THE HERB ALPERT FOUNDATION

The Herb Alpert  Foundation announced  that they have renewed their commitment to help the prestigious Harlem School of the Arts by offering a $350,000 '2 to 1' matching grant program. To match this offering, HSA will be seeking $700,000 in new funding commitments in the next four months from corporations, individuals as well as other foundations to meet the challenge. Musician Herb Alpert, whose foundation has donated millions of dollars over the years to fund arts programs in schools all over the country, previously came to the rescue of HSA last year when they were about to close their doors. The first grant of $500,000 was also a matching gift that brought another $500,000 from other donors. So impressed was Alpert when he visited the school to see the remarkable progress they were making toward sustaining their music, dance and arts programs for the children in the community that he made an additional commitment to the school this year. "During my recent visit to HSA, I got to observe classes in music, arts and dance. The kids along with the teachers showed a tremendous commitment to these programs. It's imperative that their good work continues in the years ahead," commented Alpert. Yvette Campbell, the new President & CEO of The Harlem School of the Arts and a former professional dancer concurred:  "I am inspired and dedicated to see HSA on a path to become the premiere institution for arts education within NYC's cultural landscape as well as continuing to provide young people with the opportunity to take advantage of its quality arts programming with life skills that assure success: discipline, high standards, clear performance goals and high expectations." "The Alperts strongly believe that the arts play a fundamental role in all of our lives, and one of the core areas of their philanthropy is to support arts education for our youth, and particularly for youth in underserved areas and communities. For many decades, The Harlem School of the Arts has played a significant role in providing young people with the opportunities to find their creative voice and spirit, and the Alperts are hopeful that once again, through a new matching grant challenge, others will step up to help strengthen and sustain this important resource for the Harlem community," added Rona Sebastian, President of the Herb Alpert Foundation.