REACHING FOR THE ARTS INC
This organization has already been registered
Someone in your organization has already registered and setup an account. would you like to join their team?Profile owner : d****y@r****************s.o*g
Mission Statement
The logo is an artistic representation of the name of the organization, Reaching for the Arts. It was designed by a middle school student.
About This Cause
The mission of Reaching for the Arts is to bring performing and visual arts distinction to New York City youth by affording them the opportunity to learn, practice, and perform with professional artists in order to showcase their talents citywide and beyond. Reaching for the Arts (“RFA”) programming fills a gap in arts programming for middle-school aged children. It provides New York City youth with out-of-school programs that help them develop the skills they need to apply to specialized high-schools in New York City. RFA provides students with opportunities to enable them to meet and exceed the requirements for applying to specialized high school programs (for which the admissions process is very competitive) and to be successful in the field of performing arts. RFA programs help students work and interact in a community and to build the interpersonal life skills needed to be successful in high school, college, and when working with peers in any profession. RFA gives students an outlet to explore their creative side and provides opportunities for them to think in new and abstract ways. The programs RFA provides in order to meet these goals are Strings & Percussion, Visual Arts, Portfolio Instruction, Private Lessons, Choir, and Drama. RFA's initial target market lives in or near the Amsterdam Houses of the New York City Housing Authority ("NYCHA") --literally in the shadows of Lincoln Center. 2,727 persons reside in the Amsterdam Houses based on NYCHA data and NYCHA's "Special Tabulation of Resident Characteristics" reports 17.8% of residents in its Manhattan public housing households are children between the ages of 6 and 17. When that rate is applied to the population of the Amsterdam Houses, we estimate a market size of 485 students. Residents of public housing in New York City are of low and moderate income with an average gross income of $24,499; however, based on 2010 Census data, 29% of the population of 2010 Census Tract 151 (which includes the Amsterdam Houses) have household income below $15,000. RFA works most directly with the students of P.S. 191 and statistics published by the NYC Department of Education, report 71% of P.S. 191 students qualify for free lunch; over 80% are Black or Hispanic, 24% have Individualized Education Plans, and 8% are English Language Learners. Additionally, Reaching for the Arts is partnering with a special needs school in the area and, over the longer term, will expand to other schools and community centers in the area.