The Celebration of Dance weekend in October, a benefit for the Wischemann Hall Building Fund, was able to raise an astounding $12,719.53!  Many, many thanks to everyone who contributed their time, energy, and most of all their money to make this event happen!

About the Wischemann Hall Building Fund

Wischemann Hall is owned and operated by the Saucy Squares Dance Club, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation.  The land that Wischemann Hall is built on is leased from the City of Sebastopol.  As part of our lease agreement with the City, we are obliged make the Hall ADA-compliant.  In addition, there are other deferred maintenance that needs to be done.

The money donated during the Celebration of Dance weekend will be used to fund these projects:

• ADA interior work (bathroom upgrades)
• ADA exterior work (ramp and parking lot upgrades)
• deferred maintenance for the Hall (pest and dry-rot repair under the building, electrical repair, painting and eventually a new roof)

The interior bathroom upgrade will most likely cost somewhere between $25,000 to $30,000.  This cost factors in volunteers doing what can be done without delaying the project or causing more work.  The cost also may be less due to a club member donating many of the fixtures and materials.

The exterior work (replacing the side door, rebuilding the ramp to meet ADA specs and installing a handicap space) has not been bid on yet, but we believe that it will cost us somewhere in the range of $50,000+.

We have mostly raised the funds for the interior work, and are signing a contract for the work to be done tonight.  We hope to get it started in the coming few months.  However, this project will bring the club’s treasury down to zero, and we hope to be able to replenish it to a much smaller degree with our fundraising.

This fundraising weekend’s goal is to raise the $50,000 needed for the exterior work.  If somehow we are lucky enough to raise more than that, we would use it to do the deferred maintenance, which could cost an additional $25,000 (but isn’t as urgent as the ADA work).