Rotary Fundraiser and Dance Factory Community Generate $1,600 Breast Cancer Donation
Nicholas Mistretta
Contribution made in memory of Leika Weintraub grew from Montgomery/Rocky Hill Rotary Club’s annual Run With Rotary event
MONTGOMERY — A longstanding partnership between the Montgomery/Rocky Hill Rotary Club and The Dance Factory resulted in a $1,000 donation to the Breast Cancer Resource Center in Princeton during the Rotary Club’s Thursday morning breakfast meeting.
The contribution was made in memory of Leika Weintraub, a cherished member of The Dance Factory community who recently passed away. Weintraub’s daughter, Hannah, has danced with the Montgomery Township studio for nearly 11 years.
The fundraising effort began with the Montgomery/Rocky Hill Rotary Club’s annual Run With Rotary 5K and Fun Walk. Through the event, the Rotary Club offers participating groups an opportunity to earn prize money that is then directed to charities selected by the winners.
The Dance Factory received the Rotary Club’s $500 first-place award for registering the largest team. The studio has earned that distinction for 15 consecutive years. It also received the $250 first-place award in the event’s early-registration competition.
Those two Rotary Club awards provided the first $750 of the donation and allowed Dance Factory founder and director Kelly McDermott to select the Breast Cancer Resource Center as the beneficiary. The Dance Factory then added $250 of its own, bringing the check presentation to $1,000
McDermott presented the donation on behalf of The Dance Factory and the Montgomery/Rocky Hill Rotary Club to Melissa White-McMahon, director of the Breast Cancer Resource Center, which is located at the YWCA Princeton.
The Rotary Club’s Run With Rotary event has become an important vehicle for local organizations to support causes that hold personal meaning for their members. In this case, the event brought together the Rotary Club, The Dance Factory and the broader dance community in remembrance of Weintraub.
McDermott described Weintraub as a “showstopper” dance mother whose presence and support left a lasting impression on the studio. Her death has left a significant void within The Dance Factory family.
McDermott told Headline News Montgomery that this year’s Run With Rotary took place the morning after the studio’s recital. Many dancers had performed in two or three shows the previous day and were understandably unable to return early the next morning to participate in the run.
Despite the demanding schedule, The Dance Factory once again fielded the largest team at the event.
The Thursday presentation also included performances by members of The Dance Factory Summer Tour Team, who shared several dance numbers with Rotary Club members.
The Summer Tour Team takes part in an intensive four-day program that concludes with a full day of community performances. The dancers visit seven assisted living and senior living communities before finishing the tour with an on-field performance prior to a Somerset Patriots baseball game.
The Dance Factory is celebrating its 25th year in business in 2026. Its participation in Run With Rotary has become one of the studio’s longest-running community traditions.
An additional $600 was raised through concession sales at the studio’s annual recital at the War Memorial in Trenton, and will bring the total contribution to $1,600.
The $1,600 donation reflected the combined efforts of the Montgomery/Rocky Hill Rotary Club, The Dance Factory and the families who supported the recital fundraiser. It also demonstrated how the Rotary Club’s annual event can serve as the foundation for additional community giving long after participants cross the finish line.
Photo Credit: Nicholas Mistretta/headlinenewsmontgomery.com