February Swing Dance for Charity Helps Give Inmates a Fresh Start

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Feb. 28, 2019 - PRLog -- Savoy South Dance Hall celebrated a late Valentine's Day with their monthly Swing Dance for Charity on Thursday February 21st at Clearwater's Fort Harrison. Dancers turned out to dance to the music of the Flag Band as well as support Criminon Florida. Ninety people attended, filling the Fort Harrison's oval dance floor.

After enjoying refreshments from the buffet, beginning swing dancers were invited to receive a lesson from career dancer Ms. Arleene Bowles of Savoy South Dance Hall. That night, the lesson was all about East Coast Swing, also known as the "jitterbug."

Guests were then introduced to Criminon Florida, represented by their President Brian Fowler and their Vice President Cheryl Caputo.

"Criminon is a criminal rehabilitation program used in 188 prisons and jails in Florida with more than 1,400 inmates learning life skills and basic morals through correspondence courses," said Francisco Leyton the Executive Director for Criminon Florida. "The courses are non-religious in nature and based on the work of L. Ron Hubbard."

Fowler and Caputo both noted the low recidivism rate in those who go through the Criminon program, which was of interest to the attendees. All of the funds donated at the dance that night were given to Criminon to continue their rehabilitation efforts.

After the introduction to Criminon, guests crowded the dance floor to swing to the Flag Band. The Flag Band also provided musical accompaniment for the traditional "Cake Walk".

The March Swing Dance will be held on the 21st and will benefit TherHappy Therapy Services, a non-profit that utilizes hippotherapy (horse therapy) to people with physical disabilities. A donation of $15 includes refreshments, a dance lesson and swing dancing to the Flag Band. The dance lesson starts at 7pm, with open dancing at 8pm to the Flag Band. Partners are not required and experienced dancers will be on hand to assist Ms. Bowles. For more information about the event, please call (727) 467-6860.

The Fort Harrison is the international religious retreat for the Church of Scientology Flag Service Organization, the sponsor of this monthly event.

About the Fort Harrison

Since completing construction in 1926, the Fort Harrison has been the home to many events for charitable organizations. The latest owner, the Church of Scientology, completed a top to bottom restoration of the Fort Harrison in 2009, and since then has hosted over 320 community events there. Scientology is an applied religious philosophy, founded by L. Ron Hubbard. The Church makes its facilities available to non-profit groups as a service to the community.