2. Dear Diane,
On September 27th, 2013 you contacted me on behalf of Detour Company Theatre about the
Super Service Challenge- sponsored by Brees Dream Foundation and CWAM.
Detour Company Theatre is a unique theatre company that provides authentic theatre
experiences for adults with developmental and other special needs (deafness, blindness, CP,
autism). Currently, 48 actors and 22 coaches are rehearsing for our January performances of
Hairspray. Many of our Coaches are volunteers.
Your information states you are looking for teams of volunteers from various companies doing
charitable community service work. We recently had a "team" from Wells Fargo paint blocks
for our sets. This was the first time we have had that kind of help. I have asked the team
leader to submit but with a busy work schedule and as an active volunteer of our organization,
I don't know if they will.
We rent space for rehearsals, we sew costumes in our homes, we paint sets at various locations
so we are not set up to have corporate "teams" help us.
More >>>
3. Page 2
We are a non profit and very deserving of the prize money. What we do have are loyal
volunteers,from various backgrounds, that help with our day to day activities which include, but
are not limited to, sewing costumes, writing newsletters, coaching our actors, coordinating and
serving meals before our shows to our actors, helping them dress and apply makeup and
grooming before the shows.
I am also a volunteer. I run the Board Meetings, Sell Advertisement for our Programs, and do
many other administrative tasks. Our Board Members all have different backgrounds and are all
volunteers. They write our grants, provide Sign Language Interpretation, and help with all
aspects of our shows.
The pictures I have attached are from our "Detour on Tour" group. In addition to our full cast
performances, we also have our touring company which is comprised of a smaller part of the
company. These pictures illustrate our volunteers, helping to launch the show "Seussical Jr." in
Sun City, AZ November 17th, 2013. What you don't see is all of the hours it took to put this
show on the road. We performed for over 200 people that day. We provided a unique theatre
experience for them and also delivered our message, about the "different abilities" in all of us.
More >>>
4. Page 3
The 3rd question that was asked is: What would the non profit do if they won part of the prize
money? Detour has many inquires all year from parents of potential actors. Our philosophy is to
not turn anyone away and be inclusive. The space we rehearse in is limiting the number of
people we can serve. Prize money would help pay for rent and allow us space to rehearse, have
an office, storage space, etc. and room so that we could encourage teams of volunteers to help us
with projects. We are primarily a volunteer organization, we would like to hire staff to help us
with our growth. We provide transportation to some of our Actors and our van is in need of
some repairs. Prize money would also help pay for costumes and sets.
I hope the Brees Dream Foundation and CWAM will take into consideration our unique
circumstances. Detour Company Theatre provides opportunities to our Actors that they wouldn't
have otherwise. In addition, our shows are fabulous and we are providing a service to the
community that they wouldn't have had.
Thank you for your consideration and for inviting us to be a part of this challenge.
Sincerely,
Joyce Lefco
Board President
www.detourcompanytheatre.org
