On a chilly, damp evening most people would spend time indoors. Not in the case of 200 local Zumba fanatics.
On Thursday November 15th, avid Zumba fans gathered at Memory Mall to fundraise for A Rhea of Hope Foundation, a foundation that offers fertility options to men and women diagnosed with cancer and hope that the families will follow a full recovery.
Her Campus magazine and co-founder of A Rhea of Hope Foundation, Jason Rossie, teamed up to create a “Zumbathon” to raise money. Celebrity Zumba instructor and Zumba Fitness Rush competition winner Erica Pierce, the featured personality on the Zumba Fitness RUSH video game, along with other top Orlando instructors led the crowd.
With high spirits and moving bodies, they began the event with the song “Gangnam Style”. This light hearted dance put a smile on the faces of the dancers and passers-by alike.
“I’ve always wanted to do something for a cause. Even though Jason and I didn’t know about each other’s companies, I am so happy that we could come together for this great cause,” Pierce said.
Rossie attended the event as well. He explained that his organization was for preserving fertility for women and men following a cancer diagnosis.
“The anti-cancer treatment can cause infertility. We want to raise awareness among these people so they are aware when they speak to their oncologist that they know the questions to ask to preserve fertility,” Rossie said.
Pierce wanted to use her fame from the video game to attract attention for the event. She explained how she wants to use her popularity to positively affect other people.
“My nieces and nephew are my biggest inspiration. They watch everything I do. They mimic me. I need to do positive things like this not only because I want to, but so that they can eventually do better things when they are older. I didn’t start dancing until I was 20 years old, and I ended up being number 1 in the world and won this video game challenge. I wanted to relay to the Zumbathon attendees that anything is possible,” Pierce said.
Along with his partner, Dr. Togas Tulandi, Rossie wanted to show families that there is life after cancer. They provide funding and support for families in need of infertility treatment and fertility preservation. For Jason, collaborating with Zumba and Her Campus was a no brainer.
“It was almost a trifecta. Her Campus’ demographic was who our organization wanted to talk to. Zumba comes into play because of health and wellness. There is a release to deal with the stress and connect other people together,” Rossie said.
Her Campus PR/ Events director Kyle Smith advertised the event on Facebook and Twitter prior to the event.
“Kyle posted it on Facebook and asked us to come and check it out. It was something I really wanted to attend. The collaboration was great because I feel that most Zumba participants are women who know women suffering from infertility. Zumba is all about health and fitness so I think it was a perfect partnership. The event had a great showing of both boys and girls. Even though it was cold and damp outside, it was a great turn out,” attendee Elyssa Schwartz said.
Community members like Liz Jones and her Zumba instructor also came out to support the cause. She explained how some of the Zumba students in her instructor’s class have been affected by breast cancer and that she wanted to show support for them.
“So many people are affected by cancer. I do Zumba mostly for people who think that they can’t reach their goals. I had a friend suffering from lymphoma. I realized that this is what a Rhea of Hope is for- to instill confidence and hope. I hope that my story can instill hope in people. I stepped out of the box and did something that I thought I could never do, I hope others that hear my story do the same,” Pierce said.
