WCU Dance Team Raises Money For MADD

By Lindsay Heil
The Quad

The West Chester University dance team is stepping out on campus with the hope to be recognized by the university for making a difference.

On Oct. 20, the dance team hosted a car wash at John L. Smith, Inc., a local used vehicle dealership, and raised $600 that was donated to Mother's Against Drunk Driving.

The dance team represented WCU by attending the Second Annual Strides for Change Walk, supporting Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

"The WCU dance team was one of the only representatives walking to simply help the cause, not because we were directly impacted by drunk driving," WCU dance team captain Christina Hydzik said.

The dance team has decided to "actively involve themselves by supporting prominent issues that impact college campuses." The organization chose to represent Alcohol Alternative Events.

"We did this in hopes to show our spirit as a student-run organization on campus," Hydzik said.

This is a promotion campaign created and supported by the University's Public Safety. Officer Maverick Barr and Miss WCU, Andrea Helfrich, helped establish this organization on campus. The promotion campaign was aired on the campus television station.

AAE gives students an alternative to the typical college scene on the weekends. One of the events consists of free transportation to a selected bowling alley along with free pizza and soda.

The dance team has many goals for the year including fundraising for several causes.

"The money we raise goes to MADD and other fundraising we do helps send us to the Universal Dance Association National Competition, where we compete against colleges and universities from all around the country," Hydzik said.

The dance team will be competing in the UDA Nationals for the third year in a row and are motivated to improve from last year after placing ninth in their division.

Besides promoting their organization through fundraisers, other goals for the dance team are to be more involved on campus.

"We want to be known and recognized by the university as making a difference," Hydzik said.