Pipestone, Redwood, Renville, Rock, Sibley, Watonwan and Yellow Medicine counties. In southwest Minnesota last year, the Red Cross supported 62 families affected by disasters, collected more than 30,000 units of blood, trained 13,126 people in lifesaving and caregiving skills, provided 153 emergency communications services to military families, and installed 214 smoke alarms for home fire safety.

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