Spring Scholarship Appeal 2019

Dear Friends,

We trust that friends like you are committed to the furtherance of art education in the Rochester community because we believe that you understand it is a worthy goal. Together we can make sure that every aspiring artist has an opportunity to learn, grow and develop their talents. Because the fact is that not everyone has the privilege of receiving an arts education, so we rely on the generous gifts from friends like you to make sure that the Flower City Arts Center continues to fulfill that need.

What does need look like? Meet Natalie Ziegler. Natalie had always wanted to take an art class at the Flower City Arts Center but could simply not afford to do so. She learned about tuition assistance from being out in the community and seeing a letterpress printing demonstration. A few days later she went online and applied for tuition assistance. Within 24 hours she received an e-mail from the Executive Director, Janice Gouldthorpe stating she had been approved for $200 off the cost of the class.

Ms. Ziegler expressed her gratitude saying, “ Art and different forms of creativity are invaluable to building community connections and enriching people’s skill set, quality of life, and perspectives. These opportunities should be available to everyone, and at Flower City Arts Center they really are. Scholarships/Tuition assistance allow the Center to not just talk about or espouse diversity and community but foster these ideals and put them into tangible practice.”

Your gift provides opportunities
As a Flower City Arts Center supporter, your gift provides tuition assistance for adults and youths who otherwise would simply not be able to afford to take classes given their or their family’s current financial situation. Because of the generosity from friends like you, Natalie was finally able to take the Fundamentals of Drawing class which gave her the opportunity to develop her skills as an artist and to pay just a portion of the full price.

Your gift fulfills a need
The Flower City Arts Center consistently engages with the local community in ways that facilitate youth and young adult art educational services. For Natalie this meant that in her role as an AmeriCorps/VISTA service employee for the Making A Connection Academy she could bring her students to the Flower City Arts Center to experience making art for themselves. These New Americans, recently settled in Rochester, come from diverse backgrounds and countries as far away as Ethiopia, Kenya, El Salvador, Saudi Arabia and Ukraine to name a few. They work hard to learn the skills they will need to become successful and have come to rely on the Flower City Arts Center for arts education community field trips. Sam from the Ukraine said the experience at Flower City Arts Center was, “very good and a lot of fun! I would like to come back here again.”

Your gift gives back
Establishing and maintaining strong community relationships is something the Flower City Arts Center has prided itself on for almost 50 years. In this way your gift will continue to build that legacy, promote diversity and ensure that art education is not a privilege but rather a way of life for all people in Rochester. Through your gift you reach hundreds of deserving and creative aspiring artists and art enthusiasts who have discovered our rich visual arts resources including community events, gallery openings, scholarships/tuition assistance for classes and workshops, internships, and volunteer opportunities. Just like Natalie, when you give to the Flower City Arts Center, your gift gives back! Thank you for giving generously to the Scholarship/Tuition Assistance Fund today.

Gratefully,
Janice Gouldthorpe