Help the Merry Makers go to the USA
It was a dream of our founder Rosemary Marriott to see her beloved Merry Makers perform in Disneyland – the land where everything is ‘perfect’. Being accepted to perform in this ‘perfect’ place was a poignant and significant moment for the Merries and their families.
Naturally, we would dearly love all the Merry Makers to be a part of the dream in September 2010. However, the final number of participants will be proportional to the level of financial support we receive.
A variety of fundraising events have been planned and we are also looking for lots of silent auction/raffle prizes and the support of the wider community would be warmly appreciated.
For further information, please phone 1300 668 276 or email merrymakers@merrymakers.com.au.
DIARY DATES
Friday - 23rd July 2010
Girls Night Out
Blacktown RSL Club
Second Avenue, Blacktown
7.00pm
Fun, fashions, jewellery and accessories!
Cost: $25pp includes champagne on arrival, light supper, lucky door prizes, etc.
Bookings essential - please phone Miriam on 0414 185 481
Sunday - 1st August 2010
The Merry Makers have been invited to dance at Disneyland and in the US. It will be the trip of a lifetime for this inspirational dancing troupe and a massive opportunity to show how much can be achieved by people with disabilities when they are given the chance to shine.
For people who share the Merry Makers love of dance and their ability to rise to any challenge, we invite you to dance for a day to raise money and help the Merries inspire others around the world.
Registered Charity CFN15586, Merry Makers Australia is endorsed by the Australian Taxation Office and all donations are tax deductible.
On August 1, a team of professional dancing teachers will teach people of ALL ages– from beginners to advanced dancers– routines from hip-hop to salsa. If you or your friends would like to be a part of this great day and be sponsored to Dance 2 Disney please register to dance by emailing your interest here.
How it works
Ask your family, friends and work mates to sponsor you to meet the challenge of learning dance routines for up to 4 different genres to raise funds for the Merry Makers. You can dance for 1 session or 4, and be included in the team dance off at the end of the day. It’s your challenge and it will be loads of FUN!.
Community Dance Programs
Thousands of children, adults and their families across Australia, we know, would love to be involved in a dance program like the Merry Makers. After our documentary The Music In Me aired on ABC TV, we received floods of inquiries from people longing for a similar experience.
It’s always been our dream that every person with a disability, no matter where they live, be able to participate in an organisation such as ours. Yet as a voluntary organisation, we know there is no way we could take on the mammoth task of setting up similar bodies wherever there is a need, however much we’d like to.
Instead, however, we can encourage and support people taking our example and establishing their own form of dance program within their community. The structure and format may vary depending on local needs, for instance within Special Schools, within existing local dance schools as an additional class structured for people with disabilities, or, like with Merry Makers, in a community hall with the support of parents and volunteers.
In this regard, Merry Makers Australia is extremely grateful to the Sydney Community Foundation (SCF) for providing funding to assist with this project to establish these community dance programs. This precious grant was made out of the Neil Cocks and Kellan Kent subfund which was established in memory of Neil and Kellan to assist children with learning disabilities.
The first step in this project was a Master Class in The Showroom of Hornsby RSL Club on Sunday, 26th October, subsidised by the SCF grant. This brought together all interested parties from the wider Sydney metropolitan area and beyond. Using our extensive waiting list, parents, students, teachers and volunteers were invited to watch an on-stage rehearsal followed by a performance of favourite dances in costume. The Merries then joined their special guests for afternoon tea.
It was an incredibly successful day and the Merry Makers were overwhelmed by the response, and enthusiasm, of the would-be Merry Makers. Many parents in the audience watched, moved to tears by the emotion, as their children joined the Merry Makers on stage in the Master Class.
As successful performers with disabilities, the Merry Makers are outstanding role models and the impact of the Master Class was immediate. We are extremely proud to announce the establishment of the following dance groups:
DanceAbility in the Eastern Suburbs
Please contact Lucy Ricardo on 0418 608 033. Website: www.danceability.com.au
Dance Chance on the North Shore
Please contact Pam Timmins on 9456 1165 or email dancechance@live.com.au
Dance Oolites in the Lower Blue Mountains
Please contact Melanie Coid on 0414 518 939. Website: danceoolites.com
CONGRATULATIONS to DanceAbility, Dance Chance and Dance Oolites! What an amazing effort in such a relatively short space of time! All of us at Merry Makers wish you every success. We just know it will be a most rewarding experience for everyone involved.
A gift “starter pack” including red and blue wristbands to help everyone tell their right hand from their left – introduced by the Founder of Merry Makers, Rosemary Marriott AM, and still used today – was given to each group and we are delighted they will be using the Marriott Method of “red for the right” and “blue for the left” as part of their dance teaching programs.
The Merry Makers’ dance program brings along with it confidence, the ability to focus and concentrate, a purpose, a sense of achievement and, most importantly, much laughter. Merry Makers Australia will continue to work with individual groups to help the establishment of community dance groups.
