LUMBERTON — After working together with the Robeson Community Foundation, Rebekah Lowry and Bruce Mullis will now be dancing together in the United Way event Dancing with the Robeson County Stars.

With Lowry having dance experience and Mullis “just loving to dance,” the pair is excited to take the stage.

“I started dancing around 5 years old in the studio and did that for five years,” Lowry said. “Most of my training came from being in the theater and practicing at the Carolina Civic Center from the time I was 10 to 21.”

They to practice once a week with their instructor Erin Elliott at Lumberton Senior High School.

Both Lowry and Mullis got involved with the event to help with literacy efforts involved children in Robeson County.

“I think it’s a great organization,” Lowry said. “The heart of non-profit organizations is reaching people. The concept between the two groups is wonderful and can really affect the lives of so many.”

Mullis, is the vice president and commercial loan officer with BB&T, one of the largest contributors to the local United Way campaign.

“I got involved because I wanted to continue to assist the United Way because BB&T has always been a supporter of them,” Mullis said. “I knew it would be a fun event to participate in.”

The second annual dance event will be held on March 23 at 6:30 p.m. at the Southeastern Agricultural Center and Farmers Market. The United Way event asks people to support their favorite couple by voting with a $10 donation. The couple with the most votes will win the competition.

Proceeds from votes, as well as ticket sales, go toward the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, a program established in 1996 by country singer Dolly Parton that provides children 5 and under books each month regardless of their family income. Tickets are $30 each.

The event raised $146,000 last year, and hopes are high that the numbers will be better this time around.

There are 10,000 children 5 years old and younger eligible for the program in Robeson County. At the current time there are more than 1,300 children registered to receive books and parents are registering their children every day.

Registration forms to receive books are available at the Lumberton Children’s Clinic at 400 Liberty Hill Road and the United Way office at 202 N. Chestnut St.

For information, or to vote for your favorite couple, visit www.unitedwayrobeson.org.