Community Organization Robbed!
I was planning to post about an upcoming event organized by DIVAS (Digital Interactive Visual Arts Sciences) for Social Justice, a community organization that is working out of the Magnolia Tree Earth Center at 677 Lafayette Avenue. On December 1st, the organization was planning an event called, “Imagery & Its Power” and it was billed as “a presentation about the original use of the N-word in its historical context using visuals, DVDs, and a PowerPoint presentation to engage youth and adults in an open, honest, and historically revealing interactive discussion.” For more information about the event, visit the forum by clicking here.
Unfortunately I just received some bad news from DIVAS:
“On Wednesday, it was discovered that the DIVAS workspace, out of the Magnolia Tree Center on Lafayette Avenue, was broken into and robbed. All of the equipment save the TV was stolen, 5 iMacs, digital cameras, even the vacuum cleaner. So now, a mere three weeks after DIVAS received its 501c(3) status from the IRS, the group is forced to start over.”
Someone stole the vacuum cleaner? How much do you wanna bet that the guy who did it never vacuumed a day in his life?
This would be horrible at any time of year, but it seems especially heartbreaking because it has happened around the holidays. So as a result of the callous knuckle-headed grinches who roam our streets and rob our community centers, DIVAS is in dire need of donations (both monetary and equipment). Any donations you make would be tax-deductible. You can contact the co-founder, Clarisa James, at diva4justice@gmail.com and she can let you know the best way to assist them at this time. They’ve set up a PayPal account for donations as well. To learn more about this organization, visit their website at www.divasforsocialjustice.org.
27 November 2009, 9:50 pm
Thank you for posting this. We are extremely broken hearted because someone robbed our children not us.
28 November 2009, 10:00 am
This is terrible how did they get in?
28 November 2009, 10:30 am
It wasn’t clear from the email. Maybe Clarisa can provide additional details.
28 November 2009, 10:48 am
We have no idea! There was no forced entry to our office door but the door we had was very cheap and a cheap lock. We had previously expressed to the Magnolia Tree Center that we wanted another door prior to this theft. The center is considered a historical landmark and has recently been undergoing construction. We have never had any issues with the people we share the building with. We are unaware of what kind of access the outside group that’s doing the construction had. If you know anyone that would volunteer to help install a new door please contact me.
28 November 2009, 5:40 pm
Maybe you should have a basic alarm system installed and possibly a gate in front of the door that already exists .Did the laptop have gps tracking system in then you can at least track them down but not the vacum