Drake’s Creek’s new Dance Middle Red raises funds for Norton Children’s

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Drake’s Creek Middle School students got footloose and fancy-free to fundraise for Norton Children’s Hospital.

Students, faculty and staff moved and grooved at the first-ever Dance Middle Red – an adaption of Western Kentucky University’s Dance Big Red, which has raised hundreds of thousands for children in need of special care over the past eight years.

FCCLA Advisor/dance organizer & DCMS teacher Taylor Stewart said, “Norton Children’s Hospital is a cause that’s near and dear to a lot of our hearts here at Drake’s Creek. We have several students that were patients at one point at Norton Children’s Hospital. And so we love the cause and what it all stands for, and we thought this would be a great thing to get the whole school to rally together to support.”

The middle school students got to learn from WKU’s dance pros and hear testimonies from people who benefit from these exact kinds of fundraisers.

Dance DJ Scott Lewis knows firsthand how much raising funds for big hospitals like Norton make a difference, after a long-fought leukemia battle with his son.

“Asher has been cancer free for 10 years since because of hospitals like Norton Children’s research hospital,” Lewis said of his son. “Years ago, the chances of survival from AML was down in the 50 or 60 percentiles. Now it’s as high as 80 percent. It’s because of places like Norton, so that’s why we’re here.”

Lewis says thanks to causes like this, more superheroes like Asher get to live life to the fullest.

“We’re helping them raise money because we really believe that these children’s hospitals are an important part of life.”

In its first-ever year, Dance Middle Red raised over $4000 for the region’s Level One Pediatric Trauma Center.