The eighth season of Dancing with Our Stars will be a modest show, but participants still hope to provide a night full of fun for some great local causes.

Dancing with Our Stars is scheduled for 5 p.m. Sunday at the Embassy Suites La Quinta Hotel & Spa in La Quinta.

This is the first time the Indian Wells-based A Charity Affaire Production event has been hosted outside of Indian Wells.

The fundraising event, which is hosted twice a year, began in April 2006 and was inspired by ABC's popular show “Dancing with the Stars,” event producer Lynne Bunch said.

“I was looking for a fun, different way to host a fundraiser, and when I watched the show I came up with this format,” Bunch said.

The event partners local professional dancers with active community members who dance for a charity of their choice.

The dancers raise the money through “votes” that cost $20. Votes can be cast in advance to the dancer of the voter's choice or during the event.

Since its first show, Dancing with Our Stars has raised more than $280,000 for 53 different charities including local organizations like Olive Crest, Desert Arc and Gilda's Club, Bunch said.

And despite a gradual decline in attendance and participation in the event, Bunch hopes to continue to raise as much money as possible through this event, especially with the state of the nation's economy.

This season, three charity couples are slated to strut their stuff on the dance floor, a huge decline from the event's inaugural seasons which had up to a dozen charity couples and more than 300 attendees, Bunch said.

She is hopeful, however, that the momentum will pick up again, especially with a new element called Friends Helping Friends.

“This way a couple can choose to dance not for a charity, but for a friend who is in need during this hard time,” Bunch said.

This season's “friend” is a single mother with cancer who wishes to remain anonymous, Bunch said. La Quinta resident Gillian Jones and professional dance partner Adrian Torres will be dancing to raise money for this “friend.”

Donations for Friends Helping Friends are not tax-deductible.

“Especially right now, in these tough times, it feels really good to give back to those that need help,” Jones said. “We are giving our blood, sweat and tears for this dance.”

The Coachella Valley Rescue Mission and the Indio Youth Task Force will also benefit from the event.

“This is one of the few multi-charity events, and it's probably the most fun event,” Bunch said. “Everybody likes to be a star, and everybody likes to dance, so why not dance for a cause?”