2796  Fundraising at dances ?

Date: Sun, 19 Sep 2004 14:58:29 -0700
From: Rick FromPortland <pruneshrub04@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Fundraising at dances ?

So, last night, some gals in our local Contra dance community,
decided to have a bakesale & raised several hundred dollars for
MoveOn.org
.
No dancers, not surprisingly, had any issues with this.
.
I'm just curious if something like this would ever be appropriate
at a Tango dance?

Date: Mon, 20 Sep 2004 15:29:51 +0200
From: Aurelio Caliaro <aureliocaliaro@YAHOO.DE>
Subject: Re: Fundraising at dances ?

Hi Rick

Personally I think that (especially smaller) milongas
are often connected with personal relationship between
people. Discussing political issues and even more
raising funds for politics is something that could
harm the relationship between host and visitors.

In my opinion, it would be different when raising
funds for humanitarian issues, especially Argentine
ones, like PorLosChicos (www.porloschicos.com).

Greetings from Zurich, Switzerland
Aurelio

--- Rick FromPortland <pruneshrub04@YAHOO.COM>
schrieb:

> So, last night, some gals in our local Contra dance
> community,
> decided to have a bakesale & raised several hundred
> dollars for MoveOn.org
> .
> No dancers, not surprisingly, had any issues with
> this.
> .
> I'm just curious if something like this would ever
> be appropriate at a Tango dance?

Date: Mon, 20 Sep 2004 09:04:13 -0700
From: Trini or Sean - PATangoS <patangos@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Re: Fundraising at dances ?

--- Rick FromPortland <pruneshrub04@YAHOO.COM> wrote:

> So, last night, some gals in our local Contra dance
> community,
> decided to have a bakesale & raised several hundred
> dollars for
> MoveOn.org
> .
> No dancers, not surprisingly, had any issues with
> this.
> .
> I'm just curious if something like this would ever
> be appropriate
> at a Tango dance?

From looking at their website, the MoveOn organization
is non-partisan whose interest is in getting more
people involved in the political system.

Given the serious apathy of American voters with the
politics of this country, I don't have a problem with
it as long as they are very clear about for whom they
are fundraising.

Understanding the political and military history of
Argentina, I think, is another aspect serious tango
dancers should appreciate since it did affect the
dance. This year's election is an opportune time to
educate people on Argentina's political history.

Personally, I do encourage and remind people to vote
in messages to our tango lists as Election Day nears.

Trini de Pittsburgh



=====
PATangoS - Pittsburgh Argentine Tango Society
Our Mission: To make Argentine Tango Pittsburgh's most popular social dance.
https://www.pitt.edu/~mcph/PATangoWeb.htm

Date: Tue, 21 Sep 2004 12:32:53 +1000
From: John Lowry <john@LOWRY.COM.AU>
Subject: Subject: Fundraising at dances ?

Rick,

Three years ago, when Argentina was in the depth of depression, a small
group of friends in Brisbane (Australia) ran a dance that we called Milonga
Para Los Niņos to raise money for needy children in Argentina to show our
gratitude for the gift of their beautiful dance and to offer a (virtual) hug
to a people when there seemed little hope. Since then, we have legalised
the process by forming Sociedad Para Los Niņos Inc., and we have trademarked
"Milonga Para Los Niņos". we now have two annual events in Brisbane and one
in Sydney. Our Tango and Latin dance communities have really backed us in.
We also have wonderful benefactors and supporters, including ToTango.net's
Keith Elshaw who donated some very special music to the milonga this year.

Cynics were worried that our assistance would be siphoned off by
unscrupulous people, but there are good people everywhere and we have found
ways to make it work. Close friends in Buenos Aires act as our agents on
the ground and we know that our funds are put to good use.

We have two partners in Argentina, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires. One is
a foster home that also feeds and looks after children at week-ends and the
other is a volunteer farm that takes street-kids and teaches them organic
farming techniques. We have provided cooking equipment, hot water, window
glass, farm tools and other things to give them the resources to do their
work, plus a few few gifts to lift their spirits. Because we are also
supported by the Latin dance community, we also help in other parts of South
and Central America when opportunities arise. We have helped intellectually
handicapped and foster homes in Brazil and a large home in Mexico City that
helps feed and educate hundreds of children who live with their parents on
the rubbish dumps. How thankful must we be that we were born into
prosperous societies.

Of course there are needs and horrors everywhere in the world, but we chose
this one to make a small difference because of our love of and connection
with Tango.

Our vision is to one day host the biggest milonga in the world with Tango
communities from all over the world combining to make it happen. It will
happen with love and a commitment to the brotherhood of humankind. God
knows, the world needs plenty of that right now.

So if you want to run the Portland leg of Milonga Para Los Niņos, just mail
me direct for the conditions.

John