Annual Appeal 2009-2010
Dear Friends:
George Bernard Shaw said, "Without art, the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable." At the Huntington Arts Council, we strive to fulfill our goal of "bringing art to life" in order to ensure that we as a community benefit from seeing and hearing art in all its forms. The affirming effect of a painting of Lloyd Harbor, or of reading Walt Whitman's poetry, or to experience live music and theater is something that has made Long Island a special place.
The financial climate has increased the challenges we face in providing you the services and opportunities to which you have become accustomed from the Huntington Arts Council. With a smaller staff and even more limited resources than in than previous years, we continually strive to maintain our ability to provide many of our programs and services:
- Arts Cultural News, which is mailed free to over 80,000 households with an additional 10,000 copies distributed across Long Island, informing the community about arts-related activities and events involving the council's member organizations and individual artists;
- The "Journey" Arts-in-Education program, which expands cultural awareness to 40,000 students in six school districts, and teacher workshops;
- Main Street Petite Gallery in Huntington Village and Art-trium Gallery in Melville, which display the works of hundreds of regional artists;
- The Huntington Summer Arts Festival, 44 free nights of performing arts held at the Chapin Rainbow Stage in Heckscher Park and the Northport Community Band at Northport Harbor;
- Regrants to arts organizations and individual artists in Nassau and Suffolk Counties through the New York State Council on the Arts and the JPMorgan Chase Foundation;
- Free consultation services to arts organizations and individual artists, and;
- The Aboff/Usdan Scholarship, which provides full tuition at the Usdan Center for the Creative & Performing Arts to a promising young artist.
The Huntington Arts Council, a not-for profit organization, has served as a cultural hub around which the arts can flourish and enrich our lives. It would be a gray life without all the artists, musicians, dancers and writers among us. We rely on the arts to communicate with us and to bring us a richer, fuller life.
We ask you to think about the impact of these services on your life and to give generously to our Annual Appeal. We understand that you have had to make tough financial choices and we hope that you won't cut back on your support of the Huntington Arts Council. Your financial support enables us to maintain and expand our services. It allows us to present world-class concerts and shows, exhibits and workshops all without charge to the public. It gives us the means to help you stimulate your children's creativity, enjoy family activities and help the cultural community continue to inspire, delight and enlighten us.
Thank you in advance for your gift. To learn more about the Huntington Arts Council, please stop by our office; we would enjoy meeting you.
Sincerely,
John Platt, President
Diana J. Cherryholmes, Executive Director
P.S. Your contribution, regardless of how large or small, will be greatly appreciated, as 87cents of every dollar goes directly to our programs.
