AYUDA for the Arts - Mission Statement

AYUDA for the Arts
"Empowering the Creative Minds of the Future"

The Alliance for Young Urban Design and the Arts (AYUDA for the Arts) is an organization that is dedicated to helping the creative young minds from our urban neighborhoods.

In early 2001, the founders of AYUDA for the Arts saw the need of the many talented, creative young urban students who, due to limited financial opportunities, were unable to further their studies into college programs for design and the arts.

We saw that there are a number of organizations that provide some financial assistance to various segments of the design and arts field. Others are dedicated to a specific ethnic sector. We specifically designed AYUDA for the Arts to stand apart in that we recognize all fields of design and the arts and all cultural backgrounds. (While "AYUDA" is the Spanish word for "help", we are a multi-cultural organization.)
Examples of the Potential Categories for Scholarships include, but are not limited to:
          Design - Fashion, Interior, Jewelry, Advertising, Illustration, Theatrical Set, etc.
          Arts - Graphic Arts, Music, Painting, Literature, Sculpture, Theatre, Dance and other
          Performance Arts, Culinary Arts, etc

Candidates for scholarships must show dedication and promise in their chosen field in almost any design or art related major. Awarding of the scholarships will be by the selection committee based on the weighing of a number of factors including financial need, academic achievement, judging examples of their work, recommendations, references, a personal statement and an interview. In addition, at the time of the award, the applicant must have been accepted to a qualified institution into a program with a concentration in the field for which they are being considered by AYUDA.

In addition, our goal is to introduce the students to successful individuals in their chosen field of study; mentors, to give the student an experienced insight and guidance with respect to the fields they have chosen.

We had our first awards ceremony in March 2003 where two scholarships were presented. In April 2004, four more awards were given to students of the arts. In March 2005, we presented scholarships to 8 more students. We are proud of how our scholarship program continues to grow through the support of our sponsors. Scholarships have been directly funded by grants given by benevolent companies in our community.

AYUDA for the Arts is a fully volunteer organization at this time with no salaried staff. But there are still many administrative costs to run the organization. It raises funds through grants, appeals, private donations and fundraising events. Our most recent fundraising event, "A Fashionable Taste of New York" was held on October 11, 2005 at Strata, Broadway at 21st Street. It was a gourmet tasting involving 20 of New York’s finest restaurants celebrating the kick off our newest scholarship offering, the Chef Douglas Rodriguez Scholarship for Culinary Arts.

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Throughout time, societies have been judged and remembered by the contributions they have made to the various arts of their era. The hope of AYUDA for the Arts is to give today's youth, who have the seed of talent, the resources and nourishment they need to grow their talents to the fullest potential and to eventually leave us with their creative contributions, which will earmark our society of tomorrow.

MISSION STATEMENT

AYUDA for the Arts is dedicated to helping creative young minds from urban neighborhoods develop their artistic potential, enabling them to make significant contributions to our society through the Arts. AYUDA for the Arts is a New York-based 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable organization whose mission is three-fold:

To provide need-based scholarships to promising college-admitted, New York City high school seniors and undergraduate students pursuing careers in the Arts;
To partner scholarship recipients with industry professionals through the AYUDA for the Arts Mentorship Program;
To increase public interest in the field of education for the Arts.

Background: The Alliance for Young Urban Design and the Arts, Inc., (AYUDA for the Arts) was created in 2001 to provide educational opportunities to financially disadvantaged youth in metropolitan areas, initially New York City. In 2001, a group of professionals working in the arts, accounting, marketing and public relations gathered with one clear purpose: to promote education of design and the arts among urban youth. The organization concentrates towards fostering the emergence of new talent from urban areas who could best benefit from the financial and guiding assistance of our organization.