St. Louis Business Leaders Dancing the Night Away to Raise Funds for Adults Living with Mental Illness

ST. LOUIS - Four prominent St. Louis business leaders, an Independence Center member, and their professional dance instructors will dance the night away at the 15^th annual Dancing with the St. Louis Stars, a benefit for Independence Center on January 14 at the Ritz-Carlton in Clayton. The event will benefit Independence Center, a St. Louis nonprofit committed to restoring the lives of adults with severe and persistent mental illness.

“Dancing with the St. Louis Stars is such an important event for our organization because it not only helps us raise essential funds but it also shines a light on some of the mental health issues happening right in our community,” said Independence Center Executive Director Trish Holmes. “It’s estimated that one out of every four people will deal with mental illness at some point in their lives so it truly affects almost everyone. Independence Center’s success relies on the proceeds raised at this event so we hope people will support us in whatever way they can.”

Proceeds from Dancing with the St. Louis Stars allow Independence Center to continue its mission of restoring lives by providing a comprehensive system of high-quality programs and services to people in the St. Louis metropolitan area with serious and persistent mental illnesses. Independence Center’s goal is to help people live and work in the community, independently and with dignity.

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Previous Dancing with the St. Louis Stars events has raised more than $600,000 to support Independence Center. This year’s dancers include Dan Guirl, President, and Owner of GAT Finishing Systems, Nick Ragone, Chief Marketing Officer for Ascension and his wife Tyan Ragone, Tyler Johns, Principal of Branch and Region Development of Edward Jones, Barbara Archer, Partner at Hightower Wealth Advisors and Danielle Rose, Independence Center member dancer.

This year’s gala will also include a virtual Livestream experience which will allow supporters to watch from home. Dancers will campaign for votes (1 vote = $10) online and the Crowd Favorite award goes to the couple that gets the most votes on the night of the event. The Dance Champion award is given to the couple that raises the most votes overall and the MVP award is given to the couple that has the most votes, sponsorships, and ticket sales combined. To buy a table, or tickets or vote for your favorite dancers, head to www.dancingwiththestlouisstars.org.

Independence Center’s mission is to provide all the services and resources a person with a serious and persistent mental illness needs to manage their symptoms, find belonging and purpose and gain the independence to live a healthy, quality life. For more information about Independence Center, or to learn more about their services, go to www.independencecenter.org or call 314.880.5476.

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