The Women’s Legal Service (WLS) help over 3,200 women in need a year, but turn away 16,000 due to lack of funding. 32 women this year have been killed by their partner. There is a war on women occurring in Australia and we need to do everything in our power to raise awareness of this issue and help the women in our community who need it the most.
So I started on my dancing journey against domestic violence, hearing the call of the disco ball. I had four rehearsals with Che from Mad Dance House, a sparkling gold costume made by Glitter and Dance, I connected with my inner Beyonce and we raised almost $10,000 to help Brisbane women and their families that needed our support.
The Red Republic team threw their support behind Dancing CEOs also by engaging in publicity and social media campaign to ensure WLS and their cause were on everyone’s radar.
As I am sure you can appreciate, I do get asked to be involved with many worthy causes and when I accepted this dancing challenge, I really did it because I felt it was an incredible cause that resonated with my whole team. What I didn’t expect is how much it would push me out of my own comfort zone and what a highlight of my life my five minutes of fame would be.
I ain’t a shy gal, but standing behind the curtains about to take the stage, I can honestly say it was the most nervous I have ever been in my life, to dance in front of 500 people. I just closed my eyes and kept repeating to myself “You’ve gotta get out there and bring it”! And I think I did! I won both the People’s Choice and the Judge’s Choice awards! I think it took three days for me and my supporters to come down off the high we were all on.
You might say I’ve been to a few corporate events in my time, but I can honestly put my hand on my heart and say this was THE BEST corporate event any of us had ever attended.
On reflection, being in Dancing CEOs has been one of the highlights of my career, it completely pushed me and my fellow CEOs out of our comfort zones in a way I haven’t experienced in a long time. If you can take anything away from my experience, it is to find a situation that pushes you to the edge, in a positive way and take the leap forward.
I wish I could get on stage every week because if I am honest I have always fancied myself a rock star, I just didn’t have the talent. But I am not sure anyone would be that keen to see a 34 year old business woman who is admittedly a fairly average dancer (with lots of attitude) on a regular basis. However, what I can do and will do, is continue to support Women’s Legal Service and the war against domestic violence and I urge you to help us too.
Don’t miss the 2016 Dancing CEOs, I’ve already booked my tickets! Register your interest today.
