Duet School of Dance has been selected as a finalist in the Viking FM Cash for Kids Sports Challenge.
The dance school is one of six sports clubs from across the East Riding to make it to the final of the competition, which will see the winner awarded with a cash prize to help them develop their sporting activities for young people. As part of the competition the school must raise as much money as possible, with the groups that raise the most money securing cash prizes of £5,000, £2,000 and £1,000 respectively. Dance teachers Emily Barker and Amy Johnson said: “We are so proud to have such a fantastic community who always come together to support us in whatever we do. This challenge is no exception, the generosity of people is just brilliant and we love how our dance family pull together to support however they can. “Any money raised goes straight to the dance school and will be used to support our dancers in up and coming classes, events and our show set for July 2022.” The school has until October 25 to raise as much money as possible and they have already made a strong start with more fundraising events lined up throughout the month. As part of their efforts, teachers Emily and Amy have already held several raffles to win a month of free dance classes in November, with the first raffle selling out in under two hours.
One of the raffle winners, Abigail Ainley and her family, also kindly choose to still pay for her November lesson fees, donating her winning prize to the fund. Michelle Wigglesworth, whose daughter attends the dance school, is also holding a scratch card fundraiser to support the efforts, with players having the chance to win £20 for themselves as well as making a donation to the fund. On Saturday, October 16 the pupils and teachers will be holding a bake sale at their studios on Mariners Court in Goole from 9.45am to 1.30pm (or when sold out).
The school will also be holding a Halloween disco at the dance studio on October 30 from 2pm-4pm. Tickets will be on sale ahead of the event with the deadline to buy tickets being the October 17 to ensure all donations are received ahead of the fundraising deadline. The schools dance teachers, sisters Emily and Amy launched the dance school in 2019 after their former teacher, Margret Harness retired. The pair say it has been an extremely tough few years after the pandemic forced them to close the doors to their studio, less than a year after they launched the business, and winning the Viking FM competition would be a huge help. They said: “The years of 2020 and 2021 have been extremely tough for businesses like ours, bouncing back hasn’t been easy and we couldn’t have done it without the support we received during the pandemic. “We are so fortunate in Goole to have such a brilliant network of people who are willing to help when you need it most. “There were times that we worried we would never reopen due to lack of funds and worry that restrictions may not be lifted for activities like ours. “We are still operating with some restrictions in place meaning our businesses footfall is not what it could be but we have chosen to do this to keep our dancers safe.”
They added: “We are a dance school with over 150 students and to lose what we have built would have been devastating. “We hope to raise as much money as possible so we can continue to build our business and thrive in the local community. We welcome anyone who would like to support whether that be by donating, baking for our sale or just sharing our posts on social media.” All donations made on the fundraising page will be kept anonymous with the school able to see who has donated but not how much, so it will be a surprise to whoever wins the competition.
To donate to the school’s fundraiser visit: https://www.cashforkidsgive.co.uk//campaign/viking-fm-sports-challenge-2021/fundraisers/duet-school-of-dance/ For more information about the fundraisers or to get involved contact Duet School of Dance on Facebook or by emailing duetschool ofdance@outlook.com
Pupils at Duet School of dance are raising funds for their dance school. The pupils are pictured during their 2019 show at Junction (08-08-87 SU)
