Beck Center Receives $20,000 Arts Education Grant

Beck Center for the Arts has been awarded a $20,000 grant from The PNC Foundation's Grow Up Great initiative, a $350 million, multi-year campaign that began in 2004 to help prepare children from birth to age 5 for future academic success. This funding will be used to provide early childhood arts education programming for preschoolers enrolled in the West Side Ecumenical Ministry's Youth and Family Learning Center (WSEM-YFLC) Head Start as well as The Mary W. Butler Day Care Center at Merrick House in Tremont.

"Studies have proven that an arts-rich environment helps children succeed in school and in life," said Paul Clark, PNC regional president for Cleveland, speaking on behalf of The PNC Foundation. "Our support of Beck Center's renowned programming represents a commitment to furthering school readiness through the arts and ultimately to fostering a stronger community."

The PNC Foundation grant will allow Beck Center to offer weekly arts experiences over a 38-week period involving over 200 Head Start students ages birth to five years. "It is an incredible honor to once again receive this support from The PNC Foundation," said Ed Gallagher, MT-BC, Beck Center's director of education, who will oversee the project. "We are thrilled to be granted this opportunity to bring dance, music, theater, and visual arts into classrooms served by WSEM and Merrick House." Programming begins in September 2012 and continues through the school year, concluding in May 2013.

Also next school year, Beck Center will continue its collaboration with the Lakewood Child Care Center by hosting an early childhood professional development day at the LCC Center in early June 2013. The day's activities will include a presentation and early childhood concert by Grammy Award-winning musicians Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer, better known as the well-loved musical duo, Cathy & Marcy. "Once again, Grow Up Great will make it possible for the participating organizations to work together to provide developmentally appropriate and best-practice programming for young children in need." continuEd Gallagher.

To learn more about The PNC Foundation's Grow Up Great initiative, please visit pncgrowupgreat.com.

Located at 17801 Detroit Avenue in Lakewood, Beck Center for the Arts is a not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization that offers professional Theater Productions, arts education programming in dance, music, theater, visual arts, early childhood, and creative arts therapies for special needs students, and gallery exhibits featuring local, regional, and International Artists. For more information, visit beckcenter.org or call 216.521.2540 x10.