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Celebrate 826 Seattle's 5-year anniversary by dancing!

Nats310Nats310 Posts: 38
edited June 2010 in The Porch
826 Seattle is celebrating its 5-year anniversary with a 5-hour danceathon called Dance Your Cash Off. This raucous event -- featuring formidable dance teams, drinking, prizes and celebrity judges -- will be held at the Nectar Lounge in Seattle on June 10th, from 7 PM - midnight.

As you know, the band members have long been supporters of 826 Seattle's mission, which is to provide students with access to writing workshops, publishing projects, one-on-one homework help (from tutors like yours truly) and English language learning, all in the tutoring and writing center located within the Greenwood Space Travel Supply Store in the Greenwood area of Seattle. In 2006, $2 per ticket from the Gorge shows went to 826, and in 2009 the band set aside money from each ticket on the U.S. tour to benefit a select group of nonprofits including 826. Additionally, Jeff spotlighted 826 Seattle in the announcement about which charities the Vitalogy Foundation would be funding last year.

How can you get involved with this event? Well, if you live in Seattle, you can attend. If you're free on the 10th, stop by the Nectar Lounge to dance alongside the teams competing for dancing glory. The $15 admission fee will get you in the door and on the floor. If you don't live in Seattle but want to support both a cause close to the band's heart and a fellow PJ fan, you can help sponsor our team, The Oliver Twists. We're about $230 from reaching our team goal, and we appreciate every dollar that helps us get there.

There will be shimmying, boogeying and all sorts of shaking, not to mention drinks and DJs to keep the party going. Hope to see you there!
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • TiaMijaTiaMija Posts: 597
    Made a small donation, wish it could be more. Thanks for all you do for 826, a fabulous organization!

    Have a blast!
  • Nats310Nats310 Posts: 38
    Thank you so much! There are no "small" donations, because each one contributes to the bigger impact. Much appreciated.
  • Nats310Nats310 Posts: 38
    In the past 24 hours, The Oliver Twists are $100 closer to our goal! Thanks to any and all who contributed, and we appreciate any help you can give to help us hit our target.

    Remember, the money we raise will go towards workshops that will nurture the next generation of writers, scholars, even musicans (because what would a PJ song be without the lyrics?). . . and in a city like Seattle, you know those kids are going to grow up to rock your socks off.
  • Nats310Nats310 Posts: 38
    Never let it be said that Pearl Jam fans don't have big hearts!

    Original goal for The Oliver Twists: $750. Within 2 days of me posting the original request, we reached the goal, thanks to some clutch donations from PJ fans. Can't be a coincidence/ But like our favorite band, we're not satisfied with "adequate." We're raising the bar -- can we get $1000 in donations?! If you haven't donated yet, please consider a $5 or $10 donation -- trust me, those really add up. While we've had a few larger donations (in the $50 range), the bulk of our donors have given $10-$20.

    All funds from your donations HERE go towards 826 programs. Right now, I'm helping some students write short pieces for a collection that will feature both our youth and famous authors like Michael Chabon. This summer, kids cans participate in writing workshops like "Your Autobiography: Come Cartoon Your Great Past, Present, and Future," "Summon the Music: Call for Sensational Songwriters!" and "Bwah Ha Ha! Bad Guys, Evil Geniuses, and Super-Villains." And during the school year, students get help with their homework and come on fieldtrips to design Choose Your Own Adventure books, which they get published on the spot.

    Thanks to your donations, we can keep these programs going! Let's see if we can't make those donations reach the $1K mark.
  • Nats310Nats310 Posts: 38
    As of this morning, we have to raise only $134 to reach the $1000 mark. Now, I am pretty certain that we can do this, since each time I reply to the original posting, PJ fans respond generously and we get closer to our goal. I wouldn't be surprised if sometime in the next day or two we started thinking about raising the bar once again out of sheer necessity.

    Please, consider a small donation to my team (The Oliver Twists), and remember that since I love company on the dance floor, you should show up to the Nectar Lounge on June 10th (7 PM - midnight) to join in the festivities.

    If you want to see two of our regular drop-in students hamming it up in promotion of this event, watch this video: http://vimeo.com/12066069.
  • Nats310Nats310 Posts: 38
    You've probably figured out that by posting once a day, I move my message -- even for a short while -- back to the front of the message forum. Had this been a successful technique? Well, let's see: when I first posted, we had around $518, and were going for $750. That was 5 days ago, and in that time we've not only hit the $750 mark, we've pushed ahead and hit the $1000 mark.

    Here's what 826 Seattle estimates $1000 can do: "Three Mr. Geoduck Publishing field trips to our center including a bound book with each student's writing in it and their picture on the back for 75 students." Basically, the $1000 we've raised so far can go towards helping 75 students realize their potential to be creative individuals and make their own published book while in elementary or middle school. It's a powerful form of encouragement.

    Help us reach our next fundraising goal? And please do join us on the floor on June 10th -- and make sure you give me to the secret PJ handshake so I know you are one of the cool kids.
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