This past Saturday, Griffith High School students participated in a team oriented fundraiser to help battle childhood cancer in Northwest Indiana.  This event, referred to as Dancing with the Panthers, consists of students that form their own teams to aid the fundraiser. Each team consists of ten people, and each participant donates 20 dollars to enter the fundraiser, in which additional games are played to raise more money. When a team wins a game, 15 additional dollars are added to their total donation.

This year the fundraiser was made up of three teams. The overall theme was Disney, and each team created its own theme. This year’s themes included 101 Dalmatians, Toy Story, and Inside Out. The games played were musical chairs, ships and sailors, an obstacle course, and a dance off. In addition to the game, music, snacks, and a bounce house accompanied the event. There were also two stations, one of which was a “wish wall” in which participants made wishes for a better world. The other station was a card-making station. These cards were made out to patients with cancer.

Catherine Cavazos participated in the fundraiser as a member of the Toy Story team. This year was her second year participating in Dancing with the Panthers. Her team made around $230 in donations. Cavazos described her experience as, “ very exciting and fun to compete against others in order to raise money, and the feeling of winning going toward a better cause.” In total, around $723 dollars were donated to battle childhood cancer in Northwest Indiana and the event raised a lot of awareness towards childhood cancer.