SMAC Movers, Shakers, Change Makers Event Success

Posted on August 21, 2023 by

Dan DiBella Posted in Fanwood Post, Our Publications, Scotch Plains Monthly

(above) Student volunteers from six high schools throughout NJ take a quick break from helping to set up for Movers, Shakers, Change Makers on May 13 at Union Catholic High School.

Movers, Shakers, Change Makers Event

SMAC, Inc.

The Student Movement Against Cancer (SMAC), Inc., founded in 2001 by Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School students, raised over $4,000 for the Emmanuel Cancer Foundation at its first-ever signature event, entitled “Movers, Shakers, Change Makers.” Held on May 13^th, the event was conceptualized and executed by SMAC’s student leaders from its network of eleven high schools and colleges in New Jersey and New York.

With “movement” at its core, current students from across the SMAC network were swept up by the fun, physical activities that kept them moving throughout the evening of May 13. The fundraiser’s activities featured a DJ dance party, facilitated fitness experiences, friendly games and competitions, and chance for student leaders to meet and mingle. Professional facilitators from Union County businesses included Joint Motion Physical Therapy, Little Flower Yoga, Brassy Buddha Yoga, the Family Martial Arts Center, and Martial Arts America. Members of SMAC’s Board of Directors and representatives from the Emmanuel Cancer Foundation were also in attendance to support the cause and its student organizers.

(above) Student participants learned yoga and mindfulness techniques at Movers, Shakers, Change Makers. Professionals from Brassy Buddha Yoga and Little Flower Yoga served as volunteer facilitators.

The organization chosen to be this year’s beneficiary was the Emmanuel Cancer Foundation (ECF), a New Jersey based non-profit dedicated to supporting families experiencing a pediatric cancer diagnosis. The organization, celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2023, has a long legacy of welcoming SMAC students as volunteers. The funds raised have been directed to ECF’s Emergency Financial Assistance Program, an initiative aimed to support families confronting extraordinary hardships, including eviction and utility shut offs.

Courtesy photos

(above) Union Catholic SMAC Advisor and SMAC Board Member, Mike Conte, presents ECF’s Senior Regional Director, Barbara Kopel, with a donation check on June 15.

(above) SMAC co-founder David Baumwoll poses with other founding members Tracy Salmon Svetcov and Barie Salmon Miller and UC SMAC Advisor Mike Conte at Movers, Shakers, Change Makers.

SMAC, the Emmanuel Cancer Foundation, and “Movers, Shakers, Change Makers” garnered the attention of local businesses who showed an outpouring of support. “The generosity we saw from private business owners was humbling,” said SMAC’s Executive Coordinator Danielle Delavaux. “Our student organizers set a lofty goal for their fundraiser, one that could only be achieved with the help of the community. Businesses in and around the Scotch Plains area rose to the challenge by contributing much-needed funds and in-kind donations that made the evening – and larger effort – a great success.”

(above) Students dancing at Movers, Shakers, Change Makers.

For more information about the event and ways to get involved in SMAC, please visit supportsmac.org/events, or contact SMAC Executive Coordinator Danielle Delavaux atdanielle@supportsmac.org.

Student Movement Against Cancer (SMAC), Inc. is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to empowering the next generation of cancer fighters. Created in 2001, SMAC began when a small group of friends at Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School banded together to help their friend, Rob Mattar, as he battled cancer. Since then, SMAC has become a network of student-led chapters around New Jersey and Pennsylvania who raise funds for cancer causes, launch awareness campaigns, and support their communities. SMAC has raised over two million dollars for cancer causes since its founding.