By Brandon Lee, UCLA Student and Guest Blogger
Last month, I had the honor of presenting a $30,000 grant to P.S. ARTS on behalf of a partnership between UCLA and The Once Upon A Time Foundation. I was participating in a new course, “Philanthropy and Civic Engagement,” devised with the purpose of educating future leaders on the principles of philanthropy, which allowed students to give away a total of $100,000 to four different non-profit organizations in the Greater Los Angeles area. Before taking this class, my personal interest was in international health, having worked with Ambassadors for Sustained Health (www.weareash.org) in the past and having gone on several international medical relief trips. Regardless of my background, I was assigned to the Arts and Cultures group, and I selected P.S. ARTS as one of my organizations to research. Over time, our group narrowed down our list of 12 arts non-profits in stages, and P.S. ARTS finally came out as our final choice.
My class evaluated so many different non-profit organizations, but P.S. ARTS always stood out. Since it is an organization with astounding financial stability, awesome community involvement, an inspiring staff, and groundbreaking projects, I am so happy to have gotten to know P.S. ARTS to the extent that I have.
Over the past quarter, I have come to see that P.S. ARTS is so much more than just art or music classes. Through their teachers, classes, and events, P.S. ARTS brings communities together, provides opportunities for children, and serves as a catalyst for unified campuses all across LA. Witnessing firsthand the initiative that P.S. ARTS has taken in helping to provide unified campuses for students with special needs, as well as providing safe environments for children to express themselves, I can truthfully say that my devotion is no longer limited to international health issues. P.S. ARTS has thanked me many times for presenting in my class on their behalf and working to award them a grant, but I am also grateful to them, perhaps more than they know. My exposure to P.S. ARTS’ staff and the work that they do has opened my eyes to so many prevalent, local issues, and has provided inspiration through the passion that is visible in all the individuals who are a part of P.S. ARTS.
Here are links that provide more information about the class:
http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/a-class-above-ucla-students-distribute-241700.aspx
http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/learning-to-give-students-in-unique-241059.aspx
The P.S. ARTS staff would like to thank Brandon for contributing this piece and for advocating for our cause in his class. We are thrilled to have worked with you and are excited for what’s to come!
