With today being Valentine’s Day, we wanted to take a moment to shine a light on those who have taken our motto of “Keep Performing Arts in Your Hearts” to the next level.
As previously mentioned, The Lightning Foundation honored our founder Bill Edwards with the Lightning Community Hero Award during the January 9th game against the Boston Bruins. With this recognition, Bill Edwards Foundation for the Arts was honored to receive a $50,000 donation from the Lightning Foundation and the Lightning Community Hero Award Program, presented by Jabil. This donation will go toward supporting the Bill Edwards Foundation for the Arts mission and programming, such as Class Acts and their live performances, BAM! Festivals, and community outreach.
Just a few weeks later, the St. Petersburg Police Chief and Mayor Ken Welch distributed over $82,000 worth of asset forfeiture funds to 22 community- based programs in the area, with Bill Edwards Foundation for the Arts and the Class Acts program being two of the recipients. Asset forfeiture funds come from the seizure of money/assets involved in local criminal activity in the past year. This grant will allow more kids to be brought out to experience the arts through field trips and summer camps that provide opportunities for today’s youth to access their creativity outside of a typical classroom environment.
And to close us out, Crown Automotive Charities / Hawkins Family Foundation gave a $35,000 grant towards Bill Edwards Foundation for the Arts’ youth education program, also known as Mahaffey Class Acts program. Spearheaded by Angela Hawkins, a member of the Mahaffey Leading Ladies, and Kevin Hawkins, this grant will go toward making sure students are able to attend live performances and field trip days at no charge. We cannot thank them enough for their support!
These spotlighted donors, along with the generous donations of members of Bill Edwards Foundation for the Arts and members of the community at large, make it so students can experience the arts, and arts educational activities, at no charge. For more information on how to contribute, call us at 727-300-2000 or email membership@themahaffey.com.
Remember, Keep Performing Arts in Your Hearts!
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