BEI Properties’ Employee Charity Match Program gets Kicked into High Gear at Kick-A-Thon
Amanda Lutz, St. Charles North High School Alumni, remembers the practices leading up to the big Kick-A-Thon event like it was yesterday. Currently the Marketing Coordinator for BEI Properties, Amanda wanted to take advantage of the Charity Match Program where BEI Properties matches charitable donations by staff, to help increase the assistance provided to the chosen nonprofit organization. Amanda, who grew up in west St. Charles, continues to be involved within the St. Charles community and is active with the St. Charles Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown St. Charles Partnership. BEI Properties is thrilled to be a supporter of the Kick-A-Thon, their mission and the organizations benefiting from the donations!
Fifteen years ago, as a drill team member Amanda was responsible for finding a community partner, raising money and to advance awareness to “kick” cancer. Head drill team coach at the time, Nancy Prentiss was an extraordinary coach and empowering to all of her students and dancers. The idea of participating in the Kick-A-Thon came up and quickly after Amanda ran into her first ever dance teacher, Alice Williams, owner of 3rd Street Dance & Theatre Academy in St. Charles and a member of the Kick-A-Thon advisory board, who was able to direct her to the right place to register to donate and Kick!
“It means a lot to me to be able to return to my high school and participate in the Kick-A-Thon. I know how much work has been put into this event in past years and currently, by the coaches, dancers and their families to make this event as successful as it is today! It was an awesome opportunity to be with my family at the Kick-A-Thon as a donor and kicker, view how much the event has grown and be a part of the 25th Anniversary!” Amanda Lutz
The 25th anniversary of the annual Kick-A-Thon was celebrated on Friday, September 27, 2018 at St. Charles North High School. The Kick-A-Thon began in 1994, and when the high school split it became a combined effort from St. Charles East and North drill teams to raise money for the dance teams for costumes, fees and other costs associated with the program. When this event became exceedingly successful the drill teams sought out an organization to donate the extra money to. The inspiration to donate to the Fox Valley Chapter of The American Cancer Society began when one of the football coaches’ wives was diagnosed with cancer and from there the drill teams included LivingWell Cancer Recourse Center and Fox Valley Food for Health to their beneficiaries. Over the years this event has turned into a community wide event held annually at the St. Charles High Schools North vs East rivalry game. On the night of the Kick-A-Thon, the drill team members and the community representatives form a kick line and do 100 kicks to “kick cancer”. In 25 years over one million dollars has been raised and donated on behalf of the Kick-A-Thon.
