Hartford Stage Receives Significant Grant from SBM Charitable Foundation
$100,000 Given to Support Education Outreach Programs
September 24, 2008/Hartford, CT. . . SBM Charitable Foundation, Inc. has awarded Hartford Stage a $100,000 grant to support its InterACT and Connections educational outreach programs for the 2008-2009 school year, increasing last year's support and bringing their total giving to the theatre to over a quarter of a million dollars since 2004. The Foundation was established in 2000 by Connecticut Bancshares, Inc., the parent company of the former Savings Bank of Manchester, and focuses its giving towards enhancing the lives of those who live and work predominantly East of the Connecticut River. The generous gift, a significant increase over last year's grant, will underwrite InterACT for students in Manchester and Vernon/Rockville, and bring Connections to elementary school students in Manchester and East Hartford.
Hartford Stage Education Director Jackie Coleman says of the grant, "SBM Charitable Foundation's continued support of our education outreach programs truly enhances the lives of young people living in eastern Connecticut. The Foundation's meaningful increase this year is a testament both to its generosity and to the success of our programs in transforming the lives of local youth through literacy and the arts."
Hartford Stage provides the InterACT program at no charge to local middle and high schools, primarily in districts where students have limited exposure to the arts and live theatre in particular. Over 700 students will participate in InterACT in the 2008-09 school year. Through InterACT, each student experiences three MainStage productions at Hartford Stage and a series of in-school, pre and post-show workshops that explore related themes. The program's primary objectives are to encourage an appreciation for and understanding of theatre; cultivate sophisticated audiences of the future; develop critical language, life, and work skills; foster teamwork and creativity; and make theatre accessible to students who could not otherwise attend.
Connections is a literature-based in-school residency program for grades K-8. For five consecutive days, a Hartford Stage teaching artist visits the classroom to lead drama activities based on a work of literature chosen by the school. Using theatrical techniques such as improvisation, role-play, tableau, pantomime and text analysis, the teaching artists engage students as both participants and audience members. Each student receives his or her own copy of the book at the end of the residency, satisfying the anticipation to read the story that Connections has created. In the 2007-2008 academic year, 5,700 students from fifty Connecticut elementary and middle schools participated in Connections.
The SBM Charitable Foundation, Inc., perpetuating the vision of the former Savings Bank of Manchester, is committed to bettering the lives of those who live and work predominantly East of the River in Hartford, Tolland, and Windham Counties. Priorities established for the Foundation's giving are Health, Human Services, Education, Housing, and the Arts.