Ride for Refuge fundraiser in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver
Following on the heels of their successful IndieGoGo social media-based fundraising campaign for the 2012 North American tour of She Has A Name, Burnt Thicket Theatre and Raise Their Voice are bringing the Ride for Refuge bicycling event to Calgary October 15.
“Our IndieGoGo campaign was an overwhelming success. We raised $10,500, surpassing our original objective of $10,000,” says playwright Andrew Kooman. “It really gives us momentum as we work to secure finances to hire our actors and production crew.”
The event aims to build movement against child sex slavery and human trafficking.
Ride for Refuge is a family-friendly cycling fundraiser that supports those who are displaced, vulnerable and exploited. Burnt Thicket and Raise Their Voice are organizing the first ever Ride for Refuge events in Alberta. The event started in 2004 and now occurs in 30 cities across North America.
The Calgary event features 10-kilometer and 25-kilometer rides and is set for downtown along the scenic Bow River. “Our goal is to raise $15,000 at each ride and to have people ride in each city where the play will tour,” explains Stephen Waldschmidt, director of the 2011 world premiere of She Has a Name.
“We’re looking for people to ride with us, form their own teams, or join the teams already created. It’s easy to sign up online, and each event includes a lunch after the Ride. Our goal is to have 60 people, each raising $250 in pledge money to meet our $15,000 goal in each city,” says Waldschmidt.
“They will be great days to ride on behalf of the oppressed, and to raise money for the She Has a Name tour, which we see as an effective means to build the movement to end the injustice of child sex slavery and human trafficking, globally,” adds Kooman.
Donations to Burnt Thicket given through the Ride will be divided with 70 per cent going to the She Has a Name tour, eight per cent to the teams’ relief efforts for poor and oppressed women, children and refugees, and the remainder to cover event expenses.
Burnt Thicket and Raise Their Voice plan to stage She Has a Name across Canada and in select cities in the United States, including stops in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, San Francisco, Denver, Chicago, Grand Rapids and New York among other locations. Supporters are invited in eight of these cities where local Ride for Refuge events are being held.
In addition to the IndieGoGo and Ride for Refuge fundraising campaigns, Burnt Thicket and Raise Their Voice are using a multi-faceted approach that includes corporate sponsorship, private donations, gifts in kind and other special events to raise the necessary funds to bring the production to 13 North America cities from April to October 2012.
For more information, visit rideforrefuge.org.
Category: Events
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