Over the years, The Rainbow Project’s Rhumba 4 Rainbow has become one of Madison’s most interesting and exciting annual fundraisers. Most importantly, money raised throughout the night at the event goes directly to helping young children and families in the Madison community heal from trauma. The Rainbow Project will celebrate 45 years of making an impact at the 21st annual Rhumba for Rainbow on Friday, Sept. 19, 7-midnight at the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center’s Exhibition Hall.
“We started the Rhumba 4 Rainbow fundraiser because we really thought that a fundraiser needs to be fun, and we were very avid salsa dancers at the time. We loved the music,” Sharyl Kato, founding executive director of The Rainbow Project, tells Madison365. “So we just decided that we would try that out. And it was a success …I think there were 181 people at our first event.”
Over the years, Rhumba 4 Rainbow has taken place at many different venues around Madison as it continued to grow and become Madison’s premier charity gala for bringing in talented salsa dancers. Last year, over 750 people attended Rhumba for Rainbow. “So we’ve really grown,” Kato says. “It’s been challenging to raise money while keeping it affordable … we don’t want this event to be just about the bottom line (of raising funds). We want it to be inclusive. That’s why we have three different prices now, and we do sometimes have people paying us with coins for their ticket.”
The Rainbow Project, located on Madison’s near east side, is a child and family counseling and community resource clinic that provides a full range of prevention, early-intervention, crisis-response, and treatment services to families with young children (infants through 11 years of age) who have experienced trauma, such as child abuse, child sexual abuse, neglect, domestic violence, and community violence. The clinic has served over 30,000 children and adult caregivers.
As founding executive director, Kato has been involved in this work since the very beginning — for an incredible 45 years now. “I tell people, though, that I started when I was nine years old,” she laughs.
Rhumba for Rainbow is the organization’s signature event and biggest fundraiser. The night features a wide array of unique activities, including a professional Latin floor show, a local celebrity dance challenge, an open salsa dance challenge, a silent auction, live music by Colon y Mas, a fashion contest, and the presentation of the Extra Mile Awards to those in the community who go above and beyond for children and families in the Madison area. Rhumba for Rainbow will also feature performances by Gio & Gaby Ochoa, Barrio Dance and Salsabrositas.
The 2025 Celebrity Dance Challenge contestants will include Chloe Morrissey, weekend anchor and reporter for WKOW 27 news; Kristine Rodriguez, deputy sheriff for the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office; Danessa Bishop, vice president market manager & branch strategy for Park Bank; Melissa Ratcliff, a Wisconsin state senator; Karina Araujo Sierra, a first-grade teacher at Nuestro Mundo School; and Tabitha Bland, a weekend anchor and reporter at WMTV 15 News.
The annual Rhumba for Rainbow supports all of the work of The Rainbow Project. Tickets are on sale right now, as well as sponsorship opportunities at a variety of levels.
“We do have a special sponsorship level for programs, and so what we have developed is the children of violent homes as a priority, as well as the rapid response, which is really to be able to have the right service at the right time,” Kato says. “Research shows that if you can get in before the first three to four weeks in terms of a crisis, you don’t necessarily have to do the therapy. What you need is stabilization. And if you can stabilize, especially the young children and their caregivers, you can really prevent future post-traumatic stress disorder. And so that’s the kind of funding that we need.”
Programs developed by The Rainbow Project have been proven to break the cycles of family and community violence by focusing on addressing trauma in the lives of young children.
“What I really love about my job is when you’re collaborating within your team, and then when you’re collaborating in the community, you meet the most inspiring people … people who really get it. And you no longer feel alone,” Kato says. “When all those things happen right, it’s like this work of art that you can’t believe.
“I love seeing those success stories, too. There are kids that I know who are now at the University of Chicago who were valedictorians at their high school graduation. These are kids who were in serious trauma, and yet now they’re at Smith College, or they’re graduating with their master’s degree,” she adds. “Because we’ve been around so long, we can see those longitudinal changes, and that part of it is very rewarding.”
At the event, The Rainbow Project will also present Extra Mile Awards to Amigos en Azul, Dan and Lindsay Rees, Fiona Finger, Woodland Montesorri School, Mad City Techs, and Ascendium Education Group.
“I think for us all this is a celebration that is needed at this time. It’s a fun event and it’s great networking, and it is really celebrating the successes of everybody. Some of these donors are amazing … they’ve been giving since the beginning of time,” Kato says. “Rhumba 4 Rainbow is about coming together to celebrate the success of the families. It is unbelievable how these folks have the courage to come forward, They have a lot of trust in the organization.
“We’ve been able to serve over 27,500 children and families and help them recover from trauma,” Kato continues. “I think it’s important today to celebrate their success and celebrate the programs. We’re proud of the things that we have been doing for 45 years.”
