The current recession has been especially diffucult on arts organizations, and fully professional symphony orchestras are a luxury item to many donors and subscribers. Since a community's culture is dramatically enhanced by professional arts organizations, we have chosen to increase our support of the Southwest Florida Symphony Orchestra over the last several years. Our charitable budget demands that we support organizations which add substantial value to the community, and we feel that the Symphony does just that. We attend almost all concerts and frequently bring guests, who are inevitably impressed with the high professional quality of this orchestra. Unfortunately, the Symphony does not receive much credit for the extensive educational programs it offers to youth in the community, but the committment to education is especially important as arts in the schools are shrunk each fiscal year.