Four of us sat at the weather-beaten picnic table with overwhelmed faces as the United Way intern threw her idea at us and explained why we were needed to plan and carry out this great idea. This idea wasn't big or great yet, though. It consisted of one word: dance. At the end of her speech, the intern smiled, thanked us, and promised we'd hear from her soon. One month and a phone call later, we were back. This time, though, the smiling face that greeted us was a new intern, and of the four original kids, only two returned. I was one of the two. We were asked to develop a fund raiser, run entirely by youth, to benefit the helping programs of the United Way.

The original idea of a dance needed to be further developed. Rachel, (the other girl), and I started making plans. We split up jobs and phone calls. Over the next few months, we reserved a location, obtained a DJ, decided on the procedure for ticket sales, and got other schools and people involved. When we explained what we were doing, and gave out the proper information, the companies did all they could to cooperate and give us discounted prices. Local radio stations donated CDs and T-shirts to be raffled off for further profit. Each participating school asked a teacher to chaperone. Slowly, others joined us, and with the help of our intern, things started to look better. We got excited as we made progress. On the "big night," people from many area high schools joined to dance from eight to eleven for a good cause. To them, it was just a dance, though. They had fun - and everyone who helped make the night a success looked around and smiled. A couple of times during the night, I went up to the balcony and looked down at everyone having a good time. It felt amazing to know I was a part of making such an event happen. I remembered back to when the idea seemed like it would never materialize. The money from the raffle and dance tickets was combined, and one check was made out to United Way. It was a worthwhile experience, everyone benefited. fl