Students in a New York state of mind

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/charityball.jpg” caption=”Stacey Gemmill, Charity Ball co-ordinator, stands in front of the Silent Auction sign to be used at this Friday’s formal. Photo credit: Susan Anderson”]McMaster students will pull out their formal dresses and dust of their suits for the seventh annual Charity Ball on Friday, Jan. 28, at the Hamilton Convention Centre.

Stacey Gemmill, McMaster student and Charity Ball co-ordinator, along with her team of McMaster Students Union (MSU) volunteers, has worked hard for almost a year to make the formal a success. The theme of the evening is New York, New York and like the city, Charity Ball will be bustling with different things to do and see.

Students who feel lucky can try their hand at the charity casino or bid on some prizes at the silent auction. Prizes have been donated by the Toronto Blue Jays, the Toronto Raptors, Breakaway Tours, and others. A deejay, as well as live funk music provided by the King Sunshine Band, is expected to keep the dance floor moving well into the night.

Money raised from the evening will go towards two projects which are helping the fight against breast cancer. These include research monitoring treatment responses for patients with locally advanced breast cancer, led by Mark Levine, McMaster professor of medicine and clinical epidemiology & biostatistics and Breast Cancer Support Services in Burlington.

Gemmill feels strongly about the decision to support breast cancer. “We're really confident in our choice of charities this year because most of us have been touched by breast cancer in some way or another,” she says.

This year, capacity for the evening is 1,300, up 100 people from last year. This has built confidence in Gemmill and her team, who expect a great turn out. Not only is it an excuse for a night out, she says, it ultimately will benefit others.

“This will be a really fun way for students to support a good cause,” she says.