The time is just about here for the 6th Annual Kathryn Bender Dance Showcase. Come to enjoy an evening of dance, music, raffles, food, friends and fun.

When: Saturday May 21st, 2011

Where: College of DuPage Arts Center in Glen Ellyn, IL

Time: Event starts at 6PM, Show starts at 7:30PM

~2011 Participants~
DuPage Dance Team
Extensions Dance Company
Hip Hop ConnXion
Inside Out Dance Company
MADD Rhythms?
Metea Valley HS Orchesis
Naperville North HS Orchesis
Naperville Park District
Neuqua Valley HS Orchesis
School of Performing Arts
Soul Unique
Steps Dance Center
Under Pressure
Waubonsie Valley HS Orchesis
and
Thodos Dance Chicago

Ticket Info: Buy tickets at the door or call College of DuPage Ticket Office at 630-942-4000.

Tickets can also be ordered online for an additional fee at: http://home.cod.edu/atthemac/tickets

Price: $15 adults and $12 students/seniors

If you are interested in ordering a t-shirt for the event please fill out the enclosed t-shirt order form. An order form can also be found on our website.

Thodos Dance Chicago is a critically acclaimed contemporary dance company with a vibrant, award-winning style. The Company performs on the national and international dance circuits, as well as in Chicago's most prominent dance events.

http://www.thodosdancechicago.org

KBMF is proud to welcome Thodos Dance Chicago as our special guests at this years showcase!

~APRIL 15TH~
KATHRYN'S 23RD BIRTHDAY

~MAY 21ST~
6TH ANNUAL KATHRYN BENDER DANCE SHOWCASE

~AUGUST 20TH~
5TH ANNUAL KBMF 5K WALK/RUN

This years 5K will be held on Saturday August 20th at Naperville North High School. We will use the track around the football field.

A walk registration form has been included in this newsletter. You can also find the walk registration form on our website at www.kbmf.net under the 'Fundraisers' section.

We are currently looking for sponsors for this years walk. If you know of a company that would like to sponsor KBMF's 5K this year, please send us an e-mail from our website under the 'Contact Us' section.

Last year, over 150 people ran the 5K. Help us make this year even bigger!

Grab those tennis shoes, strollers and KBMF visors! We'll see you at NNHS!

This past holiday marks our fifth year of collecting and distributing bears and other stuffed animals to Children's Memorial Hospital.

We would like to thank Steps Dance Center and Lindsay Jones at UIC for donating and housing the collection until they were delivered to their new home!

We would also like to thank family, neighbors and friends for contributing to the collection this year.

We delivered over 400 stuffed animals, a new record, to Children's Memorial!

KBMF was asked for the fourth year in a row to attend the Naperville Chocolate Festival in January.

The Chocolate Festival is put on by NCO Youth & Family Services and was started eight years ago.

We were able to sell several of our Chocolate Thursday's cookbooks to help raise money and awareness about sudden death.

Cookbooks are available at Anderson's Bookstore in downtown Naperville or on kbmf.net.

Midwest Heart Foundation's Young Hearts 4 Life program added another school to their schedule. In February, about 1,800 high school students at West Aurora were provided with free EKG screenings. KBMF is proud to have purchased three of the twenty-five portable EKG machines used during this screening.

Thank you to Meghan Hill, Kathryn's cousin, for her hard work and dedication in finding the funds for this screening and working with Midwest Heart Foundation to make it possible. Elizabeth and Nicholas Bender, along with other members of Kathryn's family, attended the screening training and volunteered for the two days at WAHS to help complete the EKG tests.

List of Participating Schools:
Addison Trail, Barrington, Belvidere, Belvidere North, Benedictine University, Benet Academy, Butler Jr., Chicago Hope Academy, Deerfield, Downers Grove North, Downers Grove South, Fenton, Fenwick, Geneva, Glenbard, Glenbard East, Glenbard North, Glenbard South, Glenbard West, Immaculate Conception, Lake Forest, Lakes Community, Libertyville, Lincoln Hall Middle, Lisle Senior, Metea Valley, Montini, Naperville Central, Naperville North, Neuqua Valley, North Chicago, Proviso West, Reavis, Rockford East, St. Charles East, St. Charles North, Swedish American Belvidere, Swedish American Heart Hospital, Trinity, Waubonsie Valley, West Aurora, Wheaton Academy, Wheaton Warrenville South, Willowbrook

Facts at a Glance:

~More than 7,000 young people under 18 years of age die from undetected heart conditions each year.

~Young athletes suffer sudden cardiac death at a rate 2 to 3 times as high as their less active peers.

~HCM is the most common cause of sudden cardiac death in young adults comprising more than 1/3 of cases.

~HCM is a genetic abnormality present in approximately 1 in 500 people.

~Approximately 40% of young adults at risk for sudden death may be detected with an EKG.

Facts taken from MidwestHeart.org

CSX Transportation - for their donation to KBMF

Honeywell Corp. - for their donation to KBMF

Nick Melville - for keeping the website updated

Joanne Marty - for her support towards KBMF

Midwest Heart Foundation - for participating in KBMF fundraisers and for their continued research and fundraising for Sudden Death

Ray Kinney at Minute Man Press - for printing our newsletter

STEPS Dance Center - for continuing to volunteer and help KBMF with fundraising activities

Steve Mahoney - for his continued support and dedication to KBMF

And everyone who continues to support and donate to KBMF