TAMPA, Fla. (Jan. 10, 2017) – The Community Foundation of Tampa Bay has announced recipients of nearly $65,000 in grants that focus on increasing accessibility to arts and culture in south Hillsborough County.
The grants range from community theatre groups and orchestras to arts councils. The grant organizations have deep roots in the community, and they will provide valuable programs and cultural connections for children and parents, particularly those located in south Hillsborough County.
Two longtime Tampa cultural institutions – The David Straz, Jr. Center for the Performing Arts and the Jobsite Theatre – are using the grants to expand their reach to south Hillsborough County.
The Straz Center received a $10,000 grant for its Arts Education Partnerships Program, which makes arts available to kindergarten through 12th grade students. The program, launched in 2007, has partnered with 35 schools to provide more than 3,000 students with access to high quality arts learning experiences.
With this new funding, the Straz Center will expand the program for arts education to include 10 new south Hillsborough County partnerships, which extend beyond schools to such organizations as the Firehouse Cultural Center, the Boys & Girls Club of Tampa Bay and the RCMA Leadership Academy.
In addition, the Straz Center’s Patel Conservatory will provide more than 1,000 hours of tailored performing arts curricula during and after school. Students will learn to create their own original performances and connect with professional touring artists. They’ll also have opportunities to see professional performances through complimentary tickets to attend study-related performances at the Straz Center.
The Jobsite Theatre, the independent resident theater company of the Straz Center, received a $15,000 grant for its efforts to engage underserved youth audiences through the work of William Shakespeare. Jobsite will work with students in middle school through college on its annual Shakespeare productions. Two of the six planned shows have already sold out, with two additional shows also approaching capacity.
The theatre will create study guides for all students along with teaching artists to interact with the students before and after performances. The partnership will also allow Jobsite to offer hundreds of tickets to the theatre’s weekly matinee performances to lower-income schools for little to no cost.
“Our South Shore Council has been an integral part in the Community Foundation’s mission to make arts accessible and help dissolve cultural barriers to improve and enrich lives,” said Marlene Spalten, president and CEO of the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay. “We’re very proud to facilitate these grants to such impactful organizations that truly make a difference in the lives of Tampa Bay residents.”
Additionally, the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay has awarded the following Arts & Culture grants:
• The Tampa Theatre received $10,000 for the ‘Rewind Film Series,’ an occasional series which features the type of movie “you always watch when it’s on TV.” The project will also include a crowdfunding opportunity to be announced in spring 2017.
• The Florida Orchestra was designated $5,000 to provide the free ‘Pops in the Park’ concert series in various outdoor locations in Tampa and St. Petersburg. The concerts will feature programs with pop tunes, film scores, Broadway hits and more.
• The Pelican Players, a community theatre group of 300 volunteer members in Sun City Center, received $20,000 for the installation of a portable sound system.
• The South Shore Arts Council received $3,725 for its High School Student Art Exhibition, which gives South Shore high school students the opportunity to showcase their artwork.
About the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay
Founded in 1990, the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay connects donors, nonprofits, community and business leaders, professional advisors, volunteers and residents to make the maximum positive impact in the Tampa Bay region. For the last 25 years, the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay has been dedicated to making giving easy and meaningful for donors as a way to strengthen nonprofit organizations and build a better, more vibrant community. Since its inception, its donors have enabled the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay to award more than $185 million in grants to nonprofit organizations across the country.