Two Avon residents are seeking support from the community to help send them overseas to participate in an international baton twirling competition.
Kimberly and Anna Lewis, both students in the Avon Local Schools, recently qualified at a national baton twirling competition to compete in the International Cup competition in the Netherlands as part of the team representing the United States. Kimberly will compete as an individual at the competition in the Netherlands in the Junior Elite 3 Baton category and both sisters will compete as part of a large team.
Kimberly, a seventh grader at Avon Middle School, and Anna, a fifth grade student at Avon Heritage North Elementary, are members of Fusion Competitive Twirling, based in Amherst. The girls also participate in ballet, lyrical dance, and tumbling programs after school. They are both involved in their schools’ orchestras where Kimberly plays violin and Anna plays cello.
Anna has been twirling baton since she was 3 years old. Kimberly started when she was 4 years old.
Their mother, Dell-Ann Lewis, said twirling is a family tradition. “My mom and my aunt were both majorettes,” she said. “They twirled, then I twirled, and now the girls twirl, too.”
The Lewis family are the only members of Fusion who are sending two girls to the competition which means their costs are doubled.
The family’s fundraising goal is $6,000 to afford to send both girls to the competition. So far they have raised $810 from eight sponsors. The girls’ current sponsors are a mix of businesses and individuals and include Misencik Funeral Home in Avon, State Farm Agent Ron Cillian, Orthopedic Associates, Mark and Pat Lewis, Tom and Anita Morgan, Sharon and Jan Triska, and Inspire Hypnosis.
The girls have taken on other fundraising efforts, including candle sales and dog washes. They will continue to raise money until the time of the International Cup Competition in August of this year.
Companies or individuals who wish to sponsor the girls may contact Dell-Ann Lewis at drkalew@juno.com or Callene Derrick, USA IC Tour Coordinator, at callene@usatwirling.com.
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