Vancouver, BC – Arts Umbrella has officially partnered with GivingTuesday, a unique blend of partners—charities, families, businesses and individuals—to transform how people think about, talk about and participate in the giving season. Coinciding with the kickoff of the holiday shopping season, GivingTuesday will inspire people to take collaborative action to improve their local communities, give back in better, smarter ways to the charities and causes they support and help create a better world. Taking place December 2, 2014 – GivingTuesday will harness the power of social media to create a national moment around the holidays dedicated to giving, similar to how Black Friday and Cyber Monday have become days that are, today, synonymous with holiday shopping.
“We have two days that are good for the economy. Now we have a day that is good for the community too,” said Lucille Pacey, Arts Umbrella’s CEO. “We encourage you to look into the GivingTuesday movement and consider your opportunities to get involved. There are many ways to support Arts Umbrella in our mission to make quality arts education accessible for all children, including donating and volunteering. However you choose to participate, we are grateful for your support.”
Arts Umbrella aims to raise $7,000 to help support its free-of-charge outreach programs, where arts programming is offered to at-risk youth in their community. For its #givingtuesday campaign, Arts Umbrella will be asking people to donate and create their own #UNSelfie social media post to share their support using the hashtag #iartchange. More details are available at www.artsumbrella.com/givingtuesday
Last year, 14,219 children from across Metro Vancouver took part in Arts Umbrella programming at no cost to their families. With an estimated 30% of British Columbia’s children considered vulnerable, quality programs and care are needed for all young children in Metro Vancouver. Extensive research continues to show that arts education plays a critical role in a child’s development, particularly in the early years.
About GivingTuesday
GivingTuesday was created by 92nd Street Y, which led the effort in partnership with the UN Foundation. GivingTuesday launched for the first time in Canada in 2013. It was first initiated by GIV3 and CanadaHelps.org, and now lists 15 founding partners. GivingTuesday is a day for the entire charitable sector and encourages all Canadians to join the movement and give and volunteer for charities of their choice. Please learn more about GivingTuesday.
About Arts Umbrella:
With a mission of “inspiring kids for life through the arts”, Arts Umbrella is a not-for-profit centre for high‐quality arts education, offering a wide breadth of tuition based and free‐of‐charge visual, applied, and performing arts programming for young people ages 2-19. While thousands of children participate in its tuition‐based programs on Granville Island and Morgan Crossing each year, Arts Umbrella reaches thousands more in their own neighbourhoods through outreach programs around Metro Vancouver and in Surrey, at a Central Surrey Arts Umbrella studio, bringing the arts to kids who otherwise would not be able to participate.
Arts Umbrella contacts are available for interviews. To arrange for interviews and for more information about Arts Umbrella’s GivingTuesday campaign, please contact:
Ann Byczko, Development Officer, Arts Umbrella
604-681-5268 ext. 271 or abyczko@artsumbrella.com
Derek Delost, Marketing and Communications Assistant, Arts Umbrella
604-681-5268 ext. 103 or ddelost@artsumbrella.com