Springfield Arts Organizations Come Together With One Message

The non-profit arts organizations in Springfield have come together with one message - "The show will go on...but not without your help."

Eleven major performing arts organizations in the Springfield area are combining their communication efforts to reassure the local community that performances will resume and to provide information on how you can support local arts organizations in the interim.

A single unified message is being distributed this week to over 75,000 email addresses representing almost every performing arts ticket buyer in the region. The email includes links to each participating organization, as well as a unique link to each organization's secure online donation site.

This campaign is organized by the University of Illinois Springfield Performing Arts Center. Bryan Rives, Director of the Performing Arts Center, said "One mission of UIS is 'Leadership Lived.' We are always searching for ways to help our community. During this COVID-19 crisis, we realized our own patron email list, of over 42,000 addresses, could be used to spread the word about how to support local performing arts organizations in our area. We then reached out to The Hoogland Center for the Arts to see if they would like to partner with us on this effort. They quickly came on board, as did many others. Everyone we approached agreed to send the email to their individual mailing lists, even though it contains a fundraising appeal for other organizations in addition to their own. We are very lucky that our arts community can come together to support one another during this extremely trying time."
Gus Gordon, Executive Director of the Hoogland Center for the Arts, said "During this pandemic we have been reminded that in times of need, many people turn to the arts for comfort. The vital role these performing arts organizations play in our community has never been clearer. With the support of our patrons and donors, we will be here to help heal the community when this crisis is over."

The participating performing arts organizations are:

* The Hoogland Center for the Arts
* Illinois Symphony Orchestra
* Springfield Area Arts Council
* Springfield Ballet Company
* Springfield Theatre Center
* Springfield Youth Performance Group
* Theatre in the Park
* The Legacy Theatre
* The Muni
* Spencer Theatre Company
* University of Illinois Performing Arts Center

Most of these organizations have already encountered a substantial loss of income due to the Covid-19 outbreak. These groups have employees to support, rent and bills to pay, and buildings to maintain. It will take considerable time to recover from this pandemic - emotionally, mentally and financially.

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