Yesterday, Rich Thomas, Insomniac’s Vice President of Culture and Content, visited Chaparral High School to celebrate the $70,000 donation to Communities In Schools of Southern Nevada, fundraised during the 2019 EDC Las Vegas Charity Initiative. Thomas shared an inspiring speech to the CIS Academy Class, touching on his career and personal journey and how passion and focus led him to where he is today – working with like-minded individuals for the world’s largest music festival brand.
CIS Executive Director, Cheri Ward, CIS site coordinators and staff, Insomniac’s Vice Pres. Rich Thomas
“It was an honor to spend the morning yesterday at Chaparral High School and meet the amazing young adults in the CIS Academy Class,” says Thomas. “Insomniac and Communities In Schools of Southern Nevada share a very similar passion for creating environments where people can feel happy, welcomed, comfortable in their own skin, and surrounded by others who could very well be going through similar life events. To be seen for who you are and be lifted up by a community that believes in you is priceless and rare, and we feel very privileged to contribute to CIS’s mission through our EDC Las Vegas Charity Initiative.”
Prior to Thomas’ classroom visit, he stopped by the CIS Resource Room located on campus at Chaparral High School and met with CIS Site Coordinators, affiliates, partners and Chaparral administrators to discuss what the donation means to Insomniac and presented them with a custom totem that represents unity and togetherness, that stated “All Are Welcome Here.” During the discussion, a current Chaparral High School student shared her personal story and discussed the challenges and hardships she faced prior to joining Communities In Schools of Southern Nevada. The hands-on help from the Site Coordinators and affiliates led her to getting back on track to graduate high school, ace the ACT, and receive interest from several colleges around the country.
The money raised through the EDC Las Vegas Charity Initiative will primarily assist with the CIS Academy Classes at both Chaparral High School and Sunrise Mountain High School and will support Communities In Schools of Southern Nevada’s mission to provide students in Nevada with the correct tools, advice, mentorship and guidance they need to stay in school and achieve in life.
Chaparral High School CIS Academy Class and Insomniac’s Vice President of Culture & Content, Rich Thomas
During EDC Las Vegas 2019, Headliners donated to the charity initiative to enter in on sweepstakes and auction packages that offered premium VIP experiences in addition to exclusive meet and greets with some of the biggest artists on the 2019 EDC Las Vegas lineup.
Now in its fifth year, Insomniac’s annual EDC Las Vegas charity campaign has raised over $500,000 for local Las Vegas charities and continues to recognize charities and non-profit organizations that effect change in the areas of children and families, law enforcement and first responders, education, sustainability and environmental awareness and self-care and harm reduction.
For more information on EDC Las Vegas, visit edclasvegas.com. For more information about Communities In Schools of Southern Nevada, visit cisnevada.org.
About Communities In Schools of Southern Nevada
Communities In Schools of Southern Nevada is an affiliate of the nation’s leading dropout prevention organization, proven to keep students in school and on the path to graduation. We use an evidence-based model, implemented by trained site coordinators deployed directly in low income K–12 schools. In these schools, site coordinators connect students and their families to critical educational and community based resources. Operating in 53 Title I schools in Las Vegas, CIS serves over 58,000 students locally by keeping kids in school, doing whatever it takes to eliminate barriers, and never giving up on anyone.
For more information, please see our website http://www.cisnevada.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.