Vince & Linda McMahon Family Foundation Awards $25,000 Grant to Stamford's Palace Theatre

The Vince & Linda McMahon Family Foundation has supported a wide variety of organizations through its philanthropic outreach over the past several years. This year, the Foundation is staying very close to home with one grant in particular - it awarded Stamford's Palace Theatre a $25,000 grant to benefit its arts education programs.

According to a recent study published by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), "Socially and economically underserved children and teenagers who have high levels of arts engagement and arts learning show more positive outcomes in a variety of areas than their low-arts-engaged peers."

"Arts education has always been at the core of our mission," Palace Theatre Executive Director Michael E. Moran, Jr., said. "And now more than ever, it is so important that organizations like ours continue to reach out to disadvantaged children in our community. They are the next generation of artists and theatergoers. We are so grateful to the Vince & Linda McMahon Family Foundation for its generosity. The scholarships we are offering to our Triple Threat Performer Intensive would not be possible without this grant."

A portion of the grant will be used to provide scholarships for the Palace's Triple Threat Performer Intensive, being held July 22-26, to children from the Waterside School, Domus, Norwalk Economic Opportunity Now (NEON), and the Boys & Girls Club of Stamford. The grant will also provide NEON with more than 300 discounted tickets to Wild World of Animals, a traveling wildlife show, on July 9th.

"While educators and employers place increased focus on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) courses, research shows that integrating those subjects with the arts can enhance students' interest," Linda McMahon said. "Arts education, especially at a young age, promotes creative thinking, teamwork and communication -- skills necessary for success later in life."

For more information about The Palace's Arts Education programs or to buy tickets to Wild World of Animals July 9th, visit www.SCAlive.org.

The vision of the Palace Theatre is to be the regional arts center for exciting entertainment that enhances and enriches the cultural, educational, economic, and social life of the community. The Palace strives to achieve this vision by demonstrating integrity in all work and relationships, providing service and quality in all activities, fostering and promoting diversity of thought, ideas and culture, providing stewardship for the Stamford Arts community, emphasizing outreach in our community, and offering creativity in all endeavors. Major funding is provided by the Department of Economic & Community Development and the Office of the Arts. Programs made possible in part by the Fairfield County Community Foundation.

Pictured: Palace Theatre's Triple Threat Performer Intensive, Summer 2012. Photo Credit: Jennifer Powers.

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