April 2021 Volunteer Spotlight
Dance for the Cure Volunteers are the heart and soul of our organization. We are proud to recognize two DFC volunteers on our "Basket Genies" team! Meet Donna and Teri...
Donna Cease attended the first two "Ribbons of Hope" events—Dance for the Cure's annual fundraiser—with her mother and sister. At that time she had been in the process of planning her high school reunion and learned that the wife of a classmate had been a recipient of Dance for the Cure's financial assistance that year. Then she noticed a form on the table seeking volunteers and took it as a sign to step up and volunteer. She has loved every minute of being a part DFC organization since then.
Donna delights in working with her fellow volunteers, "Especially on the day of Ribbons of Hope... During set-up, even though we’re working on making the basket presentation perfect, we have lots of laughs doing it! During the designing process, I’m the late shift 'Basket Genie' so on many nights I’m alone at Basket Central (the warehouse where the magic takes place). However, the day shift Genies find ways to make me laugh by leaving a crazy donation at my station, 'shoplifting' things from my stash to use it in their own creations, or by leaving funny notes about a basket I’m working on. We’re like a family."
"There are so many fun memories and beautiful women that I’ve met since volunteering it’s hard to pinpoint just one."
Donna has witnessed family and friends struggle with a cancer diagnosis and understands how financially draining it can be. Seeing the appreciation from recipients of Dance for the Cure's direct financial assistance is a feeling that can’t be described. "When they share their stories, it fills my heart to know we are able to make a difference in their lives during such a difficult time." She also noted that many recipients later become DFC volunteers—yet another indication of just how much families appreciate DFC. Donna explains, "We aren’t curing cancer, but we do ease some of the financial burdens for families whose loved one is going through treatment and that goes a long way toward helping women heal."
More than 8 years ago, Teri Halvorson joined the Dance for The Cure cause. She had attended the annual fundraising event