CHARLOTTE — Two local breast cancer organizations received a generous grant from Dancing with the Stars of Charlotte on Thursday.
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Carolina Breast Friends and Go Jen Go were granted $500,000 during the 7th annual Dancing with the Stars Charlotte event held in February at the Knight Theater on South Tryon Street. The event was hosted by its co-founders Felipe Edminston and Claire Talley and raised over $1 million; half of those funds went to helping people in the Queen City struggling with breast cancer.
“As a two-time breast cancer survivor, I am thrilled to join with my partner Felipe Edmiston in being able to raise money to support both Go Jen Go and Carolina Breast Friends,” said Talley. “May everyone faced with that devastating diagnosis be as lucky as I was!”
The executive director of Go Jen Go, Susan Sears, expressed her gratitude to Edminston and Talley, saying she is looking forward to the positive impact the funds will make.
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“We were thrilled to be selected as a beneficiary of the Seventh Annual Dancing with the Stars of Charlotte event,” Sears said. “We had an amazing time watching local individuals dance their hearts out on stage. Together with our partners at Carolina Breast Friends, we are so grateful for the funding that will greatly impact our local breast cancer community!”
Carolina Breast Friends helped Edminston and Talley produce the event for the first six years of Dancing with the Stars. Now, the co-founders have started their own nonprofit and produce the show in support of Go Jen Go and Carolina Breast Friends.
Lisa Dale, executive director of Carolina Breast Friends, highlighted the strong relationships between the event’s co-founders and local breast cancer organizations and how these partnerships will help move their mission forward.
“We are grateful for our longtime partnership with Dancing with the Stars of Charlotte,” Dale said. “The impact of the funds that Go Jen Go and we will receive as beneficiaries will further deepen our mission for survivors and thrivers in and around Charlotte. A heartfelt thank you to the Dancing with the Stars of Charlotte team and to the ‘Stars’ of the show for their hard work, time, and commitment to fundraising to support our mission.”
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