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This community initiative encourages both theatergoers and Center staff to show their support by donating a small item and it all started with the success of the Hadestown in August 2022.
The Center helped the Orange County charity, Grandma’s House of Hope, to stock the near-empty shelves at their food bank. All patrons were encouraged to donate canned goods to help the nearly twenty percent of children in Orange County living in “food insecure” households. Center staff also participated by having an internal contest to see which department could collect the most canned goods. Collectively, over 2,000 pounds of canned goods were collected.
With the massive success from Hadestown, it inspired the Center to have a second canned food drive hosted for our run of Moulin Rouge! The Musical from November 9 to 27, 2022, this time teaming up with the Orange County Food Bank to stock its shelves with canned food goods for those in-need. The musical’s four values of Truth, Beauty, Freedom, and Love went into practice as staff and patrons donated 3,000 pounds of canned goods surpassing our previous total by 1,000 pounds!
The Center was thrilled to partner with CHOC (Children’s Hospital of Orange County) Foundation to hold a book drive for their Family Resource Center. In the spirit of celebrating one of the great American novels, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, patrons were encouraged to donate books throughout the run of the play from December 27, 2022 – January 8, 2023. Together we helped CHOC provide 1000 reading and coloring books to patients, parents and siblings knowing how important reading is to children’s well-being and creativity. Rose Ovalle, Patient and Family Experience Program Manager at CHOC shares “We are grateful to Segerstrom Center for the Arts for their donation of 1,000 books. They are a pleasure to work with and their generosity supports our efforts to promote early literacy, making an important impact on young patients at CHOC. We look forward to ongoing collaborations that further enhance the health and well-being of children.”
During our run of Disney’s Frozen from February 1 to 19, 2023, the Center teamed up with One Warm Coat as well as local beneficiary agencies Lighthouse Outreach and Clothing the Homeless charities in OC to host a coat drive. Together we collected 1,350 coats to provide to those in need. For nearly 30 years, One Warm Coat has given the gift of warmth to over 6.6 million children and adults. They believe in the basic right to protection from the cold, for everyone. Mitchell Raff, CEO of Clothing the Homeless shares “I would like to sincerely thank Segerstrom and the staff for the large donation of jackets and coats that were collected during the performance run of Frozen. Your donation of coats to Clothingthehomeless.org helped the homeless we serve in Orange County stay warm through this cold and wet winter. Your collaboration and staff’s dedication are greatly appreciated and we are honored to be one of the chosen charity’s Segerstrom donated to. I look forward to working with Segerstrom in the coming years and am grateful for your generosity and compassion for those in need.”
For the performance of Mean Girls from March 7-19, the Center did a school supplies drive with Families Forward. “The entire team at Families Forward thoroughly enjoyed partnering with Segerstrom Center For the Arts to gather essential supplies for the upcoming school year,” said Madelynn Hirneise, CEO of Families Forward. “Receiving six full barrels of classroom basics in just over two weeks was beyond what we expected and we’re confident these necessary items will help alleviate the financial strain a new school year can bring for families in need. We also extend our gratitude for not only the supplies they donated, but the in-kind tickets they gave to our staff and volunteers to see the recent Mean Girls production live – it was an experience they won’t soon forget!”
Throughout the run of Hairspray, April 18-30, the Center had a toiletries drive in support of Share Our Selves, a nationally recognized Heath Center providing high quality, safety net services to the Orange County community and designated as a Healthcare provider for the Homeless.
Lisa Middleton, Vice President of Marketing and Communications for Segerstrom Center for the Arts shares “The Center is delighted to support each and every one of these wonderful local Orange County community organizations and will continue to support local nonprofits throughout the Broadway season. It’s a great way of bringing people together including staff, patrons, and the Orange County community for a common good and the love of the performing arts.”
The Center is ecstatic about the impact made in our community and aims to continue these efforts throughout the rest of the 2022-2023 Broadway season. The upcoming shows SIX and TINA: The Tina Turner Musical also plan to include community partnerships.
Segerstrom Center for the Arts is an innovative, nonprofit arts organization committed to supporting artistic excellence, creating impactful educational programs, and dedicated to engaging a culturally connected, inclusive and vital Orange County community for all, through the power of live performance.
As the leading cultural arts hub, the Center presents a variety of programming with performances by international dance companies, Broadway national tours, jazz and cabaret musicians, chamber orchestras and ensembles, comedy, and speaker series. Through the Education and Community Engagement departments, the Center also delivers family-friendly programming and performances on the Julianne and George Argyros Plaza; these events include outdoor movie screenings, concerts, dance classes, diverse festivals and more.
With six venues on a beautiful multi-disciplinary campus, Segerstrom Center for the Arts proudly serves as the artistic home to three of the region’s major performing arts organizations: Pacific Symphony, Philharmonic Society of Orange County and Pacific Chorale as well as two independently acclaimed organizations: Tony Award®-winning South Coast Repertory and the Orange County Museum of Art. Segerstrom Center is also home to the American Ballet Theatre William J. Gillespie School and Studio D, Arts School for All Abilities.
Segerstrom Center for the Arts applauds its corporate partner Kaiser Permanente, Official Health Care Partner and recognizes Spectrum Reach as a media partner for the 2023 -2024 Broadway Series.
Information provided is accurate at the time of printing but is subject to change. Segerstrom Center for the Arts is a public, non-profit organization. “Segerstrom Center for the Arts” is a registered trademark.
