Inside OUT – Presented by Cumbia for Kids at Kingsland Point Park in Sleepy Hollow, this eight week after-school workshop series is designed to enrich the lives of local elementary school children during the Covid-19 pandemic, complementing the virtual learning platform by providing socialization, Spanish enrichment, and creative engagement through music and dance.
MusicWorks – MusicWorks is a TUFSD sponsored program that provides one-on-one music lessons to low-income middle and high school students who have shown ability, talent and a willingness to practice and excel. The goals of the program include bringing greater diversity to school ensembles and helping students realize that the discipline of regular practice yields satisfying, motivational rewards. Beginning in 2020, Kids’ Club is helping to fund this well-established program that brings the joy of music to even more children in our community.
Rivertown Dance Academy – Rivertown Dance Academy (“RDA”) is a not-for-profit dance organization offering dance instruction and performance opportunities for students of all levels of experience. Classes in tap, ballet, hip hop, jazz, theater jazz and modern dance are available for students beginning as young as 18 months and up through adulthood. Housed in the United Methodist Church in Tarrytown, RDA serves over 130 students, approximately 27% of whom receive financial assistance with tuition. Kids’ Club is proud to help fund scholarships to RDA for youth from Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow who otherwise would not be able to afford this wonderful creative, artistic and athletic opportunity.
RSHM LIFE Center’s Smarty Saturdays Program – Kids’ Club is proud to support this 2020-21 initiative of the LIFE Center, whose goal is to provide third, fourth and fifth graders with a sense of normalcy and the relaxation afforded by a fun activity with a group of peers. By exposing children to cultural, arts, environmental and historic resources, it also contributes to the development of the students’ minds during this phase of their growth, harbor creativity and enrich understanding. Plans include field trips to facilities such as Outhouse Orchards, Stone Barns and more.
Summer Programming – Since 2009 (with the exception of 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic), Kids’ Club has worked collaboratively with the villages of Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow to make available a six-week local summer camp experience for more than 100 children annually, whose families otherwise could not afford it. Scholarships funded by Kids’ Club, Westchester County, and the villages of Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow have enabled campers to participate five days a week in educational, creative, athletic, and recreational activities supervised by qualified counselors in a safe environment.
In addition to this well-attended camp, Kids’ Club also has provided support for campers from low-income families to attend TUFSD’s Summer Arts Camp, the Sleepy Hollow Recreation Department’s Teen Travel Program, the RSHM LIFE Center’s 5-week Sleepy Hollow camp program, the Ossining Open Door’s Reach Out and Read preschool camp, as well as a ten-day sleep-away experience at The Summer Camp in Maine.
The Music Hall Academy – Tarrytown Music Hall and theater educator Peter Royston have collaborated to create The Music Hall Academy, which provides “young people with an artistic home where they can develop vital life skills through the performing arts, learning from theater professionals, theater educators, members of the community and from each other.” In 2019, Kids’ Club added its support to this creative venture by helping to finance scholarships for the Academy’s summer program, which includes numerous workshops and intensives for students in grades K-12 incorporating improvisation, dance, music, story-telling and more. In 2020, we added financial support for the Academy’s theater work with fourth and fifth grade students at Washington Irving School in Tarrytown.