The Rhode Island State Council on the Arts (RISCA) announced today a $10,000 grant from Bank of America that will be directed towards the Big Yellow School Bus (BYSB) program. With schools facing restricting financial challenges, these funds will help ensure that more than 7,500 Rhode Island students throughout the state attend arts and cultural events in 2012.
Since 2010, RISCA's Big Yellow School Bus Program has helped facilitate field trips to museums, concert halls and theaters across the state. The program has been extremely beneficial for schools, many of whom are reducing or eliminating field trips out of economic necessity.
"We're grateful to Bank of America for supporting BYSB and helping students experience the arts outside of the classroom, in concert halls, museums and other community venues," said Randall Rosenbaum, executive director, Rhode Island State Council on the Arts. "At RISCA we believe that people of all ages should have an opportunity to experience all the arts and cultural opportunities our state has to offer."
"The experiences offered by BYSB are an important complement to classroom learning, and can open students' eyes to new opportunities," said William Hatfield, Bank of America Rhode Island market president.
Governor Lincoln D. Chafee, Lt. Governor Elizabeth Roberts, State Senator Daniel DaPointe, (East Providence), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and Bank of America's Hatfield held an event at the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School to celebrate the grant and the progress of the program as it goes into its third year.
By the end of this school year, approximately 150 schools and 24,900 K-12 students in Rhode Island will have benefited from BYSB since its inception in 2010. For more information please contact info@arts.ri.gov or www.arts.ri.gov.
About the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts The Rhode Island State Council on the Arts is a state agency supported by appropriations from the Rhode Island General Assembly and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. RISCA provides grants, technical assistance and staff support to arts organizations and artists, schools, community centers, social service organizations and local governments to bring the arts into the lives of Rhode Islanders.