Dancing for survivors

Sep. 28—DANVILLE — Local celebrities will be dancing for a good cause at the Fischer Theatre on Saturday.

The Survivor Resource Center's second annual "Dancing for the Stars" will begin at 7 p.m. on Saturday at the Fischer Theatre, with Chris Hightower and Sharda Pascal returning as the evening's hosts. Doors will open to the general public at 6:30 p.m.

Tickets are $15 for balcony seating, $30 for main floor and $60 for princess seating. They can be purchased online at survivorresourcecenter.org or atthefischer.com.

Those who purchase a princess seating ticket are also invited to a cocktail hour before the event from 5:15 to 6:15 p.m.

This year's dancers include:

—Amre Carey and Ashton Greer

—Erica Troxel and Peter Blackmon

—Tierra Brown and Mary Catherine Roberson

—Andrea Troxel and Danville Fire Department Lt. Tim McFadden

The panel of judges includes SRC Director of Prevention Education and Marketing Kris Bell, DACC Foundation Executive Director Tonya Hill, Vermilion County Coroner Jane McFadden and Danville Police Chief Chris Yates.

The audience will also have a chance to vote for their favorite performance. Attendees are encouraged to bring cash to vote for their favorite pair of dancers. SRC Executive Director Marcie Sheridan said there will be an option to pay with card as well.

Bell said he's excited to see what the dancers have come up with. He's not been allowed to attend any of their rehearsals.

"Trust me, I've tried," he said. "They have been pretty secretive about their creativity."

He said the SRC has received a few snippets from the dancers to build up the anticipation, and the dancers have been jokingly "trash talking" each other leading up to Saturday's event.

"It's fun to see them get competitive about it, knowing that this is for a good cause and knowing that this is going to help the agency end sexual assault and violence in the community," Bell said. "To see them get competitive and do this for our agency is remarkable."

Last year, the event raised around $5,000 for the SRC, according to Sheridan, and she said she hopes to raise more this year.

"With the first year and second year, we're just kind of really seeing what it's going to be like and how we can build on it, so we knew the first couple of years might be different than in the future," Sheridan said. "We anticipate it being a big money maker for us."

Bell said he wants to make sure the community is aware of the free and confidential services offered at the SRC, in addition to the advocacy and prevention education programs.

Sheridan has said in the past that the plan is to keep SRC services free, which makes fundraisers like Saturday's event important for the organization.

The SRC's annual budget is around $1.2 million, and it had been receiving about $600,000 of its annual budget through federal Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funds, but that funding was cut nearly in half this year.

"The cut did come through as expected," Sheridan said. "We were warned about it in February and then on July 1 it went into effect."

While the agency had hoped for an increase in state funding to help make up for the significant cut, Sheridan said they didn't get that. They did, however, get an increase in funding through the Social Services Block Grant, a federal funding stream that allocates a certain portion to the state.

"It didn't match what we lost, but it definitely gave us some breathing room and helped us prevent laying off staff or losing positions," Sheridan said, adding that the agency also received an increase in attorney general funds.

The SRC also received additional support from United Way of Danville Area, according to Sheridan, which funded a portion of the SRC's child counseling program.

"They've historically funded our prevention education and they added a child counseling portion this year, so we were really grateful for that as well," Sheridan said.

While they have been able to make up for some of the lost funding, Sheridan said fundraisers for the nonprofit are more important than ever. The funds raised from Saturday's event will assist SRC with the ability to provide services to more than 400 clients in Vermilion, Clark and Edgar counties.

"It's tough work, and we just want to make sure that everyone that wants to give and donate knows that their money is going toward those costs," Bell said.

Services that are supported by donations include individual, family and group counseling, medical advocacy in the hospital emergency department, 24-hour crisis hotline, legal advocacy in the court system, case management services and prevention education programs in area schools and in the community, along with professional trainings.

Sponsors for the event include:

* Sheridan Farms

* Stateline Farms

* Heritage Development Services

* Hall of Fame Plaques & Signs

* Hussman Rogers Law

* Marilyn Blanton

* Bowers Tree Service

* CASA of Vermilion County

* Aaron Immke — Edward Jones Investments

* MI-BOX of Central Illinois

* Auston Surprenant Broker/Owner Remax Ultimate

* Towne Machine Tool Co.

* Danville Metal Stamping

Donations to the SRC can be made any time through the SRC website, survivorresourcecenter.org.