UMPI students host

    PRESQUE ISLE – Students at the University of Maine at Presque Isle combined the spirit of giving with a night of entertainment during a fund-raising holiday dance held at Slopes Restaurant  Dec. 11.     About 90 people turned out for SnowBall 2008, a semi-formal dance held to celebrate the holiday season and raise money for a local cause, the Battered Women’s Project. After covering event expenses, organizers raised about $400 for the nonprofit.
    “Everyone was in great spirits and excited for this to happen,” Sherrise Smallman, event organizer and education student at UMPI, said. “The dance floor was packed all night long, and everyone looked to be having an amazing time. I’ve heard nothing but great things about the night; I look forward to organizing another event like this at the end of the second semester!”
    This is Smallman’s first semester at UMPI. She learned that, in past years, students have put together a dance to celebrate the end of the semester and the holiday season and decided to take the lead on organizing this year’s event, with a twist.
    “I decided that in light of the upcoming season I wanted this event to help benefit a good cause. So that’s when I decided we should sell tickets and have all the proceeds be donated to a local charity,” Smallman said. “As far as what I wanted to achieve, I just thought this would be a good way to bring UMPI students together and put money towards a project where people could really benefit from it.”