As winter break approaches, junior Elan Arnowitz is preparing to DJ at Udance Umttr, a teen dance taking place on Wednesday night. The dance will raise money for the Umttr organization.

Susan Rosenstock founded Umttr after her son, Evan Rosenstock, a former student at Churchill High School, took his life on May 20, 2013. The organization educates teens on mental-health, suicide prevention and the five signs of emotional suffering. According to the Umttr website, their mission is to “change the story from bullying, depression, and suicide to a compassionate culture where every person matters.”

Elan Arnowitz, whose DJ name is DJ Arno, will be leading the event along with DJ Chris Styles and Jahn Rome. Styles is an grammy-nominated artist and DJ from Washington, D.C.

Arnowitz first got involved with Umttr when he met Susan Rosenstock at an event about a year ago that he was DJing. He has been affiliated with Umttr ever since.

“It is really cool for my to see my DJ efforts helping people,” Arnowitz said.

Arnowitz first approached Susan Rosenstock with the Udance Umttr idea, and he has worked with Umttr and senior Sivan Shilo to plan and organize the event.

Shilo became involved in Umttr after a close friend of hers lost her father to suicide. Over the summer, Shilo was an intern for Umttr. As an intern she coordinated events and contacted sponsors to support Umttr. Shilo has continued to work with them throughout the school year as she is very passionate about the organization’s mission.

“[Umttr] affects so many people, and it is so sad that some people think that they aren’t important enough to be alive,” Shilo said. “[Umttr is] trying to end that that and telling everyone that they do matter.”

The dance will also feature celebrity guest Michael Sweetney, the ninth overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft, who is a spokesperson for Umttr. Arnowitz did not disclose the number of people he expected to attend the event, but as of Monday the Facebook event created by Shilo had 146 people interested and 117 attending.

“Being a DJ and doing a lot of different events, I’ve seen first hand the power music has in uniting people,” Arnowitz said. “I wanted to put that magical power of music to a good cause.”

The dance is at the Fillmore in Silver Spring from 8-11:30 p.m. on Dec. 23. There is a $10 admission fee if you sign up early, or $15 fee at the door.