GIBSON FOUNDATION SUPPORTS YMCA ARTS AND HUMANITIES INITIATIVES

Foundation to sponsor annual YMCA Arts Week and new YMCA Music Program

CHICAGO, November  10 — The Gibson Foundation announced its support of YMCA of the USA to enhance arts and humanities program and music resources for the nation’s 2,617 YMCAs, as well as YMCAs abroad, many of which are champions of the arts and arts education in their communities.

As a national sponsor, Gibson Foundation will support the YMCA’s annual Y Arts Week in 2006 and 2007, and the new YMCA Music Program with various resources to strengthen YMCA arts and humanities programming for kids and adults nationwide and abroad. This sponsorship agreement was announced here today by YMCA of the USA (Y-USA) and in Nashville by the Gibson Foundation.

“YMCAs are becoming one of the leading arts programming providers in the country,” said Jason Shinder, director of YMCA Arts and Humanities, YMCA of the USA. “Ys are places that teach leadership skills and values, but they’re also places where kids and adults learn to paint, write, sing, act or even make a film.”

Today more than 900 YMCAs offer quality, accessible arts programming, awareness and appreciation. Since 1998, the number of YMCAs offering arts programs has increased 29 percent annually on average, more than 500 new arts staff positions have been added and dozens of new state-of-the-art cultural facilities have been built. 

“The Gibson Foundation is dedicated to raising the awareness of the importance of music education while making a profound impact through partnerships such as this one with the YMCA,” said Henry Juszkiewicz, Chairman and CEO of Gibson Guitar. “We are honored and proud to be part of such an innovative and prestigious program as that of the YMCA Music Program.”

Novelist and playwright E.L. Doctorow, one of the many distinguished artists celebrating the YMCA’s growing role in the arts, calls its leadership efforts “unprecedented, crucial, breakthrough work—nothing less than the firing up of synapses in the national mind.”

Adds Shinder: “This generous support from the Gibson Foundation extends the impact of the YMCA, especially as a leader in music education, while reinforcing the Y’s position as a leading, community-based arts organization.”

Y ARTS WEEK

Y Arts Week was created to showcase the emerging role of YMCAs in their artistic and cultural communities, to connect YMCAs with local artistic resources and organizations and to promote the benefits of the arts in critical thinking, communication and cultural understanding for children and adults. 

Y Arts Week 2006 is being celebrated nationally this week - November 6-13. The celebration showcases the wide array of creative arts and humanities programs that YMCAs offer their communities, and honor local and national YMCA arts advocates who enable Ys to provide these programs. Gibson Excellence Awards will recognize Y Arts Week activities that demonstrate high levels of impact and innovation. 

Y Arts Week 2007 will be celebrated nationally and internationally November 5-12.

YMCA MUSIC PROGRAM

The Gibson Foundation funding will assist Y-USA in developing a music education, instruction and performance program and selecting up to 20 YMCAs—in the U.S. and abroad—to participate in the program. Each participating Y will receive musical instruments and other vital support. 

In an era when many of the nation’s schools can no longer fund music and other arts programs, YMCAs, which have welcomed and showcased artists for more than a century, have become central to arts education. 

“YMCAs understand that arts education is helping to enhance the American workforce of the future,” Shinder said. “It has been proven to increase students’ cognitive development, to motivate and inspire discipline, to enhance confidence and inventiveness and to hone communication and problem-solving skills. Research shows students with an education rich in the arts have better grade-point averages, score better on standardized tests in reading and math and have lower dropout rates. We’re grateful to the Gibson Foundation for joining us in this important effort.”

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About Gibson: Gibson is known worldwide for producing classic models in every major style of fretted instrument, including acoustic and electric guitars, mandolins, and banjos. Founded in 1894 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and headquartered in Nashville since 1984, Gibson Guitar Corporation’s family of brands now includes Epiphone, Dobro, Kramer, Steingberger, Tobias, Slingerland, Valley Arts, Maestro, Baldwin, Chickering, Hamilton, and Wurlitzer. The Gibson Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the company. Founded in 2002, it is dedicated to making the world a better place for children by creating, developing and supporting programs and other non-profit organizations in their efforts to advance education, music and the arts, the environment and health & welfare causes. Visit www.gibson.com.

About YMCA of the USA: YMCA of the USA is the national resource office for America's 2,617 YMCAs, collectively the nation's largest community service organization and largest provider of child care. YMCAs serve 20.2 million people, almost half of whom are children, through a broad range of programs. YMCAs are for people of all faiths, races, ages, abilities and incomes. Financial assistance is available. Visit www.ymca.net to find your local YMCA.