During the holidays, many businesses extend heartfelt thanks to their customers and local business partners. These expressions of gratitude can take the form of cards, parties and gifts. But, whatever they are, these tokens of gratitude are all symbols that working together benefits everyone.
Working throughout the year with business partners across the South Sound, Boggs Inspection Services is no different. Owner Dwayne Boggs and his staff work closely with local real-estate agents and established home inspectors all year long.
Most people seek an inspection prior to purchasing a new home or when preparing to sell. Because of the interconnectedness of real-estate transactions and home inspections, Boggs and his team show their appreciation to their partnered real-estate agents each year with hundreds of beautiful holiday poinsettias delivered to offices throughout Pierce County and beyond.
Boggs could easily order the plants from any number of wholesalers, but instead, he orders them from a local dance booster club whose mission is to help all dancers reach their goals, no matter the cost.
Inspired to Dance Booster Association was started by two moms, Makieda Hart and Shannon Steadman. Their daughters love to dance and they love the happiness and fitness it brought to their lives, but less so the big bills for costumes and competitions. They devised an idea to create a booster group to fundraise for area dancers. The funds raised help with the cost of competitions, costumes and travel.
Unlike other booster groups that may be tied to a particular school or association, this one is fully independent. Parents are welcome to join no matter what studio their children attend. Members come from throughout Thurston and Pierce Counties and the combination makes sense as the dancers often dance in similar competitions.
Sierra Steadman, Shannon Steadman’s 11-year-old daughter, is a fifth grader at South Bay Elementary. Sierra currently dances at Center Stage Dance Academy in Lacey and previously danced at Debbie’s Dance Etc. for many years. “The money raised doesn’t go to pay for the dance lessons, but instead, helps families with all the additional expenses that come along with dance,” Shannon explains. And, depending on the level of competition, those costs can grow quickly. Costumes can cost between $70 and $300 each, making the cost of continuing lessons prohibitive for many families.
Mike Steadman, Sierra’s father, met Dwayne Boggs through the Gateway Rotary Club. Last year, Boggs learned of the poinsettia sale and jumped at the chance to help the kids. “His efforts make it a lot easier on the girls so they can concentrate on dancing and what they love, not on fundraising all the time,” explains Steadman.
Boggs remembers being a kid, too. He recalls feeling the pressure to fundraise for his own activities and is glad that he can alleviate that pressure a bit for Inspired to Dance Booster Association dancers. “People don’t think about dance for fundraising. They may focus more on sports like football when they think about giving financial support. But these kids work really hard and I like that I can help the whole group when I support the booster club, not just one child,” he says.
The 210 poinsettias he purchased this year are just one of the ways Boggs gives back to the community. “I really like to give back to the people who have supported me and helped my business grow,” Boggs says.
The 210 poinsettias were distributed the week before Christmas and are decorating offices and homes throughout the South Sound. Bogg’s Inspection Services office manager, Heather Rowell, played “Santa” and brought the plants to real-estate offices and partner businesses that have worked closely with Boggs Inspection Services this year. Her daughters pitched in, working as the Bogg’s Elves.
Inspired to Move Booster Association is growing and participates in many fundraising activities throughout the year. The new group is looking for more members to establish a lasting financial support system for all participating dancers and their families in the area. For information on how you can be a part of the group visit them on Facebook.
“We know Dwayne has a lot of choices on what he does with his money to help the community,” shares Mike Steadman. “That he chose the help our daughter, and other dancers like her, means a lot.”
