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Business & Tech

Dancing for a Good Cause

Dance-a-thon participants cut a rug while collecting food donations for Vernon Township food pantry.

With instructor Matt Kuhlman leading the group, participants in The Sweatshop’s first dance-a-thon boogie downed, jived and strutted for one hour. To participate, dancers were requested to bring one non-perishable food item for donation to the food pantry; however, many brought bags and boxes filled with food.

Twelve boxes of food were collected, and about 50 people participated in the event, which was held Sunday at the .

“My first idea was to collect food for food pantries,” said Kuhlman, who grew up in Buffalo Grove and graduated from . “There is a definite need for food in the area.

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Kuhlman said that the idea of a dance-a-thon appealed to him, as it sounded like fun.

“The Vernon Township food pantry is stocked solely by donations from the community,” Kathie Deyerler, general assistant case worker for the food pantry, said. “People tend to donate to the food pantry around the holidays. In the spring and summer, it’s low, so it’s great to have food coming in at this time, and that’s what was so nice about (Kuhlman’s) donation.”

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“If it wasn’t for the community, we couldn’t provide food to families. It’s great that our community is so giving, and that people are creative in finding ways to bring in food,” Deyerler said.

Prior to the dance-a-thon, Kuhlman, founder of The Sweatshop, thanked everyone for their donations. He also emphasized safety and encouraged participants to take breaks, informing the participants that the dance moves were for people of all ages and skill levels. Bottled water was also available for the dancers.

Fast-paced songs, such as “Cotton-Eyed Joe,” “What is Love,” “Footloose,” and “Ice, Ice Baby,” were played during the hour. Kuhlman moved among the dancers, offering encouragement. Dancers laughed if they took a misstep or bumped into someone else.

After the hour was completed, everyone applauded and put their hands in a circle. Kuhlman also congratulated and high-fived participants.

“I go here all the time, and the dance-a-thon sounded like fun,” participant Kelly Donahoe said. “I dragged my sister (Andrea) to come with me.”

Laurie Rutzky made the event a family affair. “I have three nieces, a nephew, my sister, my mom, my friend and a few coworkers here,” she said. “I got anyone I could make come out here.”

After the dance hour, Rutzky said that she thought she’d “be dying,” but did much better than she thought. “Everyone I recruited to come out today did much better than I thought they would, too,” she said.

“This was such a great workout,” Kuhlman said. “It went awesome, and more people than I hoped for showed up. We had a 3-year-old here, and people in their 60s and 70s, and everyone had a great time.”

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