Dancing For Clothes

Proposed by Group One: Tanner Betts, Angela

Rasa, Joby Mathew, Seth Embry. Efejiro Nesiama,
John Yan
Table of Contents:
Introduction..
.2
Executive Summary....
..4
Background
information...
.5

The
proposal
.5
The
need.......
................................6
How this event reduces the
need.6
The event......
..7
Budget.

.8
Timeline..
.....................................8
Responsibilities of the
team9
Conclusion and
Authorization
9
Works
Cited
10

Introduction
In January 2013, it was approximated that 610,042 people were
homeless in the United States on any given night. 65 percent of those
people were living in emergency shelters or transitional housing and
35 percent were living in unsheltered locations. One out of four
homeless people were children under the age of 18. 10 percent, about
61, 541 people, were between the ages of 18-24, and 67 percent,
about 410, 352 persons, were 25 and older (AHAR, 2013).
Homelessness has always been a serious issue in America.
There are many different factors that cause homelessness. It can
be caused by tragic life occurrences, such as loss of loved ones, job
loss, domestic violence, divorce, and family disputes. Impairments
such as depression, untreated mental illness, post traumatic stress
disorder, and physical disabilities are responsible for a large portion of
the homeless (Homelessness, 2014). Often times, it is a combination of
the aforementioned conditions.
The number of homeless individuals is decreasing, however they
are still alarmingly high. During the recovery from the Great Recession,
the overall homelessness decreased by 3.7 percent. Thirty-one states
saw a decrease of homelessness, too. However, 20 states saw an
increase of homelessness. In addition, homelessness in different
categories have changed. Certain subpopulations have increased while
others have decreased (State, 2014). The chart below will illustrates
those fluctuations.

The issue of homelessness in the United States has not

gone unseen, however. Social bills such as the HEARTH Act have
placed greater emphasis on permanent supportive housing and
rapid re-housing for homeless individuals (State, 2014). The
number of emergency shelters are steadily on the rise. Federal
funding is at its record highest level in history. HUDs homeless
assistance grants were funded at $2.1 billion (State, 2014).

Unfortunately, an issue still remains. The social bills and federal

funding have helped those who have been, but it does not address
those that are becoming homeless. Many shelters are running out
room to house people. In addition, many of them lack the needs to
properly provide necessities for them. Clothes, food, and medications
are just a few things these people need.
It may not be possible to eradicate these needs, however they
can be alleviated. By providing the needs for non-profit shelters would
allow them to allocate funds into building more housing for those that
are becoming homeless.

Executive Summary:
As employees at Baylor, we enjoy helping people and not just
because its our job but because it gives a feeling of satisfaction and
fulfillment, but we are always wanting to do more. Homelessness had
been a major problem in our metropolis for quite some time, since
2013 the number of homeless individuals has increased by 11.5% and
the number of homeless families has increased by 60%. Many
homeless individuals or families go to the shelter nearby for clothes
and food but the shelters are having a hard time keeping up with the
demand. We decided that we would go even further, and supply up to
6 months of clothing. We picked Austin Street Center because we felt
that their mission statement Austin Street Center is a compassionate,
faith-based organization that provides emergency shelter and services
to homeless men and women in Dallas. Our therapeutic and case
management programs empower those in need to make responsible
choices, create positive change, and obtain economic self-sufficiency,
was powerful and inviting. We would like to host a dance party at
Noahs Venue on September 25, 2015, where the cover charge would
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be $20 per person, but if the person brings a pair of jeans we would
give them a 50% discount. Inside people can dance to thanks to our DJ,
DJ Kawon Jenkins, and eat all the chicken they can thanks to Raising
Canes. We projected that if a total of 550 people came we should raise
around $10,500.00. With that amount we feel that the shelter will be
able to provide not just clothes but other items that they are in
desperate need of.

Background Information:
Efforts to aid such shelters would best be done provincially. In the
Dallas/ Ft. Worth metroplex alone, there are 40+ homeless shelter.
Many of these shelter cater to a specific subpopulation of homeless
people, each having different needs. Many shelters such as Dallas
Bridge exclaim the struggle with providing their residents proper
resources due to the large portion of their budget to creating more
housing (Bridge, 2015).
The most common need for such shelters has been clothing.
Along with the Bridge, Shelter Ministries of Dallas, Austin Street Center,
The Salvation Army, and Genesis Womens Shelter have listed the need
for clothing drives for their shelters. These shelters desperately need
clothing for their residents. It prevents them from exposure to the
elements, especially with North Texas wide variations in weather.
Improper clothing has lead to illness among many and sometimes
death. For those that become ill, it is another added expense for the
non-profit shelters to medicate the individuals back to health.
Clothing is relatively accessible and inexpensive, it would make
an ideal resource to subsidize. By providing proper clothing, people
have a decreased chance of becoming sick. This woud allow the nonprofit organizations to reallocate funds from treating illness to other
prominent issues, such as more housing and food. Though the amount
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saved would be marginal, it can make the difference between a single

persons life. These people are a part of society and must not be
forgotten. There is a social responsibility to help them, and we at
Baylor HealthCare Systems believe we can make a difference through a
simple fundraiser.

The Proposal
We desire to promote a dance party, Dancing for Clothes, at The
University of Texas at Dallas. All students will be welcomed to come.
The revenue from the party, as well as the donated articles of clothing
will all go towards the Austin Street Center to be allocated as they see
fit.

The Need:
Although there are many needs for the homeless, the most
prominent is clothing. They need nice, clean clothes for many reasons.
They obviously need them for warmth, but fulfilling the need of clean
clothes leads to helping other issues they may face. It helps selfesteem, and to not appear homeless. They will get rejected from
many places if people think they are homeless, and a big giveaway is
old, dirty clothes. Having clean clothes also can help them integrate
back into society and get their lives together. They are much more
likely to become employed if they look presentable. They cant walk
into a store with hopes of getting job if they are wearing old, raggedy
clothes.
We plan on solving the need of clothing the homeless by
providing the Austin Street Center with money and clothes. Clothes
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would obviously help the problem, but money allows for more
efficiency in clothing them. People will have two different ways to gain
entry into our party. We will allow them to enter just by paying the
entry fee ($20), but we hope they will take advantage of our discount
by bringing nice, clean clothes. If they bring a quality article of clothing
then will lower the entry fee by 50%. We will use our discretion when
determining whether or not the article of clothing they bring is
acceptable. After the party, we will then donate the profit and clothes
to the Austin Street Center.

How This Event Reduces the Need:

This event will reduce the need because UTD students will be
paying to go to a dance party will all the proceedings going towards
Austins Street Center. It will provide homeless people to be able to
have nice clothing, raising their self-esteem, and will not make them
feel homeless. If they search for a job, they will not appear homeless
with all the money for clothes we plan to raise

The Event:
Dancing for Clothes will be held at Noahs Event Venue, 2251 N
Greenville Ave, Richardson, TX 75082 on September 25 2015 from 8:00
p.,. to 2:00 a.m. As aforementioned, rickets will be sold at the
University of Texas at Dallas at key locations including the Student
Union, the Plinth, and others. There will also be a website available to
purchase rickets. The price will be $20 and up to a 50% discount will be
given to those who donate an article of reasonable, lightly used
clothing. Though the event is being promoted at The University of
Texas at Dallas, students will be allowed to invite guests, so long as the

guest purchase a ticket through our vendors. Tickets will also be sold at
the venue on the night of the event for the same price and clothing
discounts available. Comet cards are required for UT students entry,
however, guests do not need a Comet card, but merely the student
that invited them.
The party will contain music from DJ Kawon Jenkins and catering
provided by Raising Canes. There will also be entertainment, games,
and prizes donated from Austin Street Center and Baylor, including TShirts, sunglasses, water bottles, and more. There willl also be a
speaker from Austing Street Center to inform the participants of the
party and the cause to spread awareness of the issues of homeless
individuals and shelters.
A bar will be available as well. The alcoholic beverages will be
provided by our team, but sold as revenue for Austin Street Center.
Identification will be required to be served. Security will be on site to
prevent mishaps and prevent uninvited guests from entering.
The venue can house up to 550 individuals. The venue contains a
large main hall, where the majority of people will be located during the
party at an open patio. A security team of 5 unarmed men will be more
than adequate of handling such a population and layout of the venue.
The safety of those at the venue is a priority for our team and we will
ensure that everyone has an enjoyable, safe time.

Budget:
BUDGET
Revenue:
Tickets ($20/ticket*max 550 people +/discounts for individuals)
Estimated Alcoholic Beverage Sales
Total Revenue:
Expenses:

~$11,000.00
~$3,000.00
~$14,500.00

Rented Facilities: NOAHs

Hired DJ: Kawan Jenkins
Unarmed Security: 5 man-team
Alcoholic Beverages
Total Expenses:
Net Income:

$4,225.00
$400.00
$600.00
~$2000.00
~7,225.00
~7,275.00

Timeline:
Timeline for Dance for Cloths

September 1st, Meeting with Baylor Hospital (Present our ideas

and talk about the sponsorship)

September 3rd, Meeting with Dallas Regional Chamber (Present

our written proposal and our presentation)

September 11th, Security, MC, Catering (Contact Security, MC,

and Catering for our fundraising event)

September 25th, Fundraising Event (Fundraiser Event at Noahs

Event Venue from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.)

September 27th, Meeting with the Austin Street Center (Meeting
with the Austin street center and discuss our donation)

Responsibilities of the Team Members:

Tanner Betts Leader of Team 1, Created When, Where, Why, How,
Table of Contents, and organized the draft of the team proposal
Seth Embry In charge of coming up with the need and how the event
reduces the need
Joby Mathew Created the cover page and the costs page
Efejiro Nesiama In charge of the background, various graphs,
introduction, and contributed to the works cited
Angela Rasa Came up with the executive summary
John Yan Created the timeline of steps and added input to the
background.
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Conclusion and Authorization:

11

Overall, we are certain that this event will be a success. Hundreds of

people will benefit from after it comes into fruition. And not only will
homeless people be alleviated of their constant struggle, but it will also
raise the awareness amongst UTD and other younger kids; soon we will
carry the burden of caring for our nations unfortunate
homeless.Works

Cited

http://austinstreet.org/index.html
The 2013 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress. (2013,
January 1). Retrieved March 12, 2015, from
https://www.hudexchange.info/resources/documents/ahar-2013part1.pdf
The State of Homelessness in America 2014. (n.d.). Retrieved March
12, 2015, from http://www.endhomelessness.org/library/entry/thestate-of-homelessness-2014
HomeAid. (n.d.). Retrieved March 12, 2015, from
http://www.homeaid.org/homeaid-stories/69/top-causes-ofhomelessness
Rosales, C. (2013, January 12). Dallas Bridge homeless shelter juggles
basic needs of homeless, transition program. Retrieved March 12,
2015, from http://www.dallasnews.com/news/communitynews/dallas/headlines/20130112-dallas-bridge-homeless-shelterjuggles-basic-needs-of-homeless-transition-program.ece

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