Dancing With Stars Of Casper Brings Community Together

Six teams, one night of fun, one BIG winner. Dancing with the Stars of Casper happens on Saturday, October 24. Sure, the six dancing duos are competing for the Dancing with the Stars trophy, but really, the BIG winner of the night is the Mercer Family Resource Center. 

If you've watched Dancing with the Stars on ABC, you understand what will be happening on the 24th, but if not, here's a quick description:

6 teams. Each team has 1 local celebrity who may or may not have any dancing ability, paired with another team member from the Casper dance community. They train, practice, cry, and bleed to become the best dance team they can be. Then, on the 24th, all 6 teams get their chance to show off their skills on the dance floor in front of their families, friends, neighbors, and the judges, competing for the title of 2026 winner.

There are the judges' choice winners and the people's choice winners.

The judges' choice is pretty self-explanatory: the judges choose.

The people's choice is where you, the spectator/ friends/ family/ neighbors, come into play. You donate money to help your favorite dance team earn votes. The team with the most votes is crowned the People's Choice winner.

Again, it's awesome to see people step out of their comfort zone for a good cause. In my book, all 6 teams are winners just for helping raise money.

Again, though, the big winner of the night is the Mercer Family Resource Center, whose mission is to provide education, counseling, and prevention services that build stronger, healthier youth and families.

The money raised through the votes, silent and live auctions, raffles, and tables will help fund scholarships for the Mercer Family Resource Center programs, ensuring there is never a barrier for families who need them.

Some of the programs offered are:

• Youth Classes
• Family Enrichment Classes
• Mental Health First Aid
• Children In Need Of Supervision
• Youth Empowerment Council
• Natrona County Prevention Coalition
• Life Skills Program (new)

The Life Skills Program begins in November, and if you've ever thought your kids lack the skills they need to survive in the world, this new program is for you.

Executive Director Brittlynn Adame says the program will help in many different areas.

There's about twenty different skills that will be learned.  Anywhere from decision making, interview process, searching for jobs, communication, we'll have information on tabacco and vaping. So really just a wide range of skills that kids, I don't think are necessarily getting in today's world and so we just wanted to make that an opportunity for all of them.

To join the mission to improve the community through the Mercer Family Resource Center, you can vote for your favorite dance team, bid on silent auction items, purchase raffle tickets, and get information about tables and tickets. You can do that through MercerCasper.com