OXFORD — The Oxford Arts Alliance is responding to meet the needs of the families in our music and art academies by raising money and awareness for our EMERGE Scholarship Fund which supports our students experiencing financial hardship and an inability to afford art and music education.
#GivingTuesdayNow is a new global day of giving and unity that will take place on May 5, 2020 – in addition to the regularly scheduled Dec 1, 2020 #GivingTuesday – as an emergency response to the unprecedented need caused by COVID-19.The day is designed to drive an influx of generosity, citizen engagement, business and philanthropy activation, and support for communities and nonprofits around the world.
At a time when we are all experiencing the pandemic, generosity is what brings people of all races, faiths, and political views together across the globe. Generosity gives everyone power to make a positive change in the lives of others and is a fundamental value anyone can act on. It’s a day for everyone around the world to stand together and give back in all ways, no matter who or where we are.
The Oxford Arts Alliance is more than just the art that hangs in our galleries or the music that can be heard ringing from our studios; it is also the diverse community of people that support and collaborate with us. Our mission is to provide programming that allows arts and culture to flourish in our community for all people regardless of differences in ethnic origin, education or economic level, age, gender, or disability, and this mission has not stopped during the COVID-19 pandemic. While we continue to innovate new, virtual ways of bringing arts and culture programming to our community, we are also finding that the pandemic has affected those who support us in numerous ways.
Our academies and their students are facing tough decisions in the shadow of the shutdown. Many families are putting their artistic or musical education on pause in order to make ends meet. We know that the students, families, and teachers of our academies have other roles in our community; they are grocery store workers, first responders, nurses, and furloughed employees facing great sacrifices and challenges at this time. If you are able, we at the OxAA want YOU to help us support them.
On this #GIVINGTUESDAY, The Oxford Arts Alliance would like to introduce the new EMERGE Scholarship Fund. Our goal is to raise $2,000 to support our students who are experiencing financial hardship and an inability to afford art and music education. Thomas Mann famously said that “art is to the community what the dream is to the individual,” and we believe that providing arts programming to our community is just that: providing a dream to our community. Please join us in realizing our dreams and the dreams of so many others through your support on #GIVINGTUESDAY.
In the spirit of both #GIVINGTUESDAY and the mission of the OxAA, Anthony Derrico, Assistant Executive Director, has stated that “we will leave no stone unturned in finding ways to give our community artistic and musical opportunities. This #GIVINGTUESDAY, we are asking our supporters to help us build this vision.”
People can show their generosity in a variety of ways during #GivingTuesdayNow, whether it’s helping a neighbor, advocating for an issue, sharing a skill, or giving to causes, every act of generosity counts. The global movement will emphasize opportunities to give back to communities and causes in safe ways that allow for social connection even while practicing physical distancing.
“As a global community, we can mourn this moment of extreme crisis while also finding the opportunity to support one another. We each have the power to make an impact with acts of generosity, no matter how small, and to ensure the sustainability of organizations and services that are crucial to the care and support of our communities,” said Asha Curran, CEO of GivingTuesday. “#GivingTuesdayNow is a chance for us to stand united and use grassroots generosity to show that we are all in this together, beginning to end. Even as many face financial uncertainty, generosity is not about size. From calling an elderly neighbor to chat to offering translation help; from showing gratitude to our healthcare workers to donating to your local food bank, every act of kindness is a beacon of hope in this crisis. We all have something to give, and every act of human consideration and kindness matters.”
Those interested in joining Oxford Arts Alliance’s #GivingTuesdayNow efforts can visit https://www.oxfordart.org/emerge-scholarship-fund.
For more details about the GivingTuesday movement, visit the GivingTuesday website (www.givingtuesday.org), Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/GivingTuesday) or follow @GivingTuesday and #GivingTuesdayNow on Twitter. For youth interested in joining the movement, visit GivingTuesdayKids.org for inspiration and project ideas.
