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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, August 27, 2015 | 36 Artscene Organization co-founded by Jennifer Bowser has raised more than $250K for cancer prevention since its inception by John Bkila Oakville Beaver Staff "Connected to your Community" Dancers for Cancer sets $1M fundraising goal for SickKids Dancers for Cancer is a passionate group of young professionals who have taken it upon themselves to dedicate an incredible amount of time and energy for the benefit of... SickKids. Their enthusiasm and resilient commitment to their goal is truly inspiring and we feel very fortunate to be in partnership with them. When Oakville's Jennifer Bowser lost her aunt to cancer at age 16, she said she had one of two ways to go. "I could either be consumed by grief or I could do something about it," she said. Bowser took the latter route and, using her passion for dance and the arts, founded Dancers for Cancer with her friend Melanie Chin. The Toronto-based, volunteer-run organization that includes a network of participating dance studios, corporations and philanthropic individuals fundraising for and advocating on behalf of sick children, has come a long way from its inception in 2007. To start, it's since raised more than $250,000 towards cancer prevention and $94,000 specifically to Toronto's SickKids Hospital. Recently, Dancers for Cancer raised the stakes and set a goal to collect $1 million for the children's hospital by Nov. 6. "The (#Roadto1Million) campaign is coming along very well," said Bowser. "We are well over halfway to our goal and are excited to continue the momentum in the coming months. With a signature event, a marketing campaign and donors becoming interested everyday, we are confident we will hit our goal." Dancers for Cancer initially began as a dance recital at Christ the King Catholic Secondary School in Georgetown and has now become an annual event in partnership with the community's Center Stage School of the Arts. The school happens to be the dance studio where Bowser grew up dancing and also teaches at. An Oakville resident for the past four years, Bowser said she will be travelling back and forth from Chicago -- where she is beginning law school in the fall -- to ensure Dancers for Cancer reaches its $1-million goal by November. Funds raised by the organization's latest campaign will sponsor the renovation of SickKids' Marnie's Lounge and the hospital's Child Life Program and creative arts therapy, which both Jennifer Bowser focus on the social and emotional impact of illness and hospitalization in children. Marnie's Lounge is a recreational room at the hospital that offers a wide variety of programming for child patients and their families, along with various video and board games, computers, movies and a pool table. The lounge is supervised by a specialist from the Child Life program. "Dancers for Cancer is a passionate group of young professionals who have taken it upon themselves to dedicate an incredible amount of time and energy for the benefit of... SickKids," said Alicia Leon, manager of major gifts for the SickKids Foundation. "Their enthusiasm and resilient commitment to Manager of major gifts, SickKids Foundation Alicia Leon their goal is truly inspiring and we feel very fortunate to be in partnership with them." Bowser said she is proud Dancers for Cancer has the opportunity to help sponsor a space that will foster the "healing power of artistic expression." "There is no question that children are tomorrow's leaders and keeping them healthy should be held in the utmost importance," she said. "It is my dream to be able to say, with assurance, that I was a part of the cure for cancer and want others to join me in that dream." For more on Dancers for Cancer, visit www.dancersforcancer. ca or follow the group on Facebook or Twitter @DancerforCancer and with the hashtag #Roadto1Million. Oakville Fibre Artists' first exhibit opens Sept. 12 The Oakville Fibre Artists is hosting is first exhibit in town running from Sept. 12-Oct. 4. Hanging by a Thread will feature works from the relativelynew local arts group, ranging between classical quilting and modern techniques. The show will be held at the Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre, 2302 Bridge Rd. The group will also be hosting a Meet the Artists reception on Monday, Sept. 14 from 7-9 p.m. For more information, visit the Oakville Fibre Artists' Facebook page. See the beSt Of AuguSt 171 Speers Road (at Kerr) Oakville 905-338-6397 www.film.ca facebook.com/filmca @FilmCaCinemas General: $8.50 Children ( 3-13): $6.50 Seniors ( 65+): $6.50 miSSiOn impOSSibLe STraiGhT OuTTa COmpTOn (18a) ameriCan uLTra (18a) The man FrOm u. n. C. L. e. (pG) Tuesdays: $5.00