We cooked up a bowlful of fun this afternoon as we danced and ate and laughed through the chilly afternoon. My heart is warmed by the way a few caring families came together and said, "Hey, let's do this!" From there, a few more people jumped aboard and then a few more and before we knew it, we had about 300 people frolicking with their families and raising $3100 for the What If? Foundation at the same time.

As a community, we did zumba, belly dance, and family yoga, and we rocked out to folk tunes and blues. Smiles and smiles.

I hope to be able to figure out how to upload the video I took of our talented performers singing, "Little by Little, We Will Arrive," for it's 3rd premiere after performances in British Columbia and San Francisco.

We also appreciated the words of Y member Martine (I'm sorry I didn't get your last name!), a local high school teacher who is originally from Haiti. She shared stories about what life has been like for her family these past few weeks.


Many thanks to our sponsors, the Drs. Ed and Stacy LeQuire of Inner Strength/Chiropractic first, the Rochester International Dance Studio, and Zumba/dance teachers Emily Watkins and Heather Christy. So many community members supported the event with donations; see previous posts for details.

For pictures, check out the blissbelly blog.

thank you to our sponsors!

We have been fortunate that so many community members and businesses have donated their time, goods, and services to put together Hearts for Haiti. See the list in the post A Taste of Soup for all the great donations so far.

Here we'd like to thank the main sponsors of our event, who have worked day and night to create this community celebration:

Drs. Ed and Stacy LeQuire of Inner Strength Chiropractic/Chiropractic First

Terri Allred and Laura Ehling of Rochester International Dance Studio

Emily Watkins, Zumba and fitness instructor

Heather Christy, owner of Lil' New Yorker Pizza and Zumba and dance instructor

Rachel Farber of Nourished Heart acupuncture and Chinese medicine


...and thank you to Rochester Printing and Papers for printing our fliers for us!
And thanks to Great Harvest for donating so much bread to feed all of us!

update schedule

Well...here it is. A (maybe not so) final schedule for Sunday's Hearts for Haiti community dance party. The schedule keeps changing because we keep squeezing in room for the wonderful dance and yoga teachers and musicians and storytellers who are offering their talents!

2:00 Jessie Neher--violin
2:05: Laura Thompson/Tom Otten musical duo
2:15: ballroom dancing
2:30: Ms. Kristin and her guitar
3:00: Zumba with Emily
3:15: Sarah from Breathe yoga
3:30: storytime with Peter
3:45: Flamenco and Zumba with Heather
4:00: Doghouse Jon and the Misbehavers (blues)
4:20: zumba with Adeline
4:40: Storytime yoga and Family yoga with Jamie from YogiPose
5:00: Brother Music, Sister Rhythm
5:30: performance and class from Shaia Belly Dance Collective

a taste of soup

The community is coming together in amazing ways . . .so many individuals are donating their time, goods, and services to the cause.

Below is a list of some of the silent auction donations you'll be able to go home with on Sunday! It's not too late to add to the list, so if you have a special handmade, a service to offer, a coupon, tickets, a basket of fun, or whatever, please let us know and we'll add it to this list.

Tastefully Simple basket
Feng shui adjuster
Li'l New Yorker pizza basket: pizza paddle, NYC bagels, and $30 Li'l New Yorker pizza gift certificate
Greeting cards
Exercise bike
Handmade earrings
2 VIP passes to next Americana show at the Civic Theatre
2 tickets to Father of the Bride at the Civic Theatre
2 Introductory Specials for Fred Astaire Ballroom Dance
1 Belly dance children’s party
1 Belly dance session at Rochester International Dance Studio
Massage from Lilac Wellness Center
Movie night basket with wine, snacks, movies from Ag-Com Builders
$30 from Sargeant's on 2nd
$25 from R!ah Salon in NW Rochester
Moroccan Oil Hair Care Gift Set from Beauty Mart in Miracle Mile
Lunch/Soda Combo Punchcard from Mr. Pizza North
4 Bread Loaves from The Bread Baker in Miracle Mile
Creative Memories scrapbooking kit
Breathe Yoga Studio class card
bodywork gift certificate
Jim Whiting nursery --$100 gift certificate
Grooming package from Clip and Dip Grooming and Boarding
sushiitto--$20 gift certificate
5 family passes to the Rochester Family Y (worth $20 a piece)
beaded jewelry
Banana bread
Jewelry
Set of make-up/garment/duffel bags
Basket full of children’s art supplies
Hand-knit to-go cup hand protectors
Hand-knit lap blanket
gift certificate from Bruegger's Bagels
gift certificate from Dunn Bros. coffee
Paintball session from Play It Again Sports
2 hours housecleaning by Diana
3 hours babysitting by Diana
Dozen muffins/month for a year by Julie
Nights Stay at the Hampton Inn
HOM Furniture Gift Card
Play Tent from Inner Strength Chiropractic/Chiropractic First
Brother Music, Sister Rhythm 1 hour live music performance at your next gathering: $100 value
Blades to Ballet gift certificate
LillyBud Naturals cleaning products gift basket
children's toys from Super Schoolage Childcare

Schedule of Events

Here's our schedule of events for Sunday. Come for part, come for all!

2:30: Ms. Kristin and her guitar
3:00: Zumba with Emily
3:30: Peter of ABC Toy Zone storytime fame
3:45: Flamenco performance and flamenco-flavored zumba with Heather
4:15: Zumba with Adeline
4:45: Storytime yoga and family yoga with Yogipose
5:30: belly dance class and a performance from Shaia bellydance collective (our very own Terri Allred's collective)

Ballroom dance demonstrations will also be taking place and lots of time in-between for a great family dance party. Can't wait to boogie with the community for a good cause.

Special thanks to our donors!!

Special thanks to everyone who has contributed to the silent auction offerings and other parts of this weekend's festivities so far!
- Rochester International Dance Studio
- Fred Astaire Dance Studio
- Rochester Civic Theatre

Flyer for Hearts for Haiti - help us spread the word!