Arts In Action: The 10 Weeks Festival—Week 5
I have had many people ask me why Arts in Action: The 10 Weeks Festival is donating half of the money raised during the festival to a fund that is not arts-related i.e. the Care to Learn Fund. I think Randy Russell, senior program officer at the Community Foundation of the Ozarks and life-long supporter of arts and education, answered that question over the weekend with this quote:
“Children can't focus on the arts if they don't have their basic needs met first.”
The Care to Learn Fund is set up to meet those basic needs. Donations to the Care To Learn fund are now matched 4 to 1 by several benefactors. That means if Arts in Action: The 10 Weeks Festival raises its goal of $10,000, $5,000 will be given to the Care to Learn Fund. With the 4 to 1 match, the $5,000 will become $25,000 to meet the emergency hunger, health and hygiene needs of students in Springfield Public School, grades K-12. Donations are used entirely to cover student needs - no salaries or administrative costs are paid from donor contributions.
The other half of the raised funds will go into a new Arts in Education endowment that will help fund art programs that area organizations offer to schools. Many arts organizations already offer free performances, field trips, workshops and classes to area schools and this fund would help sustain those programs as well as new programs for years to come.
There is no better time to give just $1 to support these funds so that children in our public schools have every opportunity to live healthy and enriched lives. The festival has already raised over $4,000 with over six weeks left to go.
Here are the arts events this week that you can attend to give your $1:
Columbinus – Vandivort 2nd Stage
Vandivort 2nd Stage
April 9, 10, 11 at 7:30 p.m.
Disney’s Mulan Jr. - Springfield Little Theatre
Landers Theatre
April 9 & 10 at 7:30 p.m.
April 11 at 2:30 PM and 7:30 p.m.
April 12 at 2:30 p.m.
The God Committee – Vandivort Center Theatre
Vandivort Center Theatre
April 9, 10 and 11 at 7:30 p.m.
The Skinny Improv Mainstage Show
The Skinny Improv Theatre
April 10 & 11 at 10 p.m.
The Trip to Bountiful – Swan Repertory Theatre Company
The Skinny Improv Theatre
April 9, 10, 11 at 7:30 p.m.
Event descriptions as well as an easy way to give your donation online can be found at the10weeks.com.
Leah Hamilton Jenkins, Arts Sustainability Coordinator for the Arts Programming Sustainability Initiative (APSI) a.k.a. Arts in Action
