NEST Community Learning Center is aiming to raise $155,000 at its 8th Annual Dancing with the Stars fundraiser on Oct. 23, at the Oasis Golf and Conference Center in Loveland.

The event is the Loveland-based nonprofit's largest fundraiser of the year. Inspired by the TV series, it pairs local celebrities and community leaders with professional dancers to compete for bragging rights and a mirror-ball trophy. All proceeds go directly to NEST.

Last year's gala brought in $147,000 through ticket sales, live and silent auctions, individual contestant fundraising and event sponsorships, according to Loveland Daily News.

Tim Walker, principal of Glendale Elementary in Princeton City Schools, is one of the local stars taking the dance floor. He is paired with professional dancer Joy Ingram. Professional dancers from area studios volunteer their time to choreograph routines and teach their celebrity partners in the weeks leading up to the competition.

A five-judge panel will score the performances. The judges are Emilie LaRosa, Angie McNeil, Elonzo Coppins, Natasha Howard and Terri Bean.

Doors open at 6 p.m. Ticket holders get dinner and live entertainment alongside the dance competition, which features both live and silent auctions.

NEST, which stands for Nutrition, Education, Safety, Transformation, was founded in 2016 by retired school teacher Evangeline DeVol to help at-risk children in Loveland. The organization is funded entirely by private donations.

In 2025, NEST moved its after-school tutoring and homework help into Loveland City Schools buildings for students in grades 1 through 6. Attendance among registered students jumped from 17% under the old mobile-bus model to 88% in the first year of on-site services, according to Executive Director Laurie Reagan.

"NEST is more than education and nutrition. We support families in many ways, on many fronts, and we will be here for these students and families until they cross the stage at graduation," Reagan said in an Aug. 4 profile by Loveland Daily News.

Community members who cannot attend can donate to support an individual contestant through NEST's website at nestclc.org.