Peace at Home: Raises money to support survivors of family violence
Photo provided by Teresa De La Cruz
Peace at Home’s annual dance competition will be free and held virtually Feb. 27 to raise money to support survivors of family violence. This is the 10th year of the competition. However, due to COVID-19, this year’s competition gala has been different for the participants as well as event planners.
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Graphic by Peyton Manning / The Mainstream
The event starts at 6 p.m. Viewers can go to peaceathomedance.com, click the register now button and enter their name and email and verify their email address. The ticket information will be sent to the email address later.
Once a ticket has been set up, you can go back to peaceathomedance.com and select the donate today button for information on how to vote for your favorite dancer and donate in their name. The People’s Choice Award goes to the dancer with the most votes. To donate, people can also text peaceathome 243725 for a link to send their gift. To vote for your favorite dancer, add the dancer’s name when you type your last name in the link like this: Your Name/Dancer’s Name.
“The ultimate goal is to raise $70,000 to support vital services that support those experiencing family violence, sexual assault, stalking and human trafficking,” Jantyne Bunce, a UCC student as well as the executive associate, said.
There is also an opportunity to win prizes by hosting a “watch party” if people tag their photos at #peaceathome on a social media platform:
$100 gift certificate, donated by Alexander’s Restaurant,
$100 gift certificate, donated by Seven Feathers Casino Resort,
$100 gift certificate to a salon, donated by Gina Stewart, and
Car Care Package, donated by NAPA Roseburg and Valvoline Instant Oil Change.
The competition will have more than seven performances, and each team will perform a different type of dance like hip hop, disco and swing.
Performers have been practicing since last October while navigating through the pandemic. Teresa De La Cruz has been dancing in the gala for the past nine years.
Photo provided by Teresa De La Cruz
“This year has been challenging and different. We’ve had to adapt when necessary to meet all the guidelines and don’t even know if our final plans to watch as a team will be allowed. We have not seen the other dances or participants as we have been practicing separately. There is usually a Christmas party where we can all meet each other and share our dances. That didn’t happen this year. We will be seeing each other’s dances the same time as the public,” she says.
Jessica Hansen, a second year Peace at Home dancer says, “As a dancer, I’ve learned more about just how much work Peace at Home puts into supporting the community and putting on this event. I dance because I love dancing and feel strongly about the cause and raising awareness of available services. It’s also very rewarding to work as a team to support such a great cause.”
Peace at Home says that with increased stresses due to the pandemic, there has been an increase of violence in our community, and they are very grateful for support and generosity.
For more information people can go to peaceathomedance.com.
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