The Fund is named in memory of Jessica Karrat, who at the age of 13, died in a car accident. Jessica loved to dance. She spent all of her free time taking dance classes and teaching her friends to dance. One Saturday her hip-hop teacher, Kathy, took her and her best friend Courtney Klinger into Philadelphia for a B-Boy class. That was the start of her love for Philly. Every weekend thereafter, Jess, Courtney and Kathy would go into Philadelphia to take dance classes together. Once they got there, the girls never wanted to come home: They had big dreams of one day becoming professional dancers while living in Center City, Philadelphia.

Jess was always smiling and happy. Everyone loved to be around her because she always put a smile on your face and made you laugh. She lived life to the fullest and never gave up on her dream to be a professional dancer. She loved to perform in front of anyone. You could see her dancing in the streets of Philly or dancing on the New Jersey boardwalk. She made anyone around her want to dance. The girls in her dance classes said that she made dancing fun which made them want to be better dancers. It did not make any difference to her whether it was Ballet, Hip Hop, Jazz, Tap, or Street Dancing - she truly loved all forms of dance and she was the dance.