Dancing with the Martin Stars 2026 Set to Dazzle the Audience and Raise Funds for Martin County Healthy Start Coalition
Stuart, FL -- Dazzling sequins, energetic music, bright lights, and a little friendly competition will take center stage on Saturday, September 26, for this year’s exciting and glamorous Dancing with the Martin Stars event.
Eight community members will trade their day jobs for dance shoes and step onto the Lyric Theatre stage alongside seasoned professionals to support the work of the Martin County Healthy Start Coalition.
Each dancer will be competing to wow the judges with their fancy footwork and also to raise the most funds to support the Martin County Healthy Start Coalition vision: every baby born healthy, every mother supported, and every father involved.
“Dancing with the Martin Stars is always a high-energy evening,” said Martin County Healthy Start Coalition CEO Samantha Suffich. “The audiences love the competition, and our dancers are excited to step out of their comfort zone for a good cause.”
This year’s dancers and the professional instructors they are paired with are Michelle Hance with Isabel Lowe, Laurie Laramie with Daniel Elhaddad, Brooke Lewis with Brian Spector, Kalista Kaplan with Antonio Torres, Michelle Massa with Chris Waterman, Zac Rockefeller with Emily Matos, Pete Lashenka with Marianella Tobar, and Michael Sihvola with Daisy Krakowiak-Wiebe.
Dr. Michelle Massa explained why she has chosen to embrace the challenge of competing on the Lyric stage. “As a single mother for 15 years, I know the struggle and the worries about providing adequate health care and basic living needs for my daughter. I often wished I had better community resources. When I learned about the resources Martin County Healthy Start provides for the community, I knew it was a cause I could give my full support to.”
Suffich noted that maternity care is at a crucial point in the community, with the recent closing of the county’s only hospital maternity unit. Funds raised through Dancing with the Martin Stars will help to support the MOM Mobile: Maternity on the Move, along with a family of services that help babies, mothers and fathers from conception through birth. The coalition is also actively pursuing a free-standing birthing center, the Treasure Coast Maternity Center.
“Now more than ever we need the community to step up and support our young families,” Suffich said. Sponsorships for the event, which always attracts record crowds, are now available, and each dancer is raising funds in all kinds of ways from wine tastings to backyard barbecues.
For sponsorship information and ways to contribute to individual dancers, go to www.mchealthystart.org.
About Martin County Healthy Start Coalition
Martin County Healthy Start is a nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring that every baby is born healthy. It provides educational and health services to pregnant women, new mothers and their families at no cost, particularly expectant mothers who are at risk for late or no prenatal care.
Part of a statewide coalition, Healthy Start connects pregnant women and young mothers with essential services including prenatal care, home visitations by a nurse or social worker, breastfeeding support, parenting education, car seat and sleeping safety, a free diaper pantry, and access to other community partner agencies. The David Cardno Fatherhood Initiative, also part of the Martin County Healthy Start Coalition, helps fathers to become more involved in parenting and offers legal assistance to fathers who are separated from their children.
The programs of Martin County Healthy Start Coalition are voluntary and available to all Florida residents at no cost.
For more information about Martin County Healthy Start Coalition and its ongoing programs, visit www.mchealthystart.org, call 772-463-2888 or follow the organization on Facebook.