The NAMM Foundation is empowering life-enriching, after-school arts programs through a new partnership with the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program (NAHYP) Awards. During a White House ceremony on November 10, 2014, the NAMM Foundation stepped up as the lead sponsor of the awards, which recognize the country’s best creative youth development programs that engage students in the arts to increase academic achievement, improve literacy abilities, communication and cultural awareness.
“NAMM members, through their support of the NAMM Foundation, are ensuring that these outstanding programs are available to enrich the lives of talented young people coast-to-coast,” said Mary Luehrsen, executive director of the NAMM Foundation. “As the First Lady herself said, ‘You teach kids more than just skills in the arts and humanities – you light a fire in them; you help them grow emotionally and socially.’ Thousands of young people will have access to music and the arts this year thanks to this recognition.”
Robin Walenta, president/CEO of West Music Co., Inc. and NAMM board treasurer, joined Luehrsen in the East Room to honor the 2014 National Arts and Humanities Youth Awards winners. First Lady Michelle Obama presented the awards to the programs on behalf of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities (PCAH). In addition to the NAHYP, NAMM Foundation’s also a proud supporter of Turnaround Arts, a PCAH effort that infuses the nation’s lowest performing schools with arts.
The 12 exemplary American, community-based, after-school programs and one international program will receive a $10,000 grant along with capacity-building, networking, and communications support. The NAMM Foundation congratulates the 2014 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award recipients:
The 2014 awardees are:
¡City Arts! Community AfterSchool Program Providence ¡City Arts for Youth!, Inc. Providence, RI
CPS Shakespeare! Chicago Shakespeare Theater Chicago, IL
Delta Blues Museum Arts and Education Program Clarksdale, MS
everybody dance! after-school program The Gabriella Foundation Los Angeles, CA
Project STEP, Inc. Intensive String Training Program for Black and Latino Young People Boston, MA
Job Training in the Arts Downtown Aurora Visual Arts Aurora, CO
Workshop Houston Middle School Program Houston, TX
New Ballet Ensemble Memphis, TN
New Victory Usher Corps The New Victory Theatre New York, NY
Publicolor, Inc. Continuum of Design-based Programs New York, NY
Teens Make History Missouri History Museum Saint Louis, MO
TeenSpace Circle of Mentoring Santa Ana Public Library Santa Ana, CA
International Spotlight Award
Salaam Baalak Trust New Delhi and Mumbai, India
First presented in 1998, the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award is presented annually in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). For more information about the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards, visit www.pcah.gov.
