[Hello friends and fans! Middle Georgia's premiere dance troupe, G.R.I.T.S. Raq! is participating in Shimmyathon Atlanta 2008 to help raise funds and awareness for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF)!

Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disease affecting approximately 30,000 children and adults in the United States. A defective gene causes the body to produce an abnormally thick, sticky mucus that clogs the lungs and leads to life-threatening lung infections. According to the CF Foundation's National Patient Registry, the median age of survival for a person with CF is 36 years. I have personally seen the effects of this terrible disease on one of my former students. This is one of the reasons why I feel compelled to do as much as I can to support the mission of the CFF. Since our original founding under our previous troupe leaders, my dance troupe has been a part of Shimmyathon Atlanta. Some of us have been dancing together for many years and we plan to continue this tradition of leadership and social responsibility in the dance world. (Yes, that's me and half of my troupe in the right-hand end of the front page photo for shimmyathon.com this year)

Last year, over 30 dancers came together at Shimmyathon Atlanta and raised over 14,000 dollars. This year we are working to surpass our new goal of 20,000 dollars! Thanks to generous community support of our endeavor, 100% of your donation will go directly to the CFF to work for a cure and to help treat those who are suffering from this terrible disease. The CFF is a non-profit organization and over 90 cents of every dollar goes directly to help treat and find a cure for CF.

To learn more about this disease, the event or to participate with me next year, please check out the web site: www.shimmyathon.com

Thanks again for sponsoring me in the Shimmyathon Atlanta!

<3 Bela Z. ]