Giving Tree Program Returns to Help Underserved Students

The Sandler Center for the Performing Arts, in conjunction with the Sandler Center Foundation, is excited to announce the second annual Giving Tree Campaign. All donations to the Giving Tree go directly to ACCESS the ARTS ticket funding. The ACCESS the ARTS program is driven by a passion to reach Title I students in Hampton Roads who might not otherwise have the opportunity to experience the great works of music, dance and theater.

The Sandler Center Foundation developed this innovative program to reach at-risk and underserved students in Title I schools throughout Hampton Roads. Funding provided by this program assists Title I schools in our region with the costs associated with arts education programming at the Sandler Center. In Virginia Beach alone, 13 Title I schools have at least 40 percent of their students receiving reduced lunches and living in low-income conditions. In some schools, this number is as high as 80 percent. In its first year, the ACCESS the ARTS program provided funding for 1,960 elementary school-aged students (grades K-5) to attend matinee education programs at the Sandler Center. In its second year, the program reached 3,023 students – a 54 percent increase!

The second annual Giving Tree Campaign allows donors to send an individual student or a busload of children to performances at the Sandler Center. For more information about the program, visit www.sandlercenter.org/accessthearts or visit the Sandler Center box office.

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