Still looking for something to do on Valentine’s Day? Grab your sweetheart or a group of friends and spend the evening dining and dancing at the Rise and Achieve Foundation’s inaugural event, “Havana Nights,” set for Feb. 14 at the Radisson Hotel in Santa Maria.
Based in Santa Maria, the nonprofit is a mentoring organization that provides scholarships, sports camps opportunities, job training, and self-help aid to local youth.
Every year, the foundation awards a scholarship to one student in the community. Fundraising at the event will go toward providing future scholarships and funding for sports camps and other services.
The foundation recently helped raise money to send two Allan Hancock College students to Washington, D.C., for the inauguration of President Barack Obama.
“We just barely got there,” said Marcus King, who serves as vice president for the college’s Associated Student Body Government. “The $1,000 raised by
[the Rise and Achieve Foundation] was a great help.”
The “Havana Nights” event will feature a live salsa band and DJ. Doors open at 5:45 p.m., followed by dinner at 7 p.m. and the dance at 9 p.m. Tickets for the dinner and dance cost $100 per couple, or $60 per
individual. Tickets to the dance only cost $20 per person. Tickets are available at Anderson Men’s Wear, 192 Town Center East, unit 193, in Santa Maria.
For more information about the foundation and “Havana Nights,” visit riseandachieve.com or call Rise and Achieve founder Ray Anderson at 868-3633.
This article appears in Feb 12-19, 2009.
