Women of Moose host Sock Hop fundraiser for Styling for Pink, Moose Heart charities

By Matt Helm

Reporter

BELVIDERE ─ The Women of Moose hosted a fundraiser Sock Hop for the Styling for Pink and Moose Charities at the Moose Lodge #295 on Saturday, May 21 at 5 p.m.

The evening consisted of dancing, twist limbo, contests, prizes, and raffle baskets. Elvis impersonator Matt Ragano also provided entertainment for the evening.

“The Moose tries to do a lot of fun events for different organizations in the community,” Ragano said. “There are probably about 50,000 Elvis impersonators out there, many in Vegas, but I do what I can to keep his memory alive. There’s a lot of causes out there we can’t help unless we hear about them so it’s a beautiful sight to have all of these people out here dancing.”

Tickets were $12 in advance and $15 at the door.

“Styling for Pink benefits cancer patients going through their treatment journey,” Liz Johnson said. “We hope to cover transportation costs to appointments, including hotel stays and gas cards. People have been coming through the door all night and it was crazy with the food in the kitchen and the baskets are still going strong.”

Profits from the Sock Hop will be split between the Styling for Pink and Moose Heart charities.

“The Moose Heart charity is our baby,” Terri Ragano said. “We support the children that live there with school, clothes, and scholarships.”

There were twenty baskets donated to the Sock Hop.

“Everyone is smiling and having a good time,” Johnson said. “I’m sure some people are remembering their high school days in the 1950s. It’s fun to dress up in your pink jackets and poodle skirts.”

Ragano has been performing as Elvis for 20 years. He sang a ballad to two breast cancer survivors.

“My husband is a ham so he’s good at portraying Elvis; we’ve got the routine down pretty much pat,” Terri Ragano said. “It keeps us pretty busy. We are always doing something to give back to the community, and most importantly to take care of the Moose Heart kids.”

Styling for Pink has more charitable opportunities coming up.

“I almost cried when Matt sang to the cancer survivors,” Johnson said. “Styling for Pink is connected to Cancer Comes in Many Colors. We do a benefit luncheon and raffle at Giovanni’s Restaurant in September that people should look forward to.”