WASHINGTON — Displaced victims of the deadly Flower Branch Apartments fire and explosion earlier this month have a long way to go toward recovery — and there’s a Zumba-related fundraiser for them this weekend.
The Zumbathon Fundraiser will be on Sunday, Aug. 28 from 1 to 3 p.m. at Washington Adventist University Student Center in Takoma Park, Maryland.
“Zumba is a dance exercise basically,” said Casa de Maryland program specialist Jhosse Rivera. “If you’re not an expert — or if you are an expert — whatever skill level you have of Zumba, feel free to drop by, don’t feel intimidated.”
As the largest pro-immigrant advocacy organization in the country’s Northeast region, CASA has been working closely with survivors of the Aug. 10 fire in Silver Spring, Maryland. Seven people were killed in the fire that displaced 100 with little more than the clothes on their backs.
“It’s going to be a long-term thing for the victims. Down the road they’re going to have more needs,” Rivera notes.
Donations of $20 or more get people in the door of the Zumbathon dance party that will feature expert instructors from around the Metro D.C. region.
“We’re going to have a representative from the Montgomery County Partnership to collect the donations to assure the money gets directly to the victims,” Rivera said.
Participants also can prepay online. Make sure to print or take a smartphone screen shot of the donation receipt to get into the dance party.
