Young Audiences of Houston Awarded Grant to Combat Summer Learning Loss

Young Audiences of Houston is excited to announce its selection as a 2018 Out 2 Learn Summer Grant awardee. Building on Young Audiences 62-year history of providing arts-in-education opportunities for Houston-area youth, this grant will support expanded learning for youth this summer. Through the generous funding, Young Audiences will collaborate with Color of Life and Southwest Glen Mission to develop summer bridge programs serving students at M.C. Williams Middle School and Booker T. Washington High School.

Grant-funded summer bridge programs such as Young Audiences Come and Explore Camp support students from under-resourced neighborhoods in receiving the same academic benefits as their peers, retaining the learning they gained during the year, developing new skills and preventing summer learning loss.

Out 2 Learn is a community network committed to ensuring access to quality out-of-school programming for all youth in the greater Houston area. Within this mission, Young Audiences of Houston will provide multiple arts-learning programs in Acres Homes over the summer months, creating safe spaces for kids during the day, supporting working families and reenergizing learning outcomes during the academic break.

Young Audiences of Houston partners Joseph Palmore of ACTing Up Studios and Danny Russo will lead students in theatre and visual arts programs that reinforce crucial literacy development and self-expression.

Mary Curry Mettenbrink, Executive Director for Young Audiences of Houston, added, "We are pleased to partner with and receive support from Out 2 Learn and amplify their efforts in providing access to out-of-school programming for youth, a value that aligns with Young Audiences' vision of leading arts-infused learning, supporting every child and transforming educational culture."

About Young Audiences of Houston: Founded in 1956, Young Audiences of Houston is an independent chapter of Young Audiences, Inc., the nation's leading arts-in-education nonprofit organization and the first organization to be awarded the National Medal of Arts. Now in its 62nd year, YAH implements over 3,798 programs annually, reaching over 243,910 students and teachers at schools, libraries, community centers, juvenile detention centers and hospitals. Young Audiences of Houston primarily serves children Pre-K through 12th grade across greater Houston's 51 school districts, including campuses in Montgomery, Liberty, Waller, Brazoria, Matagorda, Fort Bend and Galveston counties.