Music pumped through speakers as a woman in a “Pink Ladies” jacket glided across the floor at the second annual “Dancing Through the Decades” fundraiser Friday night at the Downtown campus.

The fundraiser raised money for Keep Your Children and Yourself Safe and Secure, which provides mental health services to the local community. One in four children and teenagers have mental health issues according to material at the event.

A group of mental health staff at the ASU College of Nursing and Health Innovation came dressed in costumes representing various decades were among the students, faculty and staff at the event. Clinical associate professor Barbara Fargotstein said she dressed up to bring a little life to the fundraiser.

“Anybody can dance,” she said, wearing a red poodle skirt. “This is a great event that lots of different people are involved in and we wanted to show our support.”

Nursing junior Linh Mac said the event was a good time for a good cause and said she was pleased to see nearly all of her current and past professors at the nursing school in attendance.

“It’s really cute to see them in all their little costumes,” Mac said.

Nursing junior Ciera Corwin said she and other nursing students have been working with people with mental illnesses in some courses, and has witnesses how serious of an issue it is.

“Especially meeting with children who have these sort of problems — it’s really changed my view,” Corwin said.

Danica Weston, the organization’s planning committee program coordinator for the mental health organization, said the primary purpose of the dance was to raise mental health awareness, but also wanted to make fun an important factor.

“We picked ‘Dancing through the Decades’ because we thought that would be a theme for all age groups,” she said, as several families with young children entered the auditorium in the nursing building on the Downtown campus, where the dance was held. “We wanted the energy levels to be high.”

Money was raised in three different ways: a door charge, raffles for various prizes and a dance contest, where people pledged money to dance and tried to win titles like “Manliest man” or “Girliest girl.” Weston said the dance raised more than $4,000.

“We had a really good turnout this year, considering it is only our second year,” she said.

Reach the reporter at sheydt@asu.edu