Programs -September 1, 2008 - August 31, 2009

During the 2008-09 program year, Free Arts NYC saw the number of children helped since inception grow to more than 25,000 by helping 303 through the Weekly Mentor Program, 319 (incl. parents) through the Parents and Children Together with Art Program, 659 through Free Arts Days, 50 through Multicultural Arts Camps, and 986 through Cultural Enrichment activities.

Weekly Mentor Program

Small groups of children paired with teams of volunteer mentors throughout the academic year.

Using different artistic media each week, children learned to express themselves creatively, build self-confidence, and form positive, trusting relationships with their mentors.

	303 children
	109 volunteer mentors
	550 program sessions (September 2008 through June 2009)
	11 different agencies in Manhattan, the Bronx and Brooklyn
	22 different mentor groups

Parents and Children Together with Art (PACT)

Children and their parents or guardians paired with teams of volunteers for 8-weeks of arts and team-building activities.

Interactive, creative arts projects inspired collaboration, communication and teamwork within families. Working as a "design team" each family used art as a vehicle to become stronger.

	330 children plus 131 parents
	54 volunteer mentors
	174 program sessions (September 2008 through August 2009)
	10 different agencies in Manhattan, the Bronx and Brooklyn
	23 different family groups

Free Arts Days

Saturday arts festivals for 75 children, each sponsored by an individual, family or corporation.

Volunteer "buddies" paired with children for fun, exciting days of creative arts. Children received individualized attention while rotating through theme-based art stations, followed by lunch and an interactive movement program.

	777 children
	752 volunteer mentors
	17 festivals of creative arts (September 2008 through June 2009)
	9 different agencies, serving children from Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens
	Sponsors included:
	Pamela Averick, Deutsche Bank, The Theodore Eckert Family Foundation, HBO, ITG, The Krampf Family, Lancôme, NYMEX, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Polo Ralph Lauren, Shutterstock, and Victoria's Secret

Multicultural Arts Camp

Week-long summer camps where children learned about art, music and dance from different cultures.

Children spent a week learning different art forms and experiencing behind-the-scenes tours of NYC cultural institutions along with their volunteer mentors.

	50 children
	258 volunteer mentors
	10 inspirational days
	Agency partners included the Department of Homeless Services and the Little Sisters of the Assumption in East Harlem
	Cultural Partners included:
	Alvin Ailey Dance Company, Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, Brooklyn Museum, The Striking Viking Story Pirates, the cast and crew of South Pacific, Scratch DJ Academy, Urban Word and Socrates Sculpture Garden
	Sponsors included:
	HBO, Calvin Klein, White & Case, Goldman Sachs, Van Wagner and Deutsche Bank

Cultural Enrichment

Every child had access to a live performance or cultural event.

To complement their involvement in Free Arts programs, children and families visited museums and attended live music, dance, theater or arts shows. For many, these opportunities were the only chance they've had to experience the power of a live performance.

	986 children and families experienced cultural events and performances - many for the first time in their lives.
	Performances, exhibitions and events included:
	Wintuk - Cirque du Soliel, La Mama Experimental Theater Club, Gazillion Bubble Show, The Jimmies, Playhouse Disney Live!, Cirque Mechanics, Sesame Street: Made in NY, Five Kinds of Silence, Danny Nova, Winter Jam NYC, Anita Chen Concert at Carnegie Hall, Apollo Theater Honor Festival
	The Striking Viking Story Pirates
	For the 2009-09 program year, Free Arts NYC was awarded its first grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to expand its cultural enrichment program. Children in the Weekly Mentor Program participated in story writing workshops conducted by one of Free Arts’ cultural partners, the Striking Viking Story Pirates. These workshops allowed our children to develop imaginative characters and plots which were then set to music and theater and performed at two community performances in East Harlem and Fort Greene, Brooklyn. After the performance of their work, the young authors were thrilled to take a bow in front of their peers, families and members of their communities.