Big Brothers Big Sisters of Stephenville has grown in its time since it first opened an office within the community, and there are a large number of community members who are eager to show their support for the organization. Diane Rodriguez and her husband José just happen to be doing so by putting on their dancing shoes.

Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) is hosting its second “Dancing for the Stars” event on Nov. 14. Last Year, BBBS was able to raise over $40,000 dollars through the fundraiser. This year, the organization hopes to do the same.

Six prominent couples from the Erath County community have been asked to compete in this year’s “Dancing For the Stars.” One of these couples has a close connection to Tarleton State University.

Diane Rodriguez is the Student Success Program Coordinator at Tarleton. Along with her husband José, who is an active member of the Knights of Columbus, Rodriguez was approached as a potential competitor for the fundraising event.

“Big Brothers Big Sisters is something that I’ve supported from the moment they started the fundraising here in Stephenville,” Rodriguez said. “We attended the event last year, and we were approached after it was all over with. One of the people that were in charge of the event said that [my husband and I] should be a part of the event.”

Not thinking much of the exchange, the couple was asked again over the summer if they would be willing to participate.

“It’s a great opportunity to help support the organization,” Rodriguez stated. “I didn’t want to say no. My husband said ‘Oh yeah, we can do it,’ so we did.”

The couples have been scheduled for an hour of practice once a week, but Rodriguez discussed all the other times that have been taken over by dance.

“You practice for an hour once a week, but then you practice before practice. You do it a lot. We’ll push all of our furniture away from the middle, and we practice in our living room,” Rodriguez said. “Sometimes, I’ll be moving my hands along with the motions, because I’ll be thinking about the steps in my mind. I catch myself doing that here and there during the day. I don’t know if my husband does that, but I know I do.”

This event has demanded time and effort from each of the six couples, but the Stephenville community has done its best to support the competitors and the organization. There isn’t much left for the couples to do, besides showing off their moves and hoping for the best.

“It’s kind of nerve-wracking, because you’re going to be in front of a lot of people,” Rodriguez said. “They sell 300 tickets to the event, so that’s 300 people from the community that are going to be watching you. There’s a little pressure there, but I think we’ll do okay.”

Even though the fundraiser takes the form of a competition, the Rodriguez’s have an easygoing attitude about winning.

“It’s an honor to be asked to do this,” Rodriguez said. “I would be excited if we did win, but if we didn’t win, that would be okay, too.”