Thank you to all who donated to the Summer FUNdraiser or participated in the Silent Auction. In all, we raised $3,345.00—about 67% of our goal!
To give credit where it’s due: In July, Atomic Ballroom approached PSDF to suggest partnering on this fundraiser benefiting the PSDF Scholarship Program.
For those outside Southern California, Atomic Ballroom—located about 40 miles south of Los Angeles in Irvine, CA—is a dance studio that has been integral to the SoCal dance scene since 2004. The owners, Nikki Klaus and Shesha Marvin, along with Mikey Pedroza, have all been fixtures in the international swing scene for decades and Atomic Ballroom has helped cultivate scores (hundreds?) of well-known swing dancers.
One of the “secrets” of running a successful swing-dance venue or event is: never stop showing up. 20 years is quite a record, but throughout the pandemic, Atomic Ballroom never stopped and in 2021, they hosted an early (vax-only) PSDF fundraiser and release party for “Hummin’ to Myself.”
That was a great experience for all of us so of course we said “yes” when they asked about hosting a fundraiser.
The Atomic team together with board member Nicholas Centino did most of the work to plan and coordinate. On August 23, 2024, Atomic hosted their normal Friday dance, but included contests with entrance fees donated to PSDF and prizes donated by Atomic. In addition, Atomic suggested and facilitated a silent auction, donated an amazing 4-month VIP pass to the auction, used their marketing channels and influence to promote the fundraiser, and allowed us to cajole their customers for a week.
This would not have happened without Atomic and the amount raised potentially covers most of our scholarship costs for California Balboa Classic 2025.
Each of us at PSDF started out as a customer of Atomic Ballroom long before PSDF existed. So it’s a happy convergence of values that we can also recommend Atomic to anyone dancing in Southern California. If you’re visiting from out-of-town, a “normal” night at Atomic might be one of your best swing dance nights all year.