A couple of weeks ago after our new " charity dance down" a parent came and to thank us for donating to charities and asked some questions about the various organizations we support or have supported over the years. Eric and I have reflected on this in the past week. We began giving to charities since show #1 twelve years ago. It is not something we have added along the way. It is something we have felt was important since the beginning of TOP. Giving back to the community and to others who can't dance has been at the TOP (no pun, well maybe a little pun, intended) of our list. In the beginning we gave to The Diabetes Association. Most of the charities have had personal connection to us or to our TOP family. Scott, Eric's twin brother, who works many events a year, has two children with diabetes. Sami from our merch area and now office staff has had diabetes since she was child and we see way too many young dancers wearing their pumps during the course of a dance event. Although the last couple of years this has not been one of our featured charities, it is a still a family supported organization. We in the past have supported Smile Train, an organization the surgically corrects children with cleft palettes. It is heartbreaking for me to see those photos and then to see the beautiful smiles that are on the aces of our dancers. The last couple of years we have supported Dancers Against Cancer and The Spina Bifada Association. Dancers Against Cancer (DAC) is a non-profit organization that donates directly to cancer research with an emphasis on Breast Cancer. DAC was started by Jodi Eisenhower, a dance teacher originally from Oklahoma City, who fought her own battle with this disease and emphasizes the high number of young girls who may face it someday. The organization looks for studios within our competition that may be willing to host a local event, much like a recital and then donate the proceeds to DAC. Older teenage competitors have taken the challenge upon themselves to host events in their communities, not only bringing local studios together for a great cause, but putting aside the nastiness that sometimes comes from competition. If you are interested in finding out more about hosting an event in your area just click on Dancers Against Cancer Logo on our website. Our other featured charity is Spina Bifida. Mr. Kris and his wife Kim, as most of you know, have a three-year-old son, Vince, that was born with this condition. In addition to the donations we have made directly to the charity, last year we also presented Vince with a laptop to develop the skills and talents in this brainy and funny little boys mind (hard to believe he would have sense of humor with Kris as his dad huh). Vincent faces many upcoming surgeries over the next few years, surgeries that are agonizing for him, but are also agonizing for his family. We support these charities not only because they are near and dear to our hearts, but also because when you stand on the stage at awards and look into the faces of these beautiful children you realize how truly lucky these kids are. There are so many kids who don't have the same opportunities to dance and sing like they do and we support finding cures to eliminate the obstacles for others. I was asked directly how much we have given over the last 12 years. Without digging up tax records from that far back I am going to guess that we, YOU, have given more than $75,000 to charities through the various TOP charity programs. Please continue to support these causes and thank you very much for every dime you have allowed us to donate. Kim