Birthday revelry benefits Edmond groups

But there are also some people who have made giving a way of life. I recently met a young woman from Edmond who, instead of an occasion for presents and parties, has turned her birthdays into a benefit gala.

"It was my mom’s idea on my 15th birthday,” said Emoly West. "We decided instead of gifts to ask my friends to donate to my favorite charity.”

That’s how the annual Winter Ball was born 10 years ago.

The first ball was in an Edmond high school; it drew 100 guests and raised more than $100. This year’s Winter Ball in February drew 500 guests at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, and it raised more than $13,000 for A.R.T.S. Revealing the Sun, a nonprofit school of dance in Edmond.

The Winter Ball through the years has raised more than $58,000 for locally based organizations such as Birth Choice, Oklahomans for Children and Families, Oklahoma Conservative PAC, Oklahoma Family Policy Council and Character First.

West told me corporate sponsors help cover the cost of organizing the ball so 100 percent of the money raised goes to the group.

"The event is not just for family and friends but for those who want an elegant evening of food and ballroom dancing,” she said.

Each Winter Ball starts with inviting guests to form a circle to dance the Hokey-Pokey.

"We created a tradition,” West said. "Everyone starts on the same level before learning ballroom dancing through the evening.”

In June, West will compete in the Miss Oklahoma Pageant for the fifth year, representing Edmond as Miss Edmond LibertyFest. Sometime after that, she and her mother, Stephanie, will go back to planning the next Winter Ball to help others.

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