Valley Bank Announced Two-Year Grant to Support the New Jersey Performing Arts Center

Valley Bank today announced a two-year, $50,000 grant to support the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) and its In-School Residency programs for FY2019 and FY2020. These programs help NJPAC serve more than 5,000 PreK - 12th grade students across New Jersey. For the 2019-2020 school year, more than 50 Residencies are planned for communities including Asbury Park, Bloomfield, East Orange, Jersey City, Newark, Paterson, Plainfield, Rahway and Roselle.

In-School Residences partner professional NJPAC-trained artist faculty with classroom teachers and children throughout the school year. Thirteen different topics are taught in In-School Residences, including theater, dance and music. Designed to integrate directly into the classroom, each Residency fulfills New Jersey Student Learning Standards. This year's residencies include "Movement Matters," Instrumental Jazz and "Poetic Justice," in which students in grades 6 to 12 express their authentic voices by writing poetry about issues that are important to them. In addition, NJPAC offers residences as part of national partnership programs including the Early Learning Through the Arts: New Jersey Wolf Trap Program which incorporates performing arts into literacy and STEM lessons for preschool and kindergarten students.

"Valley is proud to support NJPAC and its mission to use the arts to enhance young children's lives, foster resilience and help build a better future," said Mark Saeger, Chief Credit Officer, Valley Bank. "The arts positively impacts school culture, particularly student motivation, and students who are engaged in the arts are more than twice as likely to graduate from college as their peers with no arts education."

"We are grateful for the philanthropic partnership between NJPAC and Valley Bank," said Alison Scott-Williams, NJPAC's Vice President of Arts Education. "It not only demonstrates Valley's strong support of the arts as a vehicle for improving the lives and educational outcomes of children in underserved communities, it also underscores the bank's commitment to economic development and local programs that help New Jersey communities thrive."

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