Imagine a place right down the street from you, where you can drop in for an evening of creative art projects, while mingling with neighbors and friends. Imagine a place where your pre-school child can have an arts-focused learning experience every day. Imagine a place where your teen can take an Improv class and build their skill set for future acting endeavors. Imagine a place that also provides scholarships to offset the cost of taking arts classes, making art accessible to all. Sounds great, right? It gets better. This place is right here in the Northgate community. It’s the Community Arts Center (CCA) at the corner of Ygnacio Valley Blvd. and Wiget Lane.
All of us at the Community Arts Foundation (CAF) work to raise funds to provide experiences like those described above. Our mission is “Arts for All.” We are a 501c3 non-profit organization, working to provide scholarships and advocating for arts learning experiences at CCA. The need for scholarships is significant – 29% of Walnut Creek residents are low-income. And, 11% of residents in Contra Costa County live below the federal poverty level; 32% of them are children. Recently a parent of one of the pre-school scholarship students told us, “My child has an insatiable curiosity to learn. She is a first-generation Iranian American. As immigrants, we want to give our girl the best of everything, but if it weren’t for this scholarship, we wouldn’t be able to afford this excellent arts learning opportunity.”
How exciting, that all of this is happening right here in the Northgate community! We at CAF take pride in the work we do to connect the residents of our community to the arts. If this sounds like something you might like to help with, know that the Community Arts Foundation is actively seeking new board members. “As a board member, you will not only help raise scholarship funds, but you will join with us in bringing arts awareness, advocacy, and accessibility to our entire county,” said Jen O’Neill, co-president of CAF. We are currently looking for individuals who share a passion for the arts, versed in fundraising and support our mission. For more information, please contact the Development Director, Cole Portocarrero at colep.caf@gmail.com
The power of art is life changing. Ensuring access to the arts for everyone, regardless of their means or zip code, is more important than ever. The Community Arts Foundation appreciates donations and support of any kind, from individuals, businesses, realtors, foundations, and others. If you want to help visit our website at www.commartsfoundation.org to discover more.
We appreciate partnering with Northgate Living to share our vision to provide “Arts for All.” We believe that the arts are essential to our community’s quality of life, and we remain committed to creating an environment that promotes a diversity of culture, thought, and artistic expression.
By Lisa Crossett, Board Director and Northgate resident; Lee Oller, Co-President and Northgate resident; and Jen O’Neill, Co-President