Dancing brings people together. It encourages collaboration, interaction, and active community-building in an exhilarating way. Memphis Challenge is an organization that thrives on its community, and when planning a fundraiser, we wanted to create an opportunity to mobilize that community and put our mission of a more vital Memphis into action.

Dancing is healing for the individual and great for groups. People dance to exercise, dance to de-stress, dance to celebrate, and dance to serve. This event is a perfect way to kickoff the holiday season – a gathering of students, parents, alumni, and friends giving thanks for what the  Memphis Challenge has done for them and ensuring it’s viability into tomorrow.

Students! Memphis Challenge coaches the best and brightest high school students of color in Shelby County to realize their innate potential by grooming them to excel in their collegiate and professional life. Memphis Challenge students are academically successful and diverse ethnically, racially, and geographically, representing the whole of Shelby County and its young people.

Proceeds from the DAT will go towards exceptional programming initiatives such as: Program expansion so that 7th and 8th graders can be added to the program to take advantage of all Memphis Challenge has to offer; multi-day college trips to Atlanta, Washington, DC, Chicago, and more, giving juniors and seniors priceless experiences on some of the country’s best college campuses; future Tell Me A Story projects, giving Challengers room to be boundless, creative, and bold; and  technology scholarships that give back to Challengers who commit themselves to the Memphis Challenge mission and undergraduate education, just to name a few.

It only costs $10 per person to participate in the DAT. That’s the cost of a movie ticket, or an appetizer at a restaurant. Every cent of the cost will go towards projects, activities, experiences, and opportunities that ultimately benefit the best and brightest young people in Memphis, providing them the wraparound services required for academic and professional success. We also ask participants to raise pledges or donations in addition to the $10 registration fee.

To register for the DAT, please  [REGISTER HERE]

Anyone, and everyone, is welcome at the DAT! We especially encourage all available high school Challengers, collegiate Challengers, and alumni to take part. However, if you are a friend or sibling of a Memphis Challenge alum, a guest workshop facilitator, an organization partner, or even a citizen with a desire to dance and give back, we will be thrilled to see you there!

Yes!  The DAT is open for everyone to experience, so please invite friends and family.

You can even create a dance team to compete in impromptu dance-offs with other teams. All attendees must still submit the $10 registration fee to participate.

No, you do not have to raise pledges to participate, you only need to pay the $10 registration fee. However, here are some reasons why you should raise donations: it’s easy, it’s fun, and it’s for a great cause.

We ask participants who are enlisting donors to raise a minimum of five separate pledges, and  donors can give as little as 25 cents for every  minute that you dance, or as much as they want.

Just think, five people donating $15 each equals a total of $75.  If every DAT participant raises at least $75 in pledges, that could amount to more than $15,000 for Memphis Challenge!

Think of your parents, your friends, your family, your colleagues, and you have already identified people who’d be glad to give to an organization that has done so much for the Memphis community. Not to mention the fact that there are great prizes  for those who raise the most.

To learn more about how to raise pledges, please contact Program Manager Avery Cunningham at 901.312-9621.

Absolutely! ! Memphis Challenge will need many volunteers throughout the day to help with check-in, concessions, monitoring the dance floor, and more. For students, volunteering at the DAT may count as volunteer hours for your high school requirement. To sign-up to volunteer either in 2-hour–shifts or more please contact Program Manager Avery Cunningham at 901-312-9621.

The DAT will be held at the Emerge Memphis Building at 516 Tennessee Street, Memphis, TN 38103. It is located in downtown Memphis at the corner of G.E. Patterson and Tennessee Street, across from Sugar Services and The Lofts condos. Street parking is available, along with a parking garage at the corner of Tennessee Street and Mina Avenue.

Your dancing shoes, of course! We recommend wearing comfortable clothes and shoes that allow for easy movement, and layers, since the dance floor may heat up throughout the day. Jeans, t-shirts, and athletic  are acceptable. 

Attendees 18 and under dance between NOON and 4 PM. Attendees 19 and over dance between  4 – 8PM.

Yes, participants can purchase refreshments and food trucks will be on site.

Yes! The price of the t-shirt only — without pledging or donating — is $15. (deadline to order is 11.24) You can submit your payment via cash, check, or online. When paying via check, please make checks payable to Memphis Challenge.T-Shirts will be available for pickup on Nov. 30 between NOON and 8pm

The deadline to submit donations  is Sunday, December 8, 2019

Yes, all donations are tax-deductible, and Memphis Challenge will provide a detailed receipt for your tax records.

Avery Cunningham, Program Manager, [email protected] | 901-312-9621