Supporting Arkansas teachers at the elementary school level is an important element of Thea’s Art Closet program. Last month, we drove a little over an hour outside of Little Rock to Clarendon, where a rural farming community continues to navigate major issues, including poverty. For this particular trip, we sought to visit with Katelyn Dancer, a remarkable teacher at Clarendon Elementary School who has received Art Closet project funding from Thea Foundation since 2016. A re

Thea’s Art Closet, a Thea Foundation program which awards funding for art supplies and other creative materials to Arkansas classrooms, kicked off the first week of the 2019-20 school year with disbursing over $10,000 for 14 projects across the state that were matched with other donors, including The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. This school year, Thea Foundation has $100,000 in available funding for Art Closet projects, which is double the grant money that was offered las

Thea Foundation’s three implemented programs reached new levels of success during the 2018-19 school year. Since 2002, Thea Foundation has awarded 399 scholarships, totaling almost $2.3 million in scholarships. Beyond awarding 36 scholarships this year, up from 30 scholarships given in 2018 through Thea’s annual scholarship program, Thea’s Art Closet, an online funding effort in partnership with DonorsChoose for Arkansas teachers to submit art supplies requests to, awarded $5

As the Thea Foundation works to expand the reach of the Renaissance Club, Kristen Lippencott has been named the first Club President. We are excited to have such an enthusiastic leader in place to help us spread the word about Thea’s mission and the club’s opportunity for everyone to take part in the advancement of the arts for Arkansas’s youth. After moving to Little Rock in 2012, Kristen met our Executive Director Paul Leopoulos and quickly became an active volunteer for th

“Students who dance have a reason to come to school,” North Little Rock dance instructor Christen Pitts says. “They can express themselves, get out emotions through movement, their grades are better, and they learn time management skills.” When the morning bell rings, Mrs. Pitts’s students are dressed and ready to warm up. They listen attentively and answer as roll is called, then they get in formation in front of the mirrors that fully surround them, eager for their instruct