Main fundraiser photo

Keep LAAD open!

LAAD Board of Directors raising funds to keep LAAD (Lafayette Athletic Association of the Deaf) open.

CLICK HERE TO SEE VIDEO POSTED BY ACTOR JOHN MAUCERE  
 
Dear Friends of the Deaf Community,

As you know, the Lafayette Athletic Association of the Deaf (LAAD) is a small nonprofit organization with  the mission of maintaining a gathering, meeting, and social space for members of our local community, including our Deaf community. We are proud to have been able to do just that for the last 51 years.




Click here for a clip from our 50th Anniversary Gala 


For over 30 years, we have been operating charitable gaming (Bingo) as our primary means of income to support our facilities and activities for our Deaf community. Additionally, we rent out our facilities as a venue for corporate or private functions. Because of the pandemic and economic stresses, our charitable gaming operations and facility rentals are not producing the income they have for decades and we find ourselves in a financial crisis. 

 
Additionally, we rent out our facilities as a venue for corporate or private functions.


During the shutdown, our commercial refrigerator and 7.5-ton air conditioning unit broke down and cost us over $20,000 total to replace. 


The Deaf community owns the facilities that LAAD operates. It is OURS, and to protect our very LAST standing Deaf Club with our own building in the state of Louisiana, the Board of Directors has decided to initiate the restructuring of our organization and invest in our property with needed upgrades to keep the building open. However, this process takes a few weeks and we are in grave danger of having to shut down our gaming operations and lay off 15 hard-working people.

The ongoing construction in front of our property, in which the city is adding a roundabout and a new direct access road to Interstate 10, will ultimately bring more traffic to our facility. To capitalize on this increased traffic, however, we desperately need to purchase a sign to promote our venue and/or events. Additionally, we have several financial obligations coming due, including a significant property insurance premium of over $8,000. We do not know if we will be able to meet our current financial obligations due to the continued volatility of our gaming sessions.

Deaf Clubs all over the country are dying and we refuse to join their ranks. The LAAD building is more than just a building. We built this place to be our safe space, our barrier-free space; this is our HOME.

We ask you to recognize the importance of the space we have created and consider making a tax-deductible contribution to our general fund. We are a federally recognized 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. EIN #72-0989485.

Donations can be sent to us at this mailing address:

Lafayette Athletic Association of the Deaf or LAAD
200 Rue du Belier
Lafayette, LA 70506

For more information about Lafayette Athletic Association of the Deaf: check out our Facebook page, LAAD, or our website at www.laad.net.  

Thank you in advance for any contribution you can make to assure the survival of LAAD which means so much to us. 

Sincerely, 
LAAD Board of Directors

Organizer

Jason Isch
Organizer
Lafayette, LA
Lafayette Athletic Association of the Deaf (Laad)
 
Registered nonprofit
Donations are typically 100% tax deductible in the US.

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