This summer Statement Arts is teaming up with the legendary Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center to provide a free summer music and theater program for 50 underserved New York City kids!
The Need:
Many public school students in New York Cities’ underserved communities have little or no access to the Arts. There is a real need to empower underserved, minority and low-income youth through arts education that goes beyond the classroom. Often times when budgets are tight, music and arts programs are the very first things to get cut and sadly, there are many kids in New York City with no music or arts classes at all!
We Can Help…
At Statement Arts, a 501(c)(3) located in New York City, we recognize the importance of a well-rounded liberal arts education and we hope that our new Summer Program, Empower Youth Through Performance, will introduce kids to musical theater, igniting their creative fire. Partnering with the Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Cultural Center, Empower Youth Through Performance will work with 40–50 students, grades 3-6 and 7-9, over the course of two weeks.
We also plan to launch a college prep program for 10 kids!
What We Need & What You Get
Putting on a summer program for 50 kids in NYC is a challenge! All funding obtained for this project will go towards the renting the space, a piano/keyboard, lights, chairs for the final performance for our audience, food for the reception, paying the teaching artists, insurance and if we raise the whole amount, tickets for the kids to see a show on Broadway!
Any additional money raised, will got towards other Statement Arts programs. Whatever you are able to give- $10, $50, or $200, we promise it will make an impact.
Statement Arts would like to offer every student an equal chance to participate at no cost to them.
The Impact
Students who have participated in our programs have had many successes, such as a Bill & Melinda Gates Millennium Scholarship recipient, Honor Roll and National Honors Society members, a Sundance Film Festival participant, and most have gone onto higher learning institutions.
Funding for this and upcoming projects will enable Statement Arts to open a larger umbrella securing more young artists’ education projects, underwriting the cost of mentoring activities, and ensuring a plan that will sustain new projects in 2012 and years to come.
Other Ways You Can Help
Sharing this campaign with your friends can really make a difference. Please help us get the word out and make some noise about our campaign. Like us on facebook, tweet about us, forward our campaign on to all of your friends.
About Us
Statement Arts is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to build self confidence and enrich underserved youth with creative experiences through arts education: Music, acting, dance, photography, visual art, filmmaking and writing. We believe that these arts education channels enhance young people’s intellectual performance and self esteem, enabling them to become ambassadors in their communities.
For the past ten years, our core focus has been the Urban Arts Project, which filled the immediate needs of the art and music programs at the High School of Environmental Studies (HSES), an underserved public school in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen.
For more: http://indiegogo.com/projects/StatementArts
Check out: Q&A With Zahaira Curiel & Liza Politi of Statement Arts
We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at [email protected].
