The United Way of Eastern Utah is partnering with the Carbon Dance Classic to help gather donations for their Soles2Souls program and the newly established Step Up Dance Program. The event will take place on Friday, March 22 from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm and again on Saturday, March 23 from 9:30 am to 2:30 pm at Carbon High School located at 740 East 400 North.

“It’s an annual event that we’re partnering with this year so this is sort of a new thing for us but we’re going to partner with Carbon Dance Classic this year. We’re going to have some big cutely decorated barrels that folks can drop shoes off into and we’ll also be taking cash donations there as well,” said Director Cheryl Thayn. “And they can come visit with us and talk to us about the Step-Up Dance program which is another thing that’s going to be taking place this summer.” The gathering of donations is to help the Sole2Souls Program which assists students in both Carbon and Emery counties who are in need by providing them with a brand-new pair of shoes to start their school year off with. United Way of Eastern Utah found that teachers and school staff were continually using their own money to help these students so they felt there was a need for a shoe program in the area.

The newly established Step-Up Dance program is still in its infant stage as this summer will only be its second year. “We just started it last year and we started small, we had eight kids come and perform and it was awesome. It was just one of those things that just makes your heart swell ten times its size. The kids get to learn how to perform, they learn a couple of dances, and then they get to have a recital where their families can come watch them perform and it’s just wonderful.” The project is a summer dance program designed to give kids from qualifying families the opportunity to learn the art of dance and is open to kids ages five to 12 years old. Donations needed for this program are old unused dance costumes in any sizes that can be reused for the Step-Up Dance program performances in the summer.

So, it is no wonder that partnering up with the annual Carbon Dance Classic event was the perfect fit for United Way. This annual event brings in over 300 dancers and cheerleaders from Carbon and Emery Counties to compete in various categories over the weekend – Friday night will feature solos, duos, trios, stunt groups and acro, while Saturday will be strictly team performances. The event is open to the public and the cost to attend is $6.00 for Friday evening and $8.00 on Saturday, a two-day wristband can be purchased for $12.00 with all proceeds benefiting the Carbon High Dance Team.

To learn more about the extraordinary programs offered through United Way of Eastern Utah visit their website at https://www.uweu.org/