Vancouver Tap Dance News

Vancouver Tap Dance Society - Imagining Home

 

To our VTDS Family,

I have just come from a meeting with our new fundraising committee and I feel really pumped. As you may know, our home is for sale. In the short term, this situation threatens the stability of our rental and in the long term threatens the very existence of the studio which we have called home for 12 years.

We can't let that happen.

Our offer to buy the studio was accepted and our new committee is packed with excellent people who have opened a small, but significant window of time to come up with the down payment we need. Already we have raised $20,000 in donations from our board and committee members.

That is just the beginning. Today marks the start of a broad-based capital campaign to secure this humble building for the hoofers of the future. It may surprise you to hear this, but our intimate family of tap enthusiasts is the largest tap studio in Canada and we are the only tap academy that infuses students with a love for tap and its inspiring heritage. That is reason enough to keep the studio standing.

But the building also has a cool history. Evelyn Ward opened this studio in 1945 and at least 200,000 dancers and baton twirlers have been through it since. If we don't buy this building, it will either be torn down or become a paint store. The 66 year legacy will die and we would become homeless.

Just when we were getting started.

Our executive director, Sas grew up in the neighbourhood and she remembers putting her nose up against the studio window and dreaming about what it would be like to actually take classes there. But with the family resources not able to support this, she knew it was a pipe dream. Since she founded VTDS in 1995, we have opened the door to thousands of students. The Tap Society doesn't leave the kids standing at the window. Everyone is welcomed and we find a way to make it work for every child. With so many kids coming from this neighbourhood now, it would be terrible to close. We need that home.

We are coming to you because we know you know us.

We have taught you or your children the shuffle stamp. Maybe we entertained you at our shows. We are pretty sure we touched you. Our first goal is to raise $75,000 so that we can show the bank we mean business. Once they see that, they will finance our mortgage. A successful drive will also enable us to approach corporations and granting bodies who will then consider matching the funds or becoming major sponsors.

Please help us preserve our heritage and secure our future.

We know there are many competing cries for help out there. We hope we have made a case for ours. We need a home for tap dance and, really, so do you.

We have set up various ways for you to contribute. You click on Donate Now, or you can mail or drop off a cheque at the studio. A tax receipt for the full amount will be issued for all donations; Charity #890862238RR0001. "We are grateful for all your donations and will recognize it by posting your name on our "Friends of Tap" wall in the studio reception area.

Yes, I want to help our little studio thrive!

• I pledge $25-$99 "Single Time Step"
• I pledge $100-$299 "Double Time Step"
• I pledge $300-$499 "Triple Time Step"
• I pledge $500-$999 "Single Wings" - name in year end program
• I pledge $1000-$ 2499 "Double Wings" - name in festival and year end programs
• I pledge $2500+ "Over the Top" + name in year end, festival and annual report &
  2 tickets to a 2011 festival performance ($96 value deducted from tax receipt).

You can also pledge to give a specified monthly amount - sustaining members will also receive benefits assigned to the above levels. Please contact VTDS for information on our sponsorship package. If you can think of any friends or family who may also be tap friends, we respectfully ask you to forward our request to them. We hope this campaign will go viral.

With appreciation,
Karen Gram
President
Vancouver Tap Dance Society