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| Arts to Grow Newsletter |
July - October 2009 |
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Dear Friends of Arts to Grow:
This fall marks the beginning of our fifth year! Since 2005, over 150 professional volunteers have helped Arts to Grow create an atmosphere where kids fall in love with learning. We look forward to showcasing their impact with the results of a survey currently underway as a pro-bono project of MarketView Research. A special thanks to all our volunteers! | |
 Summer 2009 Program Shines!!
The Academy Street Firehouse partnership ran through the summer with a six-week theater program. Twenty schoolchildren aged 8-13 worked with teaching artist Kent Jackman to present a montage of poems by Langston Hughes, whose works flourished during the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s.
Students from La Casa de Don Pedro, an organization that runs after-school and summer programs in Newark, were a peer audience for a dress rehearsal of the theater program. Afterward, they attended a brief question-and-answer session with the theater students. On August 13th students presented an outstanding culminating performance to rave reviews by family and community members at the Firehouse theater space in Newark, N.J. "Kent Jackman did an amazing job with the students in such a short time," said Annie Chen, Development Director, Academy Street Firehouse. |
New Partnerships serve young people of all abilities
We are excited to add The Learning Spring School (LSS) in New York City as a new partner. LSS is a place for children on the autism spectrum to learn, grow and belong. Sixty-six students from all five boroughs, aged 5-13, attend LSS. Our pilot partnership will serve each of them. We will offer 30 sessions of arts learning in three 10-week blocks. The first 10-week block, which started in October, will focus on theater. The two subsequent 10-week blocks will teach the children visual arts and then music.
In October, we began partnering with City Access New York (CANY), an organization that promotes community involvement for people of all abilities. Arts to Grow's program is working with adults with developmental disabilities from Brooklyn who participate in CANY's Day Habilitation program. Participant's ages 21-22 years old will convene on Fridays at a vintage facility in Park Slope. Through theater, they will learn skills necessary for employment, such as collaboration, communication, and making eye contact. Teaching artist, Caren Skibell is leading this program that will run for 34 weeks through August 2010.
Arts to Grow is thrilled to embark upon its first program with people who are not school-aged. ATG and CANY see great value in this partnership and are already collaborating on grant writing in hopes of continuing this pilot program far into the future. |
Cross-Promotional Partnership Thrives
Mark is winner of the  prestigious Joseph
Jefferson Award for
Best Choreography
for Swing! and The
All Night Strut.
Geo Hubela, has
danced with some
of the biggest stars
in the music industry
including Britney Spears,
'NSYNC, and Jennifer Lopez. Geo's dance team ICONIC is widely known for their appearance on MTV's Americas Best Dance Crew. Geo and Mark's endorsements will include video and written testimonials and appearances at Arts to Grow events! Welcome Geo and Mark and special thanks to Elizabeth Barry for bringing us all together! | |
Fabulous New Projects
Catchafire selects Arts to Grow as a pilot partner. Arts to Grow is proud to work with Catchafire, an organization that allows non-profits to access skills-based volunteers and makes it easy for professionals to volunteer their skills. For Catchafire's pilot program, ATG has been matched with Kate Porkney, Account Director of Brew Media Relations. Kate is creating a tailored media list and pitching Arts to Grow to select media contacts. The Catchafire program (with a mention of Arts to Grow) is explained in more detail in an article in the Huffington Post.
Telling our story: Videographer Lou Zaccheo has volunteered his talents to Arts to Grow. This fall, Lou is creating a promotional video that showcases our impact in the lives of the kids we serve. The video will debut at our spring 2010 gala and will also be available on Facebook, YouTube and, of course, our website. Lou himself has had a lengthy and prestigious career: he's directed creative services at Comcast Cable and MultiMedia Entertainment and he's overseen advertising and promotion for national daytime talk shows such as Donahue and Sally Jessy Rafael.
Strategic Communications Plan needs boots on the ground.
This summer, under the leadership of Kimberley Jordan, a PR specialist, Arts to Grow completed a comprehensive communications plan. The goal: to raise awareness of our programs. We have 50+ schools and community organizations on the waiting list for our services, but we need more funding and exposure before we can afford to make these additional partnerships. To meet these needs, we're looking for some talented public relations specialists. If you're interested in pitching our story, using social and digital media to expand our sphere of engagement or in finding celebrity spokespeople, please contact Mallory King at mking@artstogrow.org or at
(201) 209-9886.
Founder Mallory King Joins the OpEd Project. The OpEd Project intends to expand women's access to print and digital media. Mallory King, who is an expert in volunteerism and arts education, is honored to take part. She will join a network of determined and talented women who are dedicated to increasing access to media outlets and reshaping the national discussion about public policy. Her first op-ed piece focuses on how professional volunteers make a difference in solving community needs. |
Help Us
Throw a
Spectacular
Party
Preparation for the Arts to Grow 2010 Gala is already underway! Our largest annual fundraiser is entirely volunteer run. We need your talent and time! To get involved please contact our event coordinators overseeing each project. Projects are:
· Venue and Catering
· Silent Auction
· Gala Entertainment
· Corporate Sponsorship
· Gala Buzz
· Ticket Sales
· Design Communications
For Silent Auction, Gala Entertainment and Gala Buzz contact: Michelle Duafala at: michelleduafala@yahoo.com
For Venue/Catering, Ticket Sales and Design Communications contact: Jessica La-Rotta at: jessica.larotta@gmail.com |
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 Donate to Arts to Grow!
In the past year, Arts to Grow has touched the lives of over 300 children. But what if that number were increased to 400? Or a 1,000? Or 1,000,000? Or, what if, over the course of the past year, Arts to Grow had reached just one more child? Would that be significant? One more child learning geometry through painting. One more child discovering the joy of dance. What would be the value in that? Sometimes it's easy to forget the answer: A life touched is a life changed. That's why we ask you to give. Please, make a donation. All donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowable by law.
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| Photo Credits: Marissa Lonardo, Bill Stanton, Katherine Gressel, Lori Spears |
Mallory King
Founder / Executive Director
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| Arts to Grow Newsletter |
July - October 2009 |
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