Save our Community Choir!

I have a favour to ask our whole group about supporting Arts for Social Change work in Vancouver. Vanessa Richards (if you don't know her, check her out...incredible woman) has led a community choir for the past year, called Woodwards Communiy Singers, to make space for the DTES community and new residents to Woodwards to sing together in order to get to know each other and lessen the tensions in the neighborhood.

I attended her choir all last year, and it was one of the most memorable and empowering arts based community group I have been a part of. I promised myself that if the choir was ever in danger of being shut down, I would do what I could to see that it survived.

This summer, Vanessa lost her funding from SFU. Rather than charging the singers for attending (something that would be against the values of this inclusive choir) or searching for grant funding, we have decided to run a fundrasing campaign. (This is really interesting considering my comment in class about finding alternative funding models to grant writing!) Here is where we are at:

Our ideal goal of $12,334.80 for:

- Choir Director,
- Visiting Choir Directors,
- PHS Mental Health Support Worker,
- Coffee/snacks,
- Photo copies
- Promotional flyers.

$2750 - raised by Woodward's Community Singers - CONFIRMED
$5000 - from SFU - CONFIRMED
$7750 - Total Raised - CONFIRMED
PHS makes the rehearsal space available to us at no cost. - CONFIRMED

$4584.80 - NEEDED.

To donate, or to send the online donation site to a potential funder, here is the link:

http://www.givemeaning.com/project/woodwardssingers

I am writing you because you are all well connected in different areas of the Lower Mainland. Can you suggest some organizations that might be willing to donate some money to this kind of choir? I will write them with the request, I just need to know who to ask.

Thanks for your support from Vanessa, the choir, and I.

Happy Holidays,

Josh