On Friday, March 7, Make It Better’s Founder, Susan B. Noyes, donned her dancing shoes to support the fight against breast cancer at the 9th Annual Dancing with Chicago Celebrities.
This star-studded charity ball, presented by Arthur Murray Dance Centers and held at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, is committed to fighting breast cancer in the Chicagoland area. For the past seven years, the event has donated more than $1 million to innovative research and support.
More than 500 people—many dressed to the nines—showed up to watch this year’s crop of media celebrities strut their stuff. Each was paired with a professional dancer from Arthur Murray and performed a choreographed piece complete with music and costumes. The crowd whooped and hollered as Daniella Guzman (NBC), Ravi Baichwal (ABC), Kris Gutierrez (CBS), Cortney Hall (WGN), Ally Bockler (WCIU “The U”), Dan Proft (WLS Radio) and NHL alum Reid Simpson had their moment in the spotlight.
A panel of professional judges chose Cortney Hall of WGN as the 2014 Dancing with the Celebrities Champ after her knockout performance to a Prince tune. Dan Proft won the honors of top Celebrity Fundraiser.
The Make It Better staff turned out in force to support Susan, who was one of this year’s Corporate Superstars, a group that included Maggie Zellers of Deloitte, Barb Sessions of Winston & Strawn, Drew Nieman of U.S. Equities and Jonny Imerman of Imerman’s Angels. In addition, WGN’s Dina Bair (of Wilmette), herself a two-time cancer survivor, danced a moving tribute to the victims of cancer and their loved ones to music written by Balmoral’s Ken Churilla. Watch more videos of the dancers here.
All net proceeds from the event are donated to deserving charity organizations fighting breast cancer. This year’s primary beneficiary is the Northwestern Memorial Foundation, with funds directed to an innovative research effort supporting a breast cancer vaccine trial. Additional funds will be directed to Imerman Angels, which pairs individuals fighting cancer with survivors.
We walked down the pink carpet to support Susan (watch her dance here!) and the fight against breast cancer. You can still participate by making a donation to Dancing with the Chicago Celebrities here.
