DCCA News
By Marilyn Delk
Despite current concerns and ongoing troubling events, we truly have much for which to give thanks as we celebrate Thanksgiving. Many of us will demonstrate our gratitude for those blessings by sharing a sumptuous meal with loved ones; but the next day will be taken up with frantic shopping motivated by boisterous ad campaigns urging us to express our love for family and friends by buying whatever ad-makers are selling. The days following our Thanksgiving observances have been given names to help spur outlandish purchasing; however, on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving, we thankfully return to the grateful spirit of the holiday with Giving Tuesday.
Giving Tuesday, founded in 2012 as a day that encourages people to do good, has become a global movement urging people to transform their communities and the world through their gifts. However, a 2015 study based on a survey of Americans showed that while 93 percent of respondents were familiar with Black Friday, only 18 percent knew about Giving Tuesday. Frankly, you can count me among those ignorant of the designation — until now.
Darke County Center for the Arts Executive Director Andrea Jordan recently announced that the organization she heads will be accepting donations on-line at www.DarkeCountyArts.org on Giving Tuesday, Nov. 30; donors can also call DCCA at 937-547-0908 or stop by the office located on the third floor of Greenville Public Library between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. to make their gift. Darke County Endowment for the Arts will match all Giving Tuesday gifts received up to a total of $500.
Donations of $25 and over will earn the benefits accorded to all membership donations; additional gifts from those who are already members will upgrade memberships levels to reflect the total amount donated. DCCA members receive a $2 discount off the price of Coffee House series tickets as well as a discount on food at The Merchant House on the nights of DCCA Saturday presentations. Supporter level members also receive complimentary tickets to all Artists Series events; an Appreciation Luncheon offering a preview of the upcoming season is added to the perks for members giving $750 or more.
Darke County Center for the Arts, established in 1978 to enrich local lives by presenting and promoting the arts in our community, has been achieving that mission for over four decades. In addition to the impressive Artists Series which annually attracts hundreds of fans to Henry St. Clair Memorial Hall, DCCA’s Arts In Education program has been taking high quality professional artists to all students in every local public school district since 1983, and for the past 15 years DCCA has presented high-class performances in comfortable low-key settings with its cozy Coffee House Series. Giving Tuesday gifts will help offset the cost of these presentations, as well as assist DCCA as it continues to work to achieve its mission while coping with difficulties created by the pandemic.
Darke County Endowment for the Arts, the organization matching Giving Tuesday donations to DCCA, is a non-profit charitable organization that receives and invests charitable gifts from those who wish to leave a lasting legacy enriching local lives through the arts. The Endowment maintains a General Fund from which annual grants are awarded to deserving local individuals and organizations, as well as the Memorial Hall Fund, dedicated to the preservation of historic St. Clair Memorial Hall. The maintenance required to maintain the cultural integrity of this grand old building is beyond the financial reach of the Greenville Board of Education, to whom the legacy of Henry and Ella St. Clair was entrusted over 100 years ago.
The third fund maintained by DCEA underwrites the mission of Darke County Center for the Arts, helping DCCA purchase, maintain, and upgrade technical equipment required by the performing artists it presents as well as assisting with other expenses beyond the arts council’s annual budget. Those interested in contributing to the Endowment to help keep the arts alive forever in our community may do so by visiting www.supportDCEA.org or writing the Endowment at P.O. Box 155, Greenville, OH 45331. More information can also be obtained by contacting DCEA board chair Marilyn Delk (yes that’s me.)
Marilyn Delk is the former executive director of the Darke County Center for the Arts and can be reached at [email protected]. Viewpoints expressed in the article are the work of the author. The Daily Advocate does not endorse these viewpoints or the independent activities of the author.
