BRISTOL, PA (May 2024) โย Penn Community Bank, the largest independent mutual bank in eastern Pennsylvania, is proud to announce a $15,000 grant to Bristol Riverside Theatre (BRT) (120 Radcliffe Street, Bristol, PA, 19007) in support of Bristol Borough youth.
Penn Community Bank has invested in critical programs for youth through BRTโs Arts Education programs for nearly 20 years. Today, these programs include ArtRageous Summer Camp, ArtRageous School Year, Amplifying Black Brilliance, and Open Mic Nights. BRT Education provides safe spaces for Bristol Borough youth to find their creative voices through curated classes encouraging students to develop a greater appreciation for creative endeavors in theatre, music, arts and crafts, writing, and dance.
โSupporters like Penn Community Bank give our young people the opportunity to discover the power of art and expression through their support of BRT Education,โ said BRT Producing Director Ken Kaissar. โThrough their generosity, weโre able to raise up young people, encourage their confidence, give them a decade of sequential learning of collaboration and communication skills, and spark their creativity.โ
โCommunity banking means investing in a brighter future for our region,โ Jeane M. Vidoni, President and CEO of Penn Community Bank. โBeyond what we do as a banking institution, weโre committed to lifting up our youth through initiatives that support and encourage young imaginations to create and accomplish their dreams.โ
According to US News and World Report, 66% of students in Bristol Borough School District are living in low income households. Arts participation and SAT scores increase linearly with students who take four years of arts coursework outperforming their peers by 100 points on the SAT. Among low-income students, arts education has been shown to reduce the dropout rate by 18% and increase the likelihood of attending college by 50%. To ensure BRT Education programs reach the kids who need it most, BRT works closely with school district staff, including social workers, teachers, and administrators, as well as community-based prevention organizations who themselves offer programs to low-income families.
The Programs
ArtRageous Summer Camp is the foundational educational initiative of Bristol Riverside Theatre. Camp is a unique program that connects local youth with professional theatre artists who offer mentorship, instruction, and individual attention. By focusing on creative expression and process, not product, ArtRageous breaks down barriers and creates a safe, collaborative space where children find their voices and learn behaviors needed to succeed in school and beyond. ArtRageous began 20 years ago when a group of local parents approached BRT with the problem that over the summer there was no affordable supervision for their children and some were getting into trouble โhanging outโ. ArtRageous was BRTโs response.
Offered entirely for free, this program has become a critical lifeline for area youth. BRT works with each child and family to ensure a meaningful experience that leads to growth and increased self-confidence. Students are separated into three age groups in which they study acting, music, hip-hop dance, and arts and crafts. Over four weeks, industry professionals guide campers in creating a showcase of their own design that culminates in a final performance on the BRT mainstage attended by parents and other community members. For our kids, being recognized and applauded by their community on our stage is particularly transformative.
ArtRageous School Year, now in its fourth year, was created at the behest of then Bristol Borough School District Principal Kelli Rosado. Ms. Rosado, having seen the impact of the camp first-hand for over a decade, approached BRT about putting ArtRageous teaching artists in the school as part of the regular curriculum for all elementary school students. Now, every 1st through 3rd grader in the district receives nine weeks of performing arts instruction 5 days a week as part of the school day. Classes include musical theatre, acting, ballroom dance, and hip-hop (both practice and history). The program focuses on social emotional learning, collaboration, interpretation, and creative expression and builds over a three year curriculum. The school hopes to expand to include 4th and 5th grades when funding allows.
Amplifying Black Brilliance was developed through conversations between BRT Director of Education and Community Engagement, Qadriyyah Tongori, and No Longer Bound Prevention Manager, Damita Harvey. The two women heard a need to address issues specific to the Black community and, in response, created Amplifying Black Brilliance to highlight Black history through the performing arts. The program offers the opportunity for youth to celebrate heritage within the African diaspora through creative expression, cultural appreciation, education, and mentorship. Like all BRT Education programs, attendance is free for youth ages 7-17. Amplifying Black Brilliance is run in partnership with The African American Historical and Cultural Society of Bucks County and No Longer Bound Prevention Services. A showcase for the public is presented at the end of the program and as part of Bristol Boroughโs Juneteenth celebration.
Theatre to the People ensures that students are able to attend productions with family members. Studies show that young people reap the greatest benefits from arts and culture, and are more likely to benefit from lifelong cultural appreciation, when they participate in performing arts with both family members and non-family mentors. Therefore, ArtRageous Summer Camp and Amplifying Black Brilliance students, who already participate in the arts with non-family mentors, receive five tickets per show at Bristol Riverside Theatre. Those tickets can be used by BRT Education families, with or without the students. This means that a 7 year-old student can see a show like A Christmas Story with a parent, and their parents can see a show like A Raisin in the Sun on their own, enhancing cultural appreciation as a family value.
Following its remaining 2024 programming, Bristol Riverside Theatre returns to its newly revamped home of 38 years at the heart of Bristol Boroughโs main street in February 2025. A detailed schedule of upcoming season events, shows, educational programming, and satellite location information can be found at brtstage.org.
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Bristol Riverside Theatre (BRT) has continued to bring acclaimed theatre to Bucks County since 1986. Now under the direction of Producing Directors Amy and Ken Kaissar and General Manager Megan Jones, the theatre serves as a cultural hub for the community. In addition to its mainstage productions, BRT offers the William Penn Bank Summer Music Fest, the new play development series America Rising, the summer theatre arts camp ArtRageous, and a range of education programs for local youth. For information, visit www.brtstage.org.
Penn Community Bank is the largest independent mutual bank in eastern Pennsylvania – holding more than $2.9 billion in assets, employing over 300 team members, and offering a full suite of consumer and business banking and lending services throughout the greater Philadelphia and Lehigh Valley region. As a mutual financial institution, Penn Community Bank is not publicly traded and operates with its long-term mission in mind: to help businesses grow and prosper, to provide financial resources to individuals and families throughout their lifetimes, to strengthen the local economy, and to partner with local organizations to act as a catalyst for positive growth in every market it serves.
