Local Celebrity Dancers Compete at Oxygen Ball to Benefit American Lung Association
March 21, 2015
CHARLESTON, SC – The sold-out 2015 “Lowcountry Dancing with the Stars” Oxygen Ball presented by The Vendue raised more than $230,000 towards the mission of the American Lung Association in South Carolina (ALA) on Friday, March 13th.
The funds raised through the Oxygen Ball directly benefit lung health programs in Charleston and surrounding communities. The Oxygen Ball is the American Lung Association in South Carolina’s largest fundraiser and supports its mission of saving lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease.
Programs like Camp Breathe Easy, an annual day-camp for asthmatic children and their parents, assist those who suffer from lung diseases of all kinds. Children and parents attend Camp Breathe Easy free of charge. They learn ways to better manage the disease and are given resources to improve their quality of life. Asthma is often an underrated illness, which results in lack of education for the families it affects. However, it is the number one reason for school absenteeism and emergency room visits for children in South Carolina. Camp will be held this year on May 16 at Meeting Street Academy. Other ALA programs include Better Breathers Clubs, support groups for lung disease patients and caregivers, and Freedom From Smoking, smoking cessation clinics.
At the Oxygen Ball, local celebrities paired with professional dancers from Fred Astaire Dance Studio gathered to perform in front of 450 guests at the Charleston Marriott. The celebrity dancers included: Karalee Nielsen Fallert, Restaurateur; Marshall Morris, Sales and Marketing Manager, Morris Nissan; Helen Pratt-Thomas, Senior Vice President and Senior Wealth Commercial Banker, South State Bank; Lisa Weitz, Owner, Avocet Hospitality; and Dixon Woodward, Market President – Coastal SC/NC, TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank. Weitz and her professional partner Maksym Sidak were announced as the champions.
The celebrities’ dances were followed by alumni performances from Elizabeth Colbert-Busch, Shelley Hochman, Gretchen Penney, Anita Zucker and Laura Zucker.
About the American Lung Association
The American Lung Association is the leading organization working to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease, through research, education and advocacy. The work of the American Lung Association is focused on four strategic imperatives: to defeat lung cancer; to improve the air we breathe; to reduce the burden of lung disease on individuals and their families; and to eliminate tobacco use and tobacco-related diseases. For more information about the American Lung Association, a holder of the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Guide Seal, or to support the work it does, call 1-800-LUNGUSA (1-800-586-4872) or visit: Lung.org.
