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BCT partnership sparks vision for healthier lives
How can Cinderella open opportunities for vision screenings or Mrs. Claus help children save their sight? With a grant from the Community Foundation under the new Results Framework, a partnership of Birmingham Children’s Theatre (BCT), the FocusFirst program of Impact Alabama and Sight Savers America is starting a pilot project in 2011 to find out.
“This new approach is so positive and allowed us to think about ways to collaborate and look at arts programs in a way that measures important results,” said Wes Taylor of BCT, which serves more than 45,000 children ages 3 to 6 with Wee Folks productions each year. In addition to screenings for groups that attend the shows, BCT will create an original script dealing with the vision care and self esteem in children who wear glasses or contacts.
With a Community Fund grant of $50,000 over two years, BCT is making changes in its physical facility and its programming. Focus First and Sight Savers are providing equipment, personnel and followup plans.
“SEE stands for Sight, Education and Entertainment,” Taylor said. “Our board already had challenged us to partner with human services organizations in a new way as a part of our mission, and the new grant framework gives us an ideal way to work toward important results together.”
Jeff Haddox of Sight Savers noted that the pilot program provides the opportunity to reach children at younger ages, when many vision problems can be fixed more easily and at less cost.
“This is, literally and figuratively, a visionary collaboration,” added Stephen Black of Impact Alabama. “Connecting the worlds of art, entertainment and health makes so much sense that we are all a little frustrated that we didn’t think of this sooner.”
You can give through an Advised Fund to support the Results Framework and this Result — People can lead healthy lives. Or you can make a gift immediately on-line.
