Dancing With the Stars

Our friend, Julie, runs (owns?) a non-profit called "The Overflow Foundation."  It is a program to bring arts and music and drama to some folks who might not be able to have those same experiences due to finances, etc.  She also does it all with the love of Jesus flowing through each and every thing they do.  This summer, they had a camp in Tarrant.  I posted a tiny nugget about it here when I was a guest reader.  This was a new part of her foundation this summer - reading!

As we all know, a non-profit has to have money to operate.  Julie usually has a couple of fund raisers a year.  She hit the jackpot on her newest endeavor.

Dancing with the Stars

Julie was so smart because several of the couples were couples that many of us knew well.  Above is Dr. Dan Carter and his wife, Carrie.  They both grew up in our church; married there; have three children now; and are active in our congregation's life and ministry.  They were so cute!

Below is Wes and Halley.  They are dating.  They actually met in their apartment parking lot (casually) and then "re-met" at our Tuesday night group.  They are such a cute couple and they did a great dancing routine with lots of humor! 

The cute couple below is Ross and his fiancé.  They said that they used this opportunity to create a dance for their wedding reception.  I wonder if they will dance the same dance.  Mark liked the way that Ross was dressed (especially his shoes!).  I thought that was such a funny comment!!

I LOVED Kam and Nathan's dance routine.  They did the dance scene from Pulp Fiction and were spot on!  They looked the parts (wigs, clothes and all!).  They danced the parts.  They were awesome!  Nathan is one of our pastors so it made it even better!!  I love them!

So how did the fund raiser work?  She could only sell 100 tickets because of the venue so she advertised the heck out of that on social media.  There is something about knowing that there is a limited number of tickets that makes it even more enticing!  The tickets were reasonable  - I think $22 a ticket.  On the night of the event, after everyone had danced their routine . . .the dancers were stationed in the lobby with plastic buckets.  We were encouraged to put money in the buckets for our favorite dancers.  The couple with the most dollars would win.  (there were three judges and they did give out scores and a few choice comments but the main voting occurred through dollar bills).  One donor (maybe two) also offered to match the donation in the winner's bucket.

Do you know that Julie raised a nice chunk of change that night!  It was a brilliant idea!  Kam and Nathan won.  They were really good!  There were two other couples who did a waltz and a tango and they were cool to watch but there was just something about the folks we know well being willing to get out there in front of 100 people and dance their hearts out so that God's work through the Overflow Foundation can continue. 

Julie didn't ask me to write this and I'm certainly not a professional writer but if you would love to give - if you feel a tiny nudge - go ahead!  You can mail contributions to The Overflow Foundation 2715 Hackberry Rd, Vestavia, AL 35226-3913.  Your gifts are tax deductible.  If any of my Tarrant friends are reading -- the summer reading camp in Tarrant was successful and this fundraiser raised enough funds for her to start a program during the school year in TARRANT!!  There are bright kids in Tarrant who need a step up.  They always need art supplies so she also accepts those kinds of donations.

Here is a little blurb from their website:

The Overflow Foundation is a non profit organization committed to bringing the arts to kids who might not otherwise get to the opportunity to experience art in school. Our goal is to teach students to flow past their limits through the arts. Through visual arts, music and drama, students not only can express their creativity, but also learn useful skills such as public speaking, teamwork, and quick thinking. With time for homework, games, and art projects, students in 4th through 8th grade learn in a fun and imaginative environment.

Her Bible verse is from Nehemiah chapter 6

I am doing a great work and I cannot come down.

God has called Julie to this ministry and he is using her and all of her volunteers to bring about change in the world!