We love it when we get grant requests from students.
For two reasons, really: One, students often come up with the most informed ideas because they’re directly involved in what’s being proposed. And two, because it gives students practical experience in drafting grant requests.
That was the case last fall when high school students Leah Meyer, Emily Frendt, Frances Schafer, Zoë Cunningham, and Delilah Scott worked with PAC manager Dan Worthington on the PAC Learning and Performing Enhancement Grant. The requested funds would cover booster seats for young children attending performances at the PAC, a monitor in the backstage green room, C-stands, sandbags, light kits with batteries, and Meta augmented reality glasses.
The students’ original grant request was for more than $5,000. By working with Worthington, school administrators, the EGRSF grants committee and our board, however, the items on their list were prioritized and the approved amount dropped to $3,166.
So what was eliminated from their request? The booster seats, because, while useful, they’re not completely necessary to have readily available at the PAC. And the augmented reality glasses because, while they could be useful for envisioning set design, they seemed like a $500 that would be nice to have, but not mission-critical. The resulting compromise seems to have met the needs at the PAC and, again, gave students experience with prioritizing wants and needs.
“The project met our goals as we were able to purchase all of the approved items and the items have been useful for their intended purchases and more,” the students wrote in their grant evaluation. “The equipment has had a versatile and meaningful impact both to our students and the arts. It is a critical part of every event, performance, or task in the PAC. This grant provides new and updated resources that further students learning in backstage and technical aspects of theater.”
Thank you, Foundation donors, for making these resources available to our students!
