The Arts For Everyone

t’s the middle of May in Yarmouth. In just a few weeks, tourists will arrive in droves, delighting in the beauty of the region and the excitement that summer offers. The Arts FoR Everyone HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICE TICKETS DONATED BY EASTERN BANK CHARITABLE FOUNDATION I

But in this community’s modest-sized food pantry, it’s a much different picture. Here people make their way down narrow aisles, collecting groceries they need to survive.

“It takes a lot of courage to come to a food pantry,” the non-profit’s Executive Director Susan Martin says. “When people come in here, they need food.”

This is where people go when they have nowhere else to turn.

At present, it has over 5,050 registered clients, including 2,300 families; 30 percent of its clients are children.

Yes, they need the basics, which the Yarmouth Food Pantry is providing, but they require so much more to retain a sense of normalcy and to bring some joy into their lives. Once a year, the

Arts Foundation of Cape Cod plays a part in that equation by Yarmouth Food Pantry providing 1,500 free tickets to local needy families to attend the

Citizens Bank Pops by the Sea concert. THE POWER OF THE POPS

Thanks to the generosity of the Eastern Bank Charitable In her role as Executive Director of the AFCC, Julie Wake

Foundation, those tickets are made available to more than 30 understands the importance of connecting all people to the arts. nonprofit health and human service agencies, like the Yarmouth “Art has the power to transform lives, helping to build hope and

Food Pantry, who distribute them to their clients. well-being,” she says. Offering an afternoon of escape and entertainment can serve as a wonderful respite for those who have experienced significant trauma. These are people like those Independence House serves, adults and children throughout Cape Cod who have been affected by domestic or sexual violence. “We have a number of clients who would not necessarily be able to go to such a fantastic show like the Pops,” says Donna Giberti, the development and marketing director for Independence House. Talk to any of the nonprofits whose clients benefit from the program and you’re likely to hear similar words of appreciation to those that WE CAN Executive Director Andi Gesner shared: “We work with a lot of single moms who have kids and this concert is the kind of thing so many of them just don’t have the funds to do on their own.” Making these tickets available to the women WE CAN is supporting allows them to be a part of “an event that is such a PHOTO BY DAN CUTRONA big, signature Cape Cod event. And really, they feel a part of this community where there are all kinds of people. That’s what’s so great about this program.” “It is with great pleasure that Eastern Bank supports the mission of the Arts Foundation by providing tickets to their biggest fundraiser of the year to the health and human service agencies on Cape Cod. We hope that many will get the opportunity to not only enjoy the day but also be inspired by the music.”