Nominees Gamelion 2015

It is our great pleasure to announce the Gamelion 2015 nominees for charity of the month. One of the following causes will receive this month's donations made by members of Pandora's Kharis. We would like to thank every community member who stood up to pitch their pick for a cause and as our numbers keep growing, we hope for even more causes to choose from next month.


Our Dancing Daughters
Our Dancing Daughters (ODD) is a youth mentorship program that guides, inspires, and transforms under-served and potentially at risk young women in Saint Paul by way of dance and life skills training delivered to them by the qualified instructors of Kamala Chaand Dance Company, Inc. and affiliated individuals and programs. This program is offered free of charge to young women who meet the guidelines outlined in the program.

Our Dancing Daughters is not a religious organization, but leader and Witch Tasha-Rose is assisted by a board made up all Pagans and Witches. Board members include LaDonna Bartol, Laurie “Remedy” Howard, Breana Larson, and Becky Munson, with Tasha-Rose as the Executive Director. Our Dancing Daughters is presently funded largely by private donors. So far they have raised $1,314 of their $10,000 goal on their GoFundMe site. Funding will pay for the scholarships of each of the young women they take on in the program. Donations  also help pay for the necessary filings for establishing us as a Federal 501c3.


Meals On Wheels
Who hasn't heard of Meals On Wheels? The Meals On Wheels Association of America is the oldest and largest national organization composed of and representing local, community-based Senior Nutrition Programs in all 50 U.S. states, as well as the U.S. Territories. All told, there are some 5,000 local Senior Nutrition Programs in the United States. These programs provide well over one million meals to seniors who need them each day. Some programs serve meals at congregate locations like senior centers, some programs deliver meals directly to the homes of seniors whose mobility is limited, and many programs provide both services.

While remarkable, the one million meals per day figure underestimates the size and shape of the Meals On Wheels network and its reach and influence in communities across America. In addition to the hundreds of thousands of seniors who receive meals, there are many thousands of professionals employed at the various local Senior Nutrition Programs across the U.S. More notable than that is the virtual army of two million volunteers who also "work" for these programs.


Do you have a favourite out of these two? Vote for your favourite in our poll. If you would like to donate to any of these, or have other causes to pitch for next month? Come join us as well! We will announce this month's winner on February 10, 2015.