How Insomniac’s $105,000 EDC Las Vegas Donation Impacts the Community

“If you would have told me a year ago I would have gone seven months without using meth, I would have said, ‘You’re crazy.’ Ain’t no way I’m going that long without it,” says Boomer. In March, the 21-year-old entered the Shannon West Homeless Youth Center a meth addict who had served time in jail for grand larceny and selling drugs. With no parents, family or friends to turn to, Boomer was on the path to becoming chronically homeless.

“We have kids who would be dancing on the street or dancing wherever, and this gives them a purpose… It is tremendous for us.”

He had already been in five different homeless shelters before entering Shannon West, which was a move that most probably saved his life. Now, Boomer speaks to visitors about the tremendous influence it has had on him. “I love this program. When I came here I didn’t have a birth certificate, I didn’t have a social, I didn’t have an ID, I didn’t have any of those. Since I came here, they paid for all of them,” he says. The best part of all: He just got accepted for a job.

It’s because of its impact in the surrounding community that Shannon West was selected as a recipient of Insomniac’s EDC Las Vegas donation, along with the University of Nevada School of Medicine’s Emergency Medicine Resident Research Fund and the Injured Police Officer’s Fund. Each received $35,000 from money collected from ticket sales. In addition, Culture Shock Las Vegas received $70,000 raised through the first-ever EDC Week Charity Auction.

On October 8, beneficiaries and Insomniac team members gathered in Las Vegas’ Downtown Container Park for the check presentation ceremony, followed by a dance performance from Culture Shock.

Prior to the check presentation, Insomniac staff members received a tour of the Shannon West Homeless Youth Center facilities and spoke with the residents. Jason, 22, recalls exactly what makes the Center so special to him: “[The residents and I] were talking yesterday about how the staff here takes extra time out of their day,” he says. “Sadly, one of them missed their son’s baseball game so he could come down here and make sure everybody got to go to a pool party.” Stories like these make Shannon West a fitting recipient of the EDC Las Vegas funds.

In addition to Shannon West, Insomniac made two donations that directly impact the same people who treat those in need at EDC and ensure the gathering runs smoothly.

Insomniac’s contribution to the Emergency Medicine Resident Research Fund will help residents further their mass medicine research projects and present their findings. “Without these funds, that would be almost impossible,” says Dr. Dale Carrison, Chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Nevada School of Medicine.

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Officer Eric Solano and Nevada Highway Patrol Sergeant Alan Davidson accepted Insomniac’s check on behalf of the Injured Police Officer’s Fund, which raises money for the families of police officers who are injured or killed in the line of duty.

“EDC is probably my favorite event to work,” says Solano. “I truly, truly enjoy working EDC. Everyone’s nice there, compared to some of the other events [at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway].” Not every assignment is as easy, however. Just last year, two police officers—both sole providers for their families—were killed in the line of duty. The Fund was able to financially assist their loved ones with unexpected costs following their losses.

The largest presence at the check presentation was undoubtedly Culture Shock, which brought 35 of its dancers to perform a hip-hop routine. They also presented Insomniac’s Pasquale Rotella with a painting made by the kids. Just like EDC, Culture Shock is celebrating 20 years, during which time it has kept at-risk youth off the streets and away from drugs, violence and abuse and brought them into a world of self-acceptance and love—all through the power of dance.

“We have kids who would be dancing on the street or dancing wherever, and this gives them a purpose,” says Culture Shock Board Member Kathy Speck. One of the organization’s biggest obstacles was finding a permanent practice facility of their own. “This Insomniac grant is tremendous for us,” says Speck. “We’ve never raised more than $10,000 a year, so to get this grant to have a permanent home gets us very excited.”

Kobe Mahabong, 12, has been part of Culture Shock for five years. When asked to describe his life without the organization, he couldn’t muster a single word at first. “This is a dance team that’s actually family,” he explains. In fact, Culture Shock helped him audition successfully for a position as backup dancer in Mariah Carey’s show at Caesars Palace.

Whether it was the dancers, doctors, police officers, or social workers present at the check presentation, every person attending understood the power of people coming together. Just a few months prior, more than 400,000 Headliners came together Under the Electric Sky at EDC Las Vegas. While the festival may be over, the organizations receiving money from the event will continue to spread the same values shared by those Headliners: love, togetherness, and above all else, community.