Students, faculty and staff of California State University, Northridge invite members of the public to join them as they Zumba their way to helping find a cure for breast cancer on Wednesday, Oct. 2.

The Zumbathon is being held in honor of Mary Jane Smith-Waldman, a member of the Cal State Northridge Matador Hall of Fame, a former CSUN volleyball player and an instructor in the university’s kinesiology department who lost her battle with breast cancer two years ago.

“We want to honor her memory and the strength of all the women and men who courageously battle breast cancer by drawing attention to the disease and raising funds to help find a cure,” said Justin Weiss, activities coordinator for Unified We Serve, a student volunteer program at Cal State Northridge.

Proceeds from the event, which is scheduled to take place from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the CSUN Matadome, will go to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, which is dedicated to education and research about causes, treatment, and the search for a cure for breast cancer. The teachers for the event are certified Zumba instructors, Danny Ramos and Elayne Woods. Tickets are $10 per person.

“I hope participants will walk away with a feeling of hope and community,” said Weiss. “The participants can feel good about themselves for doing a service that will benefit the lives of others and also be a part of an experience in which we bring community together to celebrate life.”

Zumba is a Latin-inspired dance fitness program created by dancer and choreographer Alberto “Beto” Perez in Colombia in the 1990’s.

For information about CSUN’s Zumbathon, call (818) 677-5111 or email unifiedweserve@csun.edu.

This event is open to the public. Tickets for the event are available at the Associated Students, Inc., Ticket Office in the University Student Union, by calling (818) 677-2488 or though ticket master.

Community, Events, Students