Welcome

he smiling faces, the people dancing, and the families singing along to the songs. Every year, the Citizens Bank Pops by the Sea offers up an idyllic scene in an idyllic setting. If only every day on Cape Cod could be this perfect. That is our wish. Of course, it never is. Despite outward appearances, the Cape faces many of the same T challenges and difficulties that larger, more urban centers do.

Hidden behind our picturesque seashores and tucked far away from our tony oceanfront mansions is the harsh reality that there are many in our region who are struggling just to get by.

Anecdotally, we witnessed this reality at the end of July when we visited the Family Pantry of Cape Cod in Harwich to learn more about arts and crafts classes for clients’ children that we funded through a recent grant. When we arrived before 10 am on a Saturday morning, there was a line of people waiting to get in to receive free food they cannot afford to buy themselves.

Adults aren’t the only ones who are suffering. In Barnstable Public Schools, half of the over 5,200 students receive free or reduced-rate lunches. Roughly 40 percent of the 1,199 students in the DennisYarmouth Public School District are classified as economically disadvantaged by the state Department of Education. And slightly less than 35 percent of the 120 students in Provincetown’s school system fall into that same category.

While alarming, these statistics reinforce what we already know: there are many in need on Cape Cod.

What does this have to do with the Pops? Your attendance at this year’s concert is helping to fund a new cultural program we will be launching this fall — AFCC Access — which is targeted to children between the ages of 7 and 17 who live at or below the poverty level.

We will be partnering with several organizations, including Big Brothers, Big Sisters; Cape Cod Child Development; YMCA Achievers; Grandparents Raising Grandchildren on Cape Cod; and local church groups, to offer cultural and artistic enrichment opportunities to our region’s most impoverished students.

Research shows that exposure to the arts has a positive effect on children. It boosts self-confidence, serves as a gateway for socialization, and enhances creative thinking.

And much like tonight’s concert, the arts provide moments of joy. In our current sociopolitical climate, we think we can all agree our world needs more of that.

So while not every day on Cape Cod will be as perfect as today, AFCC Access strives to reach that goal because we think our children deserve it.

May this year’s Pops be full of smiles, dancing, and singing for all of us.

Julie Wake and Rana Murphy Executive Director AFCC Board Chair