Created on Tuesday, February 5th, 2008 at 3:43 pm.
Related to General
£75,000 has been awarded to Children & the Arts, enabling over 5,000 children in the South of the UK to access the very best of the arts in the 2007/08 school year
The Lehman Brothers Foundation Europe (LBFE) has renewed its support of the Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts for 2007/08, awarding the charity a £75,000 grant. The funding will be used to support the Start programme, the core of Children & the Arts’ activities, through which it provides financial and practical support to arts organisation across the UK, enabling them to form partnerships with local primary and secondary schools.
The Lehman Brothers Foundation Europe’s support will help to fund 10 arts venues based in the South East including the Fitzwilliam Museum, Brighton Dome and the Oxford Playhouse working with 24 schools and over 5,000 children.
Children & the Arts’ aim is to provide children, who would otherwise not have the opportunity, with a sustained and high quality experience of the arts. The schools and children that we work with are based in social-economically deprived areas, both urban and rural. The children, aged between 5 and 16, are unlikely to have visited an arts venue in the past. Research shows that by accessing high quality arts experiences these children will grow to feel comfortable in cultural venues, develop new skills, self confidence and creativity.
The Lehman Brothers Foundation Europe’s generous donation will allow thousands of children in the South East the chance to experience a full year of sustained arts engagement with their local venue, including at least two visits to see a professional production, exhibition or concert and a varied programme of participation around these visits; e.g. back stage tours, meeting professionals and supportive classroom work. LBFE began its support of Children & the Arts in 2006 when it first helped the charity to extend into this region.
Rebecca Eastmond, Director of The Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts said: We are delighted that Lehman Brothers Foundation Europe have decided to fund our work so generously for a further year. The Foundation is the lead donor to our Start programme and their support allows 5,000 children to participate in this important programme of activity. We look forward to working with the Foundation over the coming year.
Peter Sherratt, President of the Lehman Brothers Foundation Europe, Chief Legal Officer of Lehman Brothers, Europe and the Middle East and a vice chairman of Lehman Brothers said: We are very pleased to continue our support of Children & the Arts, enabling pupils, many of whom are from disadvantaged backgrounds, to expand their horizons and gain valuable academic, personal and creative skills through cultural opportunities. We look forward to continuing our partnership and exploring ways to complement our financial contribution with employee volunteers to assist on the Project.
For further information or any press enquiries related to The Prince’s Foundation for Children please contact Jessica Fletcher on 0207 379 9747, 07912 123 795 or email jessica.fletcher@childrenandarts.org.uk
- Notes to Editors –·
The Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts works in partnership with arts organisations to create high quality artistic experiences for children. We target those children who would not otherwise have the opportunity to experience the arts. We will work with around 27,000 children in 2007/2008.
· Children & the Arts is one of The Prince’s Charities, a group of not-for-profit organisations of which The Prince of Wales is President; 16 of the 18 Charities were founded personally by The Prince. The group is the largest multi-cause charitable enterprise in the United Kingdom raising over £100 million annually.
· The organisations are active across a broad range of areas including opportunity and enterprise, education, health, the built environment, responsible business, the natural environment and the arts. The charities reflect The Prince of Wales’s long-term and innovative perspective, and seek to address areas of previously unmet need.
· Lehman Brothers Foundation Europe (U.K. Registered Charity No. 1088535) is a philanthropic organisation funded by Lehman Brothers Limited and its employees. The Foundation’s objectives are to build children’s futures by supporting health projects and educational programmes for disadvantaged youth and to promote cultural vibrancy through partnerships with arts organisations that enrich the quality of life in the communities in which the company operates. Lehman Brothers Foundation Europe achieves these objectives by granting financial support and combining that with the knowledge, creativity and dedication of Lehman Brothers’ employees.
· Lehman Brothers (ticker symbol: LEH), an innovator in global finance, serves the financial needs of corporations, governments and municipalities, institutional clients, and high net worth individuals worldwide. Founded in 1850, Lehman Brothers maintains leadership positions in investment banking, equity and fixed income sales, trading and research, private investment management, asset management and private equity. The Firm is headquartered in New York, with regional headquarters in London and Tokyo, and operates in a network of offices around the world. For further information about Lehman Brothers’ services, products and recruitment opportunities, visit the Firm’s Web site at www.lehman.com.
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