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WHY SUPPORT DANCESPORT EDUCATION
DanceSport Education • October 5, 2017
We Create Life-Long Impact in Children and Youth
WE NEED YOUR INVOLVEMENT AND SUPPORT
Arizona’s children are growing unhealthy and obese at alarming rates, with physical consequences of Type 2 diabetes, orthopedic problems, and cardiovascular disease in their adulthood, accompanied by psychological damage, social exclusion, ridicule, and low self-esteem. These conditions intensify for children living in low-income, at risk communities. To battle the situation, the Centers for Disease Control recommend that all children engage in 60 minutes of physical activity daily as a health building effort. However, nearly 3 out of 4 children in AZ are not meeting this recommendation, with physical activity numbers trending downward.
Sport has been increasingly recognized and used as a high-impact tool in health-building efforts, especially for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Most competitive sports, however, require audition and many children remain outside of selection; many bring elevated risk of physical injuries, pressure and even bullying. Parents are often unable to afford the team costs. As a lifetime sport, however, ballroom dance offers a healthier choice that is easy to make. It is inclusive, no auditions or special skills are required, and all children are welcome. Ballroom dance helps children to mature physically, emotionally, socially and cognitively through low impact activity. Research supports the fact that participation in dance and movement develops the young brain and increases cognition: students have higher test scores and graduate school.
At DanceSport Education, our mission is to create life-long impacts in the lives of young people in Arizona through participation in ballroom dance as both an extracurricular activity at their schools, and also, as a competitive sport. The DanceSport Education program aligns with Arizona’s Department of Health plan to fight obesity by increasing the number of children participating in physical activity. The ballroom dance program provides children with physical activity that uses all muscles and yet is enjoyable, appealing and fosters sustained interest. It stimulates participation regardless of athletic ability, body habitus, gender, or physical fitness.
The lack of physical activity among children is not somebody else's problem. We are all intimately connected when it comes to health. We all bear the cost of unhealthy and obese younger generation. Investing in programs and initiatives to get children more active provides significant cost savings and societal benefits.
YOU MAKE AN IMPACT
Your support will directly help us Increase the number of children in Arizona who engage in ballroom dance as a physical activity/sport with the goal of building life-long healthy habits. Last year, upon launch, our DanceSport Education program serviced 100+ students ages 4-18 from 3 Arizona schools. Two of the schools are located in low income communities. With your support, this year we will not only retain these students, but increase their number to 750 and continue to grow the program’s outreach and positive impact.
Donation Wishlist
$100
- provides 1 child with ballroom dance instruction for one semester
$1,000
- brings the DanceSport Education program to an entire classroom for 1 semester
$5,000
- brings the DanceSport Education program to an entire school for 1 semester
WAYS TO GIVE
DanceSport Education, which is an Arizona, not-for-profit 501 (c) (3) organization and contributions are tax-deductible. Any amount you wish to donate is appreciated! We provide several opportunities to support our organization:
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DanceSport Education
604 E Balboa Dr.
Tempe AZ, 85282
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Proud to Show What Our AZ Autism Charter School Students CAN Do!!!
Every day, our committed employees work to support the community we serve. Now, they need our help. Our organization is committed to ensuring that our employees are able to maintain financial stability and provide day-to-day necessities for their families during the coronavirus crisis. We bring the benefits of ballroom dance to the students at their schools, in their classrooms. But due to COVID outbreak, Arizona schools are now mandated to close through the end of the school year and out employees have lost their source of income. Their situation is further aggravated by the Stay-At-Home order issued for the state of Arizona. Our organization’s most urgent goal is to retain our highly qualified and specially trained personnel, who work with children with autism. Such personnel is rare to find and costly to train and retain. Under normal circumstances, our professionals are long-term committed to the program – however if we lose them because of the COVID-19 disaster, it would be virtually impossible to reinstate the program. Retaining our personnel is critical not only to the existence of the program, but also to the ultimate recipient – children with autism in a school set-up. We kindly ask that you join us in supporting our dedicated employees. Your gift will help provide immediate financial support so they can purchase essential food, medicines, and other supplies. Help keep our employees safe and healthy so they can eventually return to their work serving our community.
INVEST IN US! Let me share why you should invest in us. We are a small 501(c)(3) non-profit and we bring the benefits of ballroom dance to the students, at their schools, in their classrooms with the highest level of instruction! We make the art of ballroom dance affordable and accessible to all students, especially for those that are low income and at risk. This year, for the first time in Arizona we are bringing the benefits of ballroom dance to 230 K-12 students with autism at the Arizona Autism Charter Schools. It is Arizona's Only Autism-Focused Tuition-Free Charter public school. Students enrolled at this school are on the autism spectrum with varying degrees of intellectual/developmental disabilities. AZ Autism Charter School serves over 40% low income students. 15% of the students are African-American,1% American Indian, 5% - Asian, 51% - Hispanic and 28% white. The ballroom dance experience at the school is part of the students’ project-based life skills curriculum. Many studies and research findings have supported the positive implication of dance therapy to people with autism. We are at the school 4 days /week, delivering 40 ballroom dance classes every week. The impact of ballroom dance that we see is INCREDIBLE, especially with the highest impacted students! We take so many things for granted, including the ability to move, speak, coordinate our body and socialize. Our students need to learn all this, and the art of ballroom dance is helping them tremendously. These students enjoy, love and thrive in our classes. Until our program, they had no such opportunity available to them, alone an opportunity to express themselves in public and show what they CAN do. Please help us get the full $3,000 match by making your tax-deductible donation today. The funds will be used for rehearsals and extended support during their public event performances. This is an unprecedented commitment toward these students with special needs. They want and need to show to the public what they CAN do. This is the first of such successful efforts in Arizona! These students need your support! Say "YES" to them! We are their HOPE! All #AzGivesDay donations are *tax-deductible and will go toward rehearsals and extended support during their public event performances. Please help us get the full $3,000 match by making your tax-deductible donation today. THANK YOU! We are sincerely grateful for those who support our mission and enable us to bring the benefits of ballroom dance to the students with special needs, at their schools, in their classrooms. www.azgives.org/DanceSportEducation *The $2 trillion stimulus package includes the Charitable Giving Incentive, which lifts the existing cap on annual contributions for those who itemize, raising it from 60 percent of adjusted gross income to 100 percent. For corporations, the bill raises the annual limit from 10 percent to 25 percent. Elka Hristova Co-Founder and Director DanceSport Education
