Zumbathon event to help Albany instructor battling cancer

ALBANY — In celebration of October’s designation as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, members of the community are coming together to support one of their own as she continues her personal battle with the disease.

On Oct. 1, the Zumbathon Fundraiser for Charlene will be held at Tony’s Gym at 623 Westover Blvd. Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the door, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to Albany native and Zumba instructor Charlene Shultz.

Shultz is undergoing her second battle with breast cancer and her fellow Zumba instructors said they are willing to do anything they can to help her win round two.

“She is a dear friend for many of us at Studio V-Fit, and that is why I didn’t hesitate to put this Zumbathon together to try to help her with a bit of money,” Victoria Leister said. “I have organized many events like this to help people that are under similar circumstances, and I am happy to be able to do it.”

Leister recalls seeing Shultz in class for the first time in 2013 while undergoing her first bout of chemotherapy. Despite her circumstances, Leister said Shultz continued to wear a smile that lit up the room and encouraged the rest of the team. One such person was fellow instructor Hannah Shaw.

“People are always going through their own personal battles, and it makes you feel better to see somebody who’s smiling and positive. It makes you feel positive and like you can conquer what you’re going through,” Shaw said.

Shaw added that Shultz is an invaluable member of their unit, and she’s excited for the opportunity to help her out.

“She means a great deal to us,” Shaw said. “Every time you’re around her, she’s a joy to people. She’s a joy to people, and being around her is like a highlight of your day, basically, every time you can see her.”

As much as her fighting spirit and infectious smile touched others, Shultz said it was her Zumba family that put the smile on her face in the first place.

“I wasn’t feeling my best, but I knew I needed to get out and feel the music, enjoy the energy, meet new people,” she said. “And when I would go to her class, the people in the area, nobody would judge me, nobody looked at me funny, we all just laughed and danced. I didn’t feel any different. I felt accepted and normal. And I feel like going through treatment like that, where you lose your hair and you’re not feeling yourself, feeling normal helps so much.”

Though she currently is undergoing treatment in Louisiana, an emotional Shultz said the Albany event means so much to her.

“I’m extremely humbled and I am very, very touched that all of the instructors in the area have come together,” she said.

The Zumbathon is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. on Oct. 1 and run until 11:30. For those who are unable to attend, but still want to donate the group has set up a Gofundme page at www.gofundme.com/helpforcharlene.