About Us
News » Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida Cultural Education Grants Awarded to Five Northeast Florida Organizations
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida Cultural Education Grants Awarded to Five Northeast Florida Organizations
The Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville is pleased to announce grant awards made through a new partnership with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida (BCBSF). Five, $5,000 grants have been made to small- and mid-sized northeast Florida cultural organizations for programs that focus on art education, appreciation and awareness, as well as promote multicultural awareness and diversity through music, dance, visual arts, theater, literature, media arts, folk arts, history or humanities.
“Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida seeks to find real and meaningful solutions to some of the most critical social issues facing Florida’s communities. By investments in the arts, we believe we are helping to create healthy, vibrant communities,” said Susan Towler, vice president for community affairs. “We chose to work with the Cultural Council due to its reputation as a model grantmaker and because of its affiliation with cultural organizations of the First Coast.”
“Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida continues to be an outstanding corporate leader in the arts. The Cultural Council was pleased to assist in allocating these funds as the partnership demonstrates the cooperative spirit required to sustain and grow our area’s cultural resources,” said Robert Arleigh White, executive director of the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville.
The 2008 BCBSF Cultural Education Grants were awarded to the following agencies:
AMELIA ARTS ACADEMY – The grant will help fund an after-school visual arts program for elementary and middle school students focusing on the cultures of the eight different flags under which Amelia Island has been ruled over a 500 year period.
ART WITH A HEART FOR CHILDREN – The grant will fund artist fees and support materials for the Digital Photography Project by providing teen patients, along with their families, the opportunity to explore the medium of photography and its potential as an empowering tool for healing and self expression.
JACKSONVILLE CHILDREN’S CHORUS – The grant will support the Training Choir Program, which provides a musical experience designed for younger singers. Convenient rehearsal locations will help increase program accessibility for children in underserved neighborhoods.
ST. JOHNS RIVER CITY BAND – The grant will enable the formation of a countywide All-Star Jazz Band comprised of high school students who will train with professional musicians from the Band and perform at the 2009 Jacksonville Jazz Festival.
THEATREWORKS – The grant will fund two different theatrical performances for first and second graders at four elementary schools. The shows, Doug Berky’s “Gems-World Wisdom Stories” and “The Rainbow Fish,” both celebrate differences in others and promote an appreciation of individual talents.
The Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville serves as the local arts agency for Duval County. Its mission is to advance the appreciation and expression of art and culture by increasing community awareness of cultural activities and issues; providing arts education programs; and offering funding and technical assistance to cultural organizations and individual artists.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida is a leader in Florida’s health industry. BCBSF and its subsidiaries serve more than 8.8 million people. Since 1944, the company has been dedicated to meeting the diverse needs of all those it serves by offering an array of choices. BCBSF is a not-for-profit, policyholder-owned, tax-paying mutual company. Headquartered in Jacksonville, FL, BCBSF is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies. For more information concerning BCBSF, please see its Web site at www.bcbsfl.com.