The Humanitarian Organization of Latin American Students (HOLAS) raised $7,000 at Locura Latina Nov. 12 to build a children’s nutrition centre in Las Vegas, Honduras, according to the organization’s president.
With more than 500 people attending the organization’s bi-annual fundraiser at the National Gallery of Canada, HOLAS managed to surpass its fundraising goals, said president Carl Karamaoun.
This year, the event focused on raising funds to construct a nutrition centre for children under five to work as part of a new municipal nutrition program in Las Vegas, Honduras, he said.
“Locura Latina means Latin craziness,” Karamaoun said.
The event traditionally includes free salsa dancing lessons, followed by a night of dancing, but this year it included salsa, bachata and Brazilian percussion performances as well, he said.
Since all the profits raised came from ticket sales, HOLAS focused on attracting more kinds of people this year. In order to expand beyond the student body, HOLAS changed the venue from the usual nightclub to the National Gallery of Canada, Karamaoun said.
He attributed the success of the fundraiser to a new advertising strategy. The organization canvassed businesses throughout Ottawa with a Latina background and left flyers with them, as well as sending personal invitations to ambassadors at Latin American embassies.
“We became very innovative and I think one of the large factors was the YouTube videos we did,” Karamaoun said.
The comedic videos addressed reasons why students said they couldn’t attend — including the uptight politics student who couldn’t dance — and spliced in pop music to turn excuses on their head.
“More than anything, you really need to believe in the cause . . . everyone in the group took ownership of the event,” Karamaoun said. “Everyone threw it like they were throwing their own birthday party.”
