Updated 6/15/23
Donations for Dance!
This year, we decided to serve the communities that make our organization possible by directly supporting Cuban dancers and artists!
CubaCaribe's annual campaign DONATIONS FOR DANCE accepted lightly worn dancewear and school supplies. The items will then be transported and distributed to dancers and artists. This has been a tough year for everyone but especially artists, and this is a way for us as a community to use our resources to help support.
UPDATE 4/10/2022: We have finished the donation portion of our campaign and are now packing and shipping the items to Cuba.
DONATIONS FOR DANCE
Our campaign was completed with the following:
1. DONATIONS TO OUR CAMPAIGN
Donations go directly to the cost of shipping, storage,
transportation, and expenses related to this project.
OUR GOAL:
$8,000
FINAL TOTAL:
$8,585
(last updated 4/10/2022)
Special thanks! We received a $1,000 matching grant from Lee Chiropractic in Oakland, CA. Because of their donation we were able to reach out $8,000 goal.
Lee Chiropractic is an Oakland based chiropractor specializing in sports chiropractic, deep tissue massage and The Webster Technique (for pre-natal care). Visit their website here: www.chiropracticbuddha.com
2. DANCEWEAR DONATIONS
Our list of accepted dancewear is below.
We had donation bins set up at 10 dance studios across the Bay Area.
DANCEWEAR AND SHOES
*lightly worn please
- Tights
- Clothing (leotards, leggings, sports bras, etc.)
- Shoes (tap, jazz, athletic, ballet regular and pointe)
SCHOOL SUPPLIES
- Pens, pencils
- Calculators and rulers
- Backpacks, school bags
- Lunch bags, containers
MEDICATION, ETC
*not expired, over-the-counter meds
- Advil, Ibuprofen
- First aid kits
- Masks
- ACE bandages
DROP OFF LOCATIONS:
Thank you to all of the dance studios who participated in the donation drive:
Julie's Garage Gym
www.juliesinner.com
Van Der Zwaan Dance Studio
The Beat
https://theberkeleyperformingarts.org
BrasArte
SF Dance Space
Dailey Method
MoBu Dance Studio
https://www.mobudancestudio.com
Tannery World Dance & Cultural Center
https://tanneryworlddance.com
Creative Culture Dance
On One Studios
3. DONATIONS AT OUR FINAL COLLECTION EVENT!
We wrapped up our fundraiser with a final drop off event the weekend of March 26-27th at Rockridge BART Station in Oakland (Miles & Forest Ave). Donors brought all of their donations and we had volunteers on site to help.
Thank you for your support!
-CubaCaribe
Questions? Email contact@cubacaribe.org
FINAL DROP OFF
Saturday, March 26th and Sunday, March 27th, 2022
from 10am - 1pm
Rockridge BART Station
*west side of station
Miles & Forest Avenue
Oakland, CA
4. DONATIONS FOR DANCE ITEMS DELIVERED
Dear CubaCaribe community,
In December 2021 we launched “Donations for Dance,” instead of our usual end of year fundraising campaign solely benefitting CubaCaribe and in May 2023 we finally delivered those donations.
The idea came from Azucena Itule Ramos, as the covid pandemic took a greater toll on those in Cuba. The purpose was to give gently used dancewear to the artists who need it most: those living in the place of origin of our nonprofit, those who inspire, teach and create with us. Over the course of four months we collected gently used dance clothes, shoes, school supplies and money to distribute to dance schools, cultural centers and companies in Santiago de Cuba.
After sorting and packing, the boxes of donations were sent to Miami in April 2022, where they were re-sorted and packaged into plastic bags and new boxes and then shipped via boat to Havana. This process took many months. The boxes were then picked up in Havana, stored, picked up again and sent in large camiones (trucks) in multiple trips to Santiago—which turned out to be very tricky due to the island’s extreme transportation crisis and gasoline shortage!
We chose Santiago de Cuba because it is more isolated than Havana and it is where Ramon, our artistic director, and many other Alayo dancers studied as children and got their start dancing in companies.
Once there, we re-sorted the donations and traveled to different parts of the city and countryside to deliver the items. It was a great honor to meet, talk with and witness the beautiful artists at each site.
The sites included Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA), the National School of Art in Santiago (sister to La ENA, the National School of Art in Havana), which serves children ages 10-18 studying dance and music; four Casas de Cultura via Casa De Cultura Josue Pais Garcia, which are cultural centers that serve all ages; two professional dance companies, Danza del Caribe (Afro-Cuban Modern) and Cutumba (Afro-Cuban Folkloric), both with adult dancers and musicians; and a few local elementary schools in San Luis, a small rural town outside of Santiago.
It was also a full circle moment for Ramón, being able to give back something to the very places he lived and trained.
Our donations were so warmly received and will be used and appreciated by many students and dancers. The experience was incredibly beautiful, moving and impactful for us and we feel energized to make collecting and giving an annual tradition.
So please check your closets and drawers and look for our announcement for new drop-off locations for our 2023 donation drive starting soon
Thank you, community, for your generosity and helping us support children and adults in great need.
Con amor,
Jamaica, Azucena, Amy and Ramón
