Over the years, The Rainbow Project’s Rhumba 4 Rainbow has become one of Madison’s most interesting and exciting annual fundraisers. Most importantly, money raised throughout the night at the event goes directly to helping young children and families in the Madison community heal from trauma. The Rainbow Project will celebrate 45 years of making an impact at the 21st annual Rhumba for Rainbow on Friday, Sept. 19, 7-midnight at the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center’s Exhibition Hall.
“We started the Rhumba 4 Rainbow fundraiser because we really thought that a fundraiser needs to be fun, and we were very avid salsa dancers at the time. We loved the music,” Sharyl Kato, founding executive director of The Rainbow Project, tells Madison365. “So we just decided that we would try that out. And it was a success …I think there were 181 people at our first event.”
Over the years, Rhumba 4 Rainbow has taken place at many different venues around Madison as it continued to grow and become Madison’s premier charity gala for bringing in talented salsa dancers. Last year, over 750 people attended Rhumba for Rainbow. “So we’ve really grown,” Kato says. “It’s been challenging to raise money while keeping it affordable … we don’t want this event to be just about the bottom line (of raising funds). We want it to be inclusive. That’s why we have three different prices now, and we do sometimes have people paying us with coins for their ticket.”…