Father-daughter dance to be held Feb. 2 at YMCA
By Steve Herring
Published in News on January 9, 2013 1:46 PM
The Goldsboro Family YMCA will host its annual father-daughter dance on Feb. 2 from 7 p.m. to raise funds for its Warm Hearts mentoring program.
Tickets are $20 per couple and $5 for each additional daughter or granddaughter. Only 200 tickets will be available and may be purchased at the front desk at the YMCA.
"This is our annual fundraiser, the father-daughter dance, for this particular program," said Alando Mitchell, program director. "We are trying to get as many people to come out since it funds what we do with the kids in our mentoring program throughout the year by way of different activities.
"The father-daughter dance is a fun event. We will have a cake walk, food, dancing and door prizes, door prizes, door prizes. We normally have some little video games or something like that set up, but I think we might add something on this year like musical chairs -- something that we can play as a larger group."
There is no age limit, he said.
"We have a father and daughter who come every year," Mitchell said. "I think she has graduated from college now. They are the first ones there and the last ones off of the dance floor. I think she is 23 now. Her and her dad dance all night. That is just their thing. I think that is just so marvelous.
"About 220 attended last year. There have been years when we have had over 400 people. Last year was a small year. We will have a professional photographer there and he will be taking nice portraits and those are $20 apiece. That goes to him, so that is optional if they want to do that or not."
The mentoring program is open to both boys and girls. Mentors, both men and women, are needed, he said. Currently there are more boys on the waiting list so more male mentors are needed, Mitchell said.
Some of the mentors also volunteer to coach intramural sports teams at the Family YMCA, he said. The mentoring program is about fun activities that also build character, he said.
"There are outings that we do with kids," Mitchell said. "We try to make sure they are exposed to positive social domains. The children that we serve are not necessarily under privileged or at-risk. A lot of children that we do serve are children of a single parent at home, and the parent may just need a little help one way or another."
Mentors are asked to commit to two hours a week or three times a month. Anyone interested in being a mentor should contact Mitchell at 919-778-8557 or send an email to alando.mitchell@goldsboroymca.org.
"We need more male mentors to step up to the plate in 2013," Mitchell said. "My job is to recruit mentors from around the community to work with our youth here in Wayne County."