Long Island 'Dance Family' Remembers Their Teacher With A Scholarship

MILLER PLACE, NY — Beloved dance teacher Marge Marchand's dance family knows she is dancing in heaven with her husband, Bob, and they want her legacy in this world to continue.

"You made the best parts of all of us shine, and we will miss you forever," wrote GoFundMeorganizer, Marianne Cartisano. "We will keep shining for you!"

Marchand "instilled confidence, self-esteem, and empathy for all of her dance students," and now her dance family wants to remember her with a scholarship.

Marchand, who founded Marchand’s School of Dance, died Sept. 20, "leaving an "enormous void in the Miller Place community, her dance family, and in her children and grandchildren’s lives," Cartisano wrote, adding, "Miss Margie was a pillar of our community for over 40 years."

Patch has reached out to Cartisano.

On the page, she wrote that Marchand had a mission "of acceptance and love for all," adding, "Miss Margie instilled confidence, self-esteem, and empathy in all of her students, and showed tremendous kindness and generosity to all those who knew her."

The Miss Margie Marchand Memorial Scholarship drive has been created "with the spirit that we honor the legacy she has built and to "celebrate her life," Cartisano wrote.

The scholarship will be for graduating seniors from Miller Place High School and "will continue her mission of kindness, appreciation of dance, and the devotion she had for the community she loved so much," the page continued.

Cartisano ended with a public plea, asking the community help continue Marchand's "legacy and devotion to children by making a donation."

"No amount is too small to make a difference in the lives of others in Marge Marchand’s name," she wrote.

So far the page has raised $4,680 0f its $5,000 goal.

GoFundMe is a Patch promotional partner.