Twin Cities Celebrities Put on Their Dancing Shoes to Raise Money for Local Charities

In the fourth annual "Dancing with the Twin Cities Celebrities" Charity Ball event (www.DancingTCCelebs.com or www.AMCharityFund.org), six Twin Cities celebrities will team up with Arthur Murray dance professionals to compete for the Dancing for a Cause Championship, and the opportunity to raise more than $20,000 for up to eight local charities.

"We promise a high-energy night of incredible dancing and dining all in the name of doing good for our community."

Held by AM Charity Fund and sponsored by the Arthur Murray Dance Centers of Edina and St. Paul, Dancing with the Twin Cities Celebrities is expected to attract more than 300 ballroom dance enthusiasts and community leaders who will have the opportunity to dance alongside the six Twin Cities celebrities who will compete in a format based on the popular ABC television network program, "Dancing with the Stars."

"The intent of this event is to bring together our passions for ballroom dancing and our love for the Twin Cities by raising funds to support the good works of eight outstanding charitable organizations," said Lynda Smith, owner of the Arthur Murray Dance Center in Edina. One of the charities that benefit each year is the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in memory of Jesse Smith (Lynda's late husband) who died of Hodgkin's disease in 2006. "We promise a high-energy night of incredible dancing and dining all in the name of doing good for our community."

The fundraising event will be conducted on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2013 at the Marriott Minneapolis City Center hotel, located at 30 South 7^th Street, downtown Minneapolis. The event will begin at 6:00 p.m. with a VIP reception and a silent auction featuring more than 100 donated items, followed by dinner and a live charity auction. The dancing competition will begin at 9:00 p.m., followed by social dancing and ballroom dance performances by Arthur Murray professional dancers.

The Dancing with the Twin Cities Celebrities charity ball will raise funds for up to eight Twin Cities-area charities. For this year's event, charities selected by Arthur Murray and the participating Twin Cities celebrities include: Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, the Down Syndrome Foundation, Upstream Arts, Avenues for Homeless Youth, Tee It Up for the Troops, the Smile Network, Hammer, and eQuality - Pathways to Potential. Last year, the Dancing with the Twin Cities Celebrities charity ball raised $20,430, and over the course of three previous events, Dancing with the Twin Cities Celebrities has raised more than $50,000.

This year's event features the following Twin Cities celebrities:

• Former Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Ryan Hoag (charity choice: Upstream Arts);
• FOX 9 co-anchor Heidi Collins (charity choice: Tee It Up for the Troops);
• Founder of the reVamp! Salonspa, professional baritone and author of Staging Your Comeback, a Complete Beauty Revival for Women Over 45, Christopher "The Makeover Guy" Hopkins (charity choice: Avenues for Homeless Youth);
• Author, communication coach and host of WCCO Radio's News & Views, Roshini Rajkumar (charity choice: Smile Network);
• KFAN Power Trip Morning Show radio personality Paul "Meatsauce" Lambert (charity choice: Hammer); and
• 2010 Miss Bikini Universe, fitness expert and cookbook author Lori Harder (charity choice: eQuality - Pathways to Potential).

The judges for the fourth annual Dancing with the Twin Cities Celebrities event are: Laura Schara, host of Due North Outdoors and Macy's fashion correspondent, who won the 2011 Dancing with the Twin Cities Celebrities event; Faatemah Ampey, award-winning hair stylist, also a previous celebrity dance participant; and Caleb "Golden" Truax, a super middleweight professional boxer from the Twin Cities, and competitor in the 2010 Dancing with the Twin Cities Celebrities event.