My Nonprofit Reviews

When I was a Hawai'i public school student in the early 1940s and 1950s, there was some form of art class or art with the lesson at all grade levels: painting, drawing, drama, embroidery, singing, dance, blockprints, music, embroidery, among others. Even penmanship. We constructed and painted custumes, and made papier-mache puppets for our dramas. Rhythm bands consisted of sticks, tambourines, and triangles. I took choir, cartooning; learned creative writing in journalism. Girls took home economics, and boys took shop. These are a few examples of what I learned that I carried into adulthood: linoleum blockprints for Christmas cards, singing in church choirs, using home economics lessons, and encouraging our children (as my parents did) in the arts. I was a Speech and Theatre major in college. What I learned influenced me as a supporter of the arts, in general, and the Hawai'i Arts Alliance, in particular. Its three-fold mission of teaching, supporting communities, and promoting the arts is evident as it works and collaborates with partners, educators and youth throughout the state. As a Kennedy Center Alliance for Arts Education Network member, the Alliance is recognized nationally. It has successfully promoted legislation for arts education in the schools. Its dedicated staff and board members have demonstrated that a small investment in the arts has a big impact on the lives youth and the vibrancy of the community.

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