Every Wednesday evening, PPMC’s Debra Mosley, RN, a nurse on Cupp 4 South unit, swaps her scrubs for tights and switches from the bedside to the dance floor. In 2016, Mosley and her daughter Kenya founded Feet of Faith Dance Company, a non-profit organization based in West Philadelphia that offers accessible, weekly dance classes to more than 30 local children, teens, and adults. Whether her students are interested in learning ballet, contemporary, jazz, hip-hop, praise, or another style of dance, Mosley is dedicated to nurturing their talents and helping them grow as dancers and as faith-guided individuals.
But Mosley also understands that dance education is often expensive. Even the low-cost classes she offers can create barriers for students who might be committed to working hard and eager to share their talents on stage, but whose families simply can’t afford to enroll them. To ensure that low-income students have the opportunity to train and perform, she successfully applied for a Penn Medicine CAREs grant that covers several students’ tuition fees, as well as the costs to provide healthy snacks, water bottles, and informational pamphlets that keep her students educated about mental health, reproductive health, and nutritious food choices. She also received a grant to support the dance company’s “Back to School, Back to Health” school supply drive last year.
“Many of our students come from families on welfare or have a parent who recently lost a job. Usually, those types of challenges would keep them from pursuing dance, so being able to use the CAREs grant funds to get them into our classes is wonderful. I’ve been teaching dance for almost 20 years, and it’s incredible to watch someone embrace their potential when they’re given the chance and the support,” Mosley said.
For Mosley, the greatest part of teaching isn’t just seeing her students gain technical skills or ace performances, but rather it’s observing them as they gain overall confidence in themselves. In addition to finding a new outlet for self-expression, her dancers practice life skills like building self-motivation, staying accountable, and working with a team. Memorizing new choreography builds concentration that can result in better grades in school, while learning to stay focused and disciplined can help students overcome behavioral problems. “They grow artistically and spiritually, and they learn to excel on and off the dance floor,” she said.
For more information about supporting the Feet of Faith Dance Company, contact Mosley at 267-701-1106. To learn how you can apply for a Penn Medicine CAREs grant to fund your own outreach opportunity, visit PennMedicine.org/Community.