Dance academy helps collect socks for Las Vegas homeless youth
Bryan Robinson grew up in Las Vegas and didn’t know he could dance. But in high school, a girl showed him he could.
“I had no idea what I was doing,” said Robinson, who founded Youth Dance Academy. “She gave me some tips and tidbits, and after that day, I’ve never looked back.”
Robinson, now 33 and a professional hip-hop dancer, built a career aiming to repay that long-ago kindness.
On Saturday, he and his dance academy gave back to Las Vegas’ homeless children by leading a sock drive and dance workshop at Henderson’s Galleria at Sunset mall.
The academy, which teaches hip-hop dance through online videos, teamed with the Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth to host the drive.
In 2014, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s annual homeless assessment listed Nevada first for the rate of unaccompanied homeless children and youths living unsheltered on the streets.
Lanette Rivera, a Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth communications associate, said youth homelessness is a major community problem.
She called homeless youths the “invisible population” because of a lack of awareness of their plight.
Robinson said he learned of local youth homelessness through Live to Give, a cause-marketing program that helped him partner with nonprofits for past workshops. For Saturday’s event, Robinson asked participants to bring a pair of socks to donate, preferably silly or patterned socks.
Rivera said socks are something most people take for granted, but for homeless children, “it can be the difference between them going to work and school.”
All socks will go to the partnership’s drop-in center, where homeless youngsters can get clean clothing and hygiene products, take a shower and even get a haircut.
“That might be able to impact them so much and lift them up,” Robinson said. “A lot of these kids have barely any socks to put on in the first place.”
Robinson, whose dance name is Butta because “friends say (he’s) smooth on the dance floor,” decided as a high school senior to pursue a professional dance career. He and his friends created ATeamLV, a dance crew, and danced in competitions.
In 2015, Robinson created the dance academy, recalling his experiences learning to dance in high school.
“Why not create an online dance course that allows people to get through the embarrassing moments at home on their own?” he said.
On Saturday, vendors sat at tables in front of the Kohl’s department store inside the mall. At 1 p.m., two hours into the five-hour workshop, they had already gathered 153 pairs of socks. In all, they collected 180 pairs.
Contact Brooke Wanser at bwanser@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Bwanser_LVRJ on Twitter.
ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION
Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth is a nonprofit organization that caters to young people ages 12 t0 21.
Lanette Rivera, a Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth communications associate, said more than 14,000 children in the Clark County School District are homeless. "It really is an epidemic in our community," Rivera said.
She called them the "invisible population," because "they are doing everything they can to hide."
The partnership, headquartered at 4981 Shirley St., provides resources for youth who are couch-surfing, or who have no permanent home. Initiatives include an emergency shelter, a drop-in center with counseling, a hygiene room where youth can shower and get clean clothing, and programs like art therapy.
