Dear Potential Sponsor:

The 2008 St. Louis DEAFestival is coming!

The St. Louis Metro Round Table Representatives on Deafness, Inc. (RTR) is a forty-year-old, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization established to serve the deaf community in the metro St. Louis area, consisting of representatives from deaf organizations, clubs, churches and any groups related to deafness. They come together for monthly meetings to discuss and share news between organizations. Since 2005, RTR has been operating a Deaf Community Center. The Deaf Community Center is slowly becoming a place where deaf and hard of hearing individuals can meet their various needs, ranging from simply needing a place to gather to receiving mental health counseling.

RTR is planning an exciting St. Louis DEAFestival on September 6, 2008 at the Muny in Forest Park. The 2008 St. Louis DEAFestival is truly a marriage of history, beauty, and tradition. The Muny dates back to 1916 when the City of St. Louis started constructing the Muny Theatre and, today, the Muny is an example of architectural ingenuity that is surrounded by a vast and beautiful park, Forest Park. The DEAFestival tradition is more than a decade old, yet many of the U.S. cities and states currently host successful DEAFestivals that draw crowds from across the country. We are anxious to provide a similar experience for our area, while at the same time adding the local flavor of St. Louis and Missouri to create a spectacular and unforgettable event.

The aim of the 2008 St. Louis DEAFestival is not only to promote and showcase the talents of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing performers, but also to provide people who may not have come into contact with the St. Louis Deaf Community with a deeper knowledge and greater appreciation for Deaf people and their diverse culture. The 2008 St. Louis DEAFestival is also a great educational opportunity for people to learn of the many services that are available today to assist friends, relatives, and loved ones who are deaf or hard of hearing.

The 2008 St. Louis DEAFestival will be providing booths that advertise a variety of services. The 2008 St. Louis DEAFestival will feature performers who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing to entertain the audience with laughs, tears, and experiences from their own lives. The 2008 St. Louis DEAFestival will also display Deaf history, poetry, and art. For the children, there will be fun activities, balloon entertainers, magicians, face painting, and some entertaining craft projects. We are considering becoming the first DEAFestival ever to provide a dinner theatre featuring Deaf or Hard of Hearing performers. The last time that the St. Louis area had the DEAFestival, it was held at Westport Plaza in 2003 and drew approximately 3,000 people. Thus, drawing on our previous experience, we are projecting that approximately 3,000 to 5,000 people will attend the 2008 St. Louis DEAFestival.

RTR and the 2008 St. Louis DEAFestival would greatly appreciate your 100% tax deductible donation to help this unique festival become a spectacular success next year and to promote free education and awareness regarding the Deaf community and its diverse culture to the general public. It would be our pleasure and our honor to welcome you as a sponsor of the 2008 St. Louis DEAFestival. We believe that, with you as our partner, we can truly make this an event that will forever be remembered around the country. We understand that there is no “one-size-fits-all” solution for sponsorship and, therefore, we have posted additional information that describes the various sponsorship opportunities that are available for the 2008 St. Louis DEAFestival, describes the many benefits of sponsoring the DEAFestival, and describes the audience that the DEAFestival is expected to reach.

Thank you for your time and support and for your consideration of our proposal. Should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact one of us via electronic mail. James Frost can be reached at chair@stldeafestival.org and April Mason can be reached at vice-chair@stldeafestival.org.

We look forward to seeing you become our partner for the 2008 St. Louis DEAFestival and to working with you to see to it that the 2008 St. Louis DEAFestival is truly an unforgettable event!

Very truly yours,

James B. Frost
2008 St. Louis DEAFestival chairperson

April Mason
2008 St. Louis DEAFestival Vice-chairperson