CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – The Breaking the Chains foundation, a national non-profit organization focused on issues of mental health and body-image, is preparing for “The Night Out,” its third annual fundraiser featuring chef tasting stations, a live dance performance, photo exhibition, and silent auction.

The event will take place on Sept. 14 at the Wool Factory. It is the brainchild of Chief Growth & Programs Officer Amy Hart, who moved to Charlottesville with her husband Eric in 2005 whilst in the middle of treatment for thyroid cancer, a condition that changed her life.

“I lost myself completely,” she told Cville Right Now. “I grew up a singer, actor and model, and I had this angry scar on my neck.”

The disease not only took a physical toll on Hart, but a mental one as well. She faced changes to her body in the aftermath and hostility upon returning to work, with co-workers resenting the fact she had taken time off, she said.

“I thought, ‘This is not right. Other people have to be going through a very similar thing. Whether it’s cancer or another destructive disease, anything like that, a car accident even,'” she said.

Her experience inspired her to start a non-profit, “Big C, New Me,” which helps support survivors of cancer and other diseases during their recovery. She eventually dissolved the organization, unable to support it alongside her cabinetry and design firm, “Dovetail Design & Cabinetry,” but later brought it back as a program after she joined the Breaking the Chains Foundation, which was founded by her cousin, Debra Hopkins, in January 2023.

“Amy’s the kind of person where (if) she’s going to put herself into something that she’s going to really 110% commit,” Hopkins told Cville Right Now. “And so, she started a few years ago, maybe three, four years ago at the most, she was just like ‘I really think I have the time, and I really want to bring this on, but let me learn more deeper areas.'”

The idea for The Night Out came to Hart shortly after she joined the board and marked the first time the foundation had formally fundraised.

“I thought, ‘What do people want to come and enjoy one night? There are fundraisers that are so boring. You’re sitting at a table. You’re listening to people talk. No, we’re not gonna do that,'” she said.

Instead, Hart partnered with a number of chefs to create stations where each would serve their own signature dishes. That core part of the event still at the center of this year’s fundraiser, with New Orleans-based private chef and Board of Directors member Gason Nelson once again cooking his signature Louisiana cooking to the event.

Nelson joined BTCF after his own battle with anxiety and depression, as well as the death of his son to cancer. He’s been involved with “The Night Out” since the first one, and told Cville Right Now he can’t wait for this year’s event.

“I want to keep it going. I want to do my part.” he said. “… it’s very rewarding to me because I feel like I’m giving back.”

This year’s event will also feature a performance of the dance piece “7 Chairs,” created by board member Alex Little. The performance is based on Little’s own experiences attending support groups during her struggles with eating disorders.

“That was the impetus is how incredible it is to be in a circle of folks that you can relate to,” Little told Cville Right Now.

The piece changes based on the dancers performing in it and their own struggles. The performance at The Night Out will also involve three dancers from Charlottesville.

“It’s not about eating disorders, per se. It’s about whatever the dancers that come to it, whatever’s on their heart, whatever’s on their mind, whatever they’re through, be it feeling dark or feeling light, that they bring to the table,” Little said. “And instead of talking about it, each person dances about what they’re saying.”

Hopkins will also be at the event with her photo exhibition “Finding Alice,” which details her own personal story, as well as other exhibits on BTCF’s other programs, providing the organization a chance to highlight all of the work it’s doing across the country.

“Everything we do is going to be shared this year,” Hopkins said.

Tickets for the event are on sale now through BTCF’s website.