The Basics:

Who: This email is dedicated to Bill Rugh, the students of Creative Planet, and our campaign to "Vote for Billy"

What: Dr. Pepper is sponsoring a contest called "Pepper Your Community" and our friend Billy is one of the 23 finalists! He, Michelle Benton, and Santo Ragno run their own non-profit arts school named "Creative Planet School of the Arts." It's a fierce "Fame for K-8" and focuses on at-risk and underprivileged youth. The two winners get $23,000 for their charity and it would be SO WONDERFUL if CPSOA won! The great thing is that it's based on votes at this point...so the more we get the word out and the more you vote, the better chance he has at winning!

Where: http://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/drpepper/getpeppered/vote/index.php (Directions below)

How: You have to be logged into your "My Yahoo" account to win. If you don't have one, you need to sign up for one. Sorry, this is their rules, not ours! However, it takes minutes to sign up for one and seconds to vote! AND, you don't need to create a Yahoo email address to have an ID.
Please go to the following link:
http://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/drpepper/getpeppered/vote/index.php
-Go to the lower link and select "vote for your favorite finalist" -Again, you need to be signed into My Yahoo for this to work. If you do not have a Yahoo ID you may have to sign up first. What's a few minutes to win $23,000!!! -After you've done that, go back to the Dr. Pepper link. -click on "select your favorite nominee" -find Bill R., Duarte, CA and click the white dot next to his photo -then scroll down and hit "submit my vote." After that, you're done and we're that much closer to our goal!

When: NOW, NOW, NOW!!! Voting ends August 11th and winners will be announced August 25th, so you have a LIMITED time to Vote! You can only vote once per Yahoo ID.

Why: Check out the school's website (www.cpsoa.org) to see all the amazing things they do for our community... not only arts and academic education, but they also perform often at the Children's Hospital of LA, they have sung in choral festivals to raise money for homeless shelters, and most recently created a performance in Pasadena that raised $50,000 for kids with AIDS and AIDS orphans in Tanzania. These are some amazing, talented, and powerful
kids... along with a staff of teachers and artists that work for extremely low wages, I can't think of anyone more deserving who will put their prize money to creating more change in the future generations of Los Angeles. Winning this money would be an amazing help for Billy and the school. They could provide more scholarships and financial aid; purchase more dance shoes, books, instruments, and art supplies; and continue to inspire the youth of LA with the minds to create, the hands to build, and the voices to be heard.