JOINT EFFORT — Staci Stephen, left, executive director of the United Way of the Upper Ohio Valley, and Marci Snyder Crawford, executive director of the United Way of Jefferson County, are excited about the April 18 Battle of the Ballroom. Proceeds from the event will be split between the organizations. -- Ross Gallabrese

STEUBENVILLE — The directors of the United Ways that serve the region always are looking for new and fun ways to raise money.

And that has led to the Battle of the Ballroom, a joint fundraising effort that will benefit the United Way of Jefferson County and the United Way of the Upper Ohio Valley.

Set for 7 p.m. April 18 at the St. Florian Event Center in Wintersville, the event will feature an evening of competitive dancing — similar to ABC’s popular “Dancing with the Stars” — while raising money that will help the member agencies connected to both United Ways.

“This is an event that will be a lot of fun,” said Marci Snyder Crawford, executive director of the United Way of Jefferson County. “You’ll get to watch dancing and help the United Ways.

Local celebrities have been paired with professional dancers to prepare for the event. It’s a lineup that will include Tiffany Luckino of Cedar One Realty, Jefferson County Commissioner Eric Timmons, Mike Biasi of Valley Converting, Joe Wallace of the Franciscan University of Steubenville, Joel John of Exquisite Creations by Joel, James Lash of Cedar One Realty and Jason Lucarelli of WesBanco.

“I think it’s a great partnership to work across the Ohio River with each other,” said Staci Stephen, executive director of the United Way of the Upper Ohio Valley. “I was super-excited when I first met Marci — she’s a go-getter, and I’m excited to work together and better both of our communities.”

The evening, the directors said, will offer plenty of entertainment, with the goal of helping area residents who depend on the work of the agencies and organizations supported by the United Ways. Proceeds will be split evenly between the organizations.

“The money that comes from this will go to help people in all of the communities we serve,” Stephen explained.

While the United Way of Jefferson County covers one county, the United Way of the Upper Ohio Valley includes seven counties — including Hancock and Brooke.

“Having a combined event is a good thing,” said Crawford, who became executive director in August. “We say that we Live United in Jefferson County, and now we can work together across the river, and not just in fundraising — Staci has been able to help answer questions that I have had.”

Crawford said 19 nonprofits have applied to be part of the allocation process of her United Way, and that makes events like the Battle of the Ballroom important.

“My goal is to fundraise as much as we can to support all of these nonprofits,” she said. “There’s so much need in Jefferson County, and the more funding we can get, the more people we can help. That’s my goal.”

Judges for the evening will be Walker Holloway and Chris Sharpley of Arthur Murray Dance Studios and Andrea Merriman of iHeart Media. While the contestants will be scored by the professionals, members of the audience will have the opportunity to choose who they think was the top dancer as well.

Eric Fithyan, the executive director of the Brooke County Area Chamber of Commerce, and Jamie Baker of WTOV-TV will serve as hosts for the evening.

Stephen, who has organized a similar event to benefit the Augusta Levy Learning Center in Wheeling, said things are picking up in anticipation of the evening.

“I knew it would be a challenge for the first year, but we wanted to make it work,” she explained. “We got our stars, and we got everyone partnered up and they’ve already started practicing.”

Crawford said that, once word about the event started to spread, more people became interested in participating.

“After we started practicing, a couple of people reached out and said they would have danced,” she said, adding that the six weeks of work needed to prepare for the evening meant it wasn’t possible to add more contestants.

Sponsors for the evening include Valley Converting, Interstate Waste, Cedar One Reality, James White Construction, Security National Trust and Cardinal Operating Co. A VIP event for sponsors will begin at 5:30 p.m. April 18. There’s room for additional sponsors, the directors said.

Tickets for the event cost $50 each and are available at unitedway-jc.org and unitedwayuov.org. The evening will include a cash bar.

Both directors said they are looking forward to watching the event grow in popularity.

“It’s the first year, so there’s always a learning process,” Stephen said. “Hopefully, we will make this bigger and bigger every year and make it a great success.”

Crawford agreed.

“Staci said once we have one, people will really want to be involved in it,” she said. “It’s something that’s new, something we’ve never had in Jefferson County, something different.”