The
Claude Moore Charitable Foundation and Inova Loudoun Hospital have donated more
than $64,000 to the Loudoun Education Foundation (LEF) to fund two touring mental
and physical health awareness theatrical productions by the Same Sky Project at
Loudoun County public schools.
The
productions are “Behind the Label,” which tours middle schools and “A WILL to
Survive,” presented at high schools.
The $32,444 commitment from Inova Loudoun
Hospital, combined with a $32,000 commitment from the Claude Moore Charitable
Foundation, provides full funding for the first year of this two-year
initiative.
“Behind the Label” features a teenage
ensemble that shares how they live with various challenges and disabilities but
do not let themselves be defined by those labels.
“A WILL to Survive” is a music-driven
performance that explores depression, suicide prevention and learning to accept
yourself no matter what life challenges you face. This show seeks to educate
students about ways to handle life when it reaches a place where it seems too
hard to handle.
The
Same Sky Project has toured some of Loudoun’s public schools during the past
few years. None of the performance dates covered by the commitment from Inova
Loudoun Hospital and the Claude Moore Charitable Foundation have been booked
yet.
The
grant also has paid for performances of “Behind the Label” and a “A WILL to
Survive” already presented at LCPS schools during the current school year. “Behind the Label” has been presented
at Harper Park,River Bend Middle School and J. Lupton Simpson middle school. “A
WILL to Survive” has been performed at Loudoun Valley, Woodgrove and Heritage high
schools.
Following
are the schools that will be visited during the two-year initiative:
Behind
The Label
Winter 2017
Belmont
Ridge Middle School
Eagle
Ridge Middle School
Seneca
Ridge Middle School
Smart’s
Mill Middle School
Fall 2017
Blue
Ridge Middle School
J.
Michael Lunsford Middle School
Mercer
Middle School
Stone
Hill Middle School
Winter 2018
Farmwell
Station Middle School
Harmony
Middle School
Sterling
Middle School
Trailside
Middle School
A
WILL To Survive
Winter 2017
John
Champe High School
Dominion
High School
Potomac
Falls High School
Stone
Bridge High School
Fall 2017
Briar Woods High School
Broad Run High School
Loudoun County High School
Riverside High School
Winter 2018
Freedom
High School
Park
View High School
Rock Ridge High School
Tuscarora High School
The Same Sky Project, piloted
in fall of 2012, is an ensemble of 40-plus teenagers living with diverse
challenges. They create and perform original work thematically rooted in
empathy, kindness, joy, and hope to raise awareness about differences. The Same
Sky Project is part of A Place to Be, a Middleburg-based, music therapy and
counseling non-profit. It provides services to more than 200 families each week
and has satellite hubs at the Paxton Campus in Leesburg and Inova Loudoun
Hospital.
Founded
in 1987, the Claude Moore Charitable Foundation’s mission is to enhance
educational opportunities, including higher education, for young people in the
Commonwealth of Virginia and elsewhere.
Dr.
Claude Moore was a pioneer radiologist and the first chairman of the George
Washington University’s Radiology Department. Born in Danville on October 21,
1892, Moore was a World War I veteran who came to Loudoun County in 1941. He
bought a 357-acre tract in Sterling that now serves as Claude Moore Park. After
retiring from the practice of medicine in the late 1950’s, Moore devoted
himself to investments and farming. He died at the age of 98 on July 11, 1991,
in Charlottesville.
Moorefield
Station Elementary, which opened in September 2013, is named in his honor.
Inova Loudoun Hospital, serving
Loudoun County for more than 100 years, is part of Inova, a not-for-profit
healthcare system based in Northern Virginia that consists of hospitals and
other health services, including emergency- and urgent-care centers, home care,
nursing homes, mental health and blood donor services and wellness classes. Governed
by a voluntary board of community members, Inova’s mission is to improve the
health of the diverse community it serves through excellence in patient care,
education and research.
The Loudoun Education Foundation (LEF) is
a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation that raises private funds to enhance the
quality of education in Loudoun County Public Schools. The Foundation supports projects
that stimulate students’ curiosity and create exceptional learning
opportunities.
In 1991, four members of the Loudoun County School Board (Fred
Flemming, James Callahan, William White and Barbara D’Elia)
founded the LEF. The foundation was modeled after a similar organization in
Fairfax County. Since its formation, the LEF has given more than $2.9 million
to Loudoun’s students.
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