My name is Melissa Jacques and I run a local dance school in Middlesbrough area.  

During this lockdown period, all our students are staying home, dancing and most importantly staying safe.

At these uncertain times it can have an impact on people in a number of different ways including both their physical and mental wellbeing.

So with that said, me and my partner Leon have come up with an idea to raise some funds for a mental health charity, we’ll be doing this by organising a Dance-a-thon. We have asked  a number of other dance schools to also get involved, as this is something I know is close to a lot of peoples hearts.

The Dance-a-thon will include myself and many other dancing professionals taking dance classes from teachers/choreographers from all over the world via Zoom and it will last for 7 hours non-stop from one teacher to the next from one class to the next. Giving the children not only from my dance school but other dance schools a chance to participate in any of the classes they wish. We will be looking for the children to be sponsored to complete this Dance-a-thon, but we have also set up this Just Giving Page for people to donate to help us raise our target of £1,000.

I would then like to donate all funds which are made to MIND.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

I would personally like to say thank you to everyone involved in helping us reach our target and to anyone who kindly donates. We very much appreciate it. 

Thank you