I was dancing in my seat. Swaying to a Latin rhythm. Swooning to a graceful waltz.
The experience had me wanting to jump onto the dance floor. We were watching, or rather, helplessly joining the flow and rhythm of “celebrity” dancers. It was the Good News Center’s 11th annual “Dance the Night Away,” held Feb. 11 at Hart’s Hill Inn in Whitesboro.
The event, which also celebrated the organization’s 25th anniversary, raised money for the non-profit’s ministries, which includes, among other things, healing fractured marriages, giving solace to the grieving divorced and widowed, and providing grants to organizations assisting those in need.
Mother Marianne’s West Side Kitchen is a recipient of one of those grants. After the celebrity dancers performed, and while the four judges were conferring, Good News Executive Director Mike Buckley presented a $1,000 check to the soup kitchen, noting its “good work” in feeding the unemployed, struggling families, and the homeless. As West Side Kitchen’s advisory board chair, I accepted the check on behalf of our volunteers and guests.