The Worthington Family Foundation 2012 distribution was divided among the following organizations:

Michigan State University Opera Theater in East Lansing, MI provides students opportunities for exploring the arts through a variety of high quality and affordable programs. They were awarded $20,000 which will be used to support for:

• To continue providing a first-rate opera educational experience for MSU vocal and orchestral students;
• To fully equip young singers to compete in the professional marketplace through a variety of performance venues and productions;
• To enhance the beauty of MSU Opera Theatre productions to aptly showcase the talented young musicians recruited to Michigan State University;
• To present excellent, authentic and visually appealing opera and musical theatre productions that provide cultural enrichment for the MSU student body and the greater Lansing community; and
• To build new audiences, using both conventional and cutting-edge marketing techniques to promote unique and interesting productions in new venues in the community.

Au Sable Institute of Environmental Studies The Au Sable Institute of Environmental Studies has offered environmental education to K-12th grade students in the Grand Traverse Bay region for 34 years. The Environmental Education Program uses field courses to help students develop the knowledge, skills, and character they need to be effective environmental stewards. Since 1979, they have taught 120,000 students from 34 school districts. To improve their high-quality day programs, develop new field programs, and expand in-class instruction, they need new program supplies. They were awarded $20,179.13 for purchasing supplies in five areas:

• field supplies to expand and execute their scientific, inquiry-based programs;
• program aides to bring the natural world to life in the classroom;
• Michigan History program costumes and aides to execute their unique depiction of early 1800s and 1900s life in Michigan;
• outdoor teaching kits for the staff to lead programs; and
• reference library materials to train seasonal interns.

Michigan Opera Theater provides students opportunities for exploring the arts through a variety of high quality and affordable education and outreach programs. Each year, thousands of elementary school students experience opera and the arts through programming Michigan Opera Theater designs specifically for young children. Michigan Opera Theater was awarded $25,000 to:

• Create accessible, affordable, and relevant opera and cultural arts experiences for elementary school children.
• Tap the children’s creativity and imagination.
• Teach the children about the arts and academics.
• Inspire the next generation of artists and opera and cultural arts audiences.

The Old Town Playhouse in Traverse City, MI, is a volunteer based organization promoting quality community theatre experiences for the people of Northwest Michigan by providing educational opportunities and entertainment in the theatrical arts. They were awarded $70,000 which will be used:

• To make their Young Company programming available to as many young people aged 5- 18 in the five county Grand Traverse region.
• To keep ticket prices reasonable for families.
• To offer the families of OTP Young Company participants an opportunity to attend Young Company shows at a discounted rate.
• To expand the number of classes and programs they have for the Young Company.
• To increase their marketing of programs into the schools and to the general public.
• To build their scholarship reserve to ensure funding for future years.
• Develop a program that brings the Aged to Perfection group and their area youth together.
• Bring nationally known professionals to the area to offer classes and speak about their involvement in theatre.
• Design and produce a fun, fast moving video that takes a youth production from casting to final performance.
• Provide special no or low cost teen nights for their Young Company MainStage shows.

Chelsea Center for the Arts in Chelsea, MI is an organization that develops, fosters, and promotes art and music in Chelsea and the surrounding areas. They were awarded $28,345 to retrofit an unused structure of the CCA building, so that it will be suitable for use as a year-round visual arts classroom. This classroom will be especially useful for teaching ceramics, jewelry/metal-smithing, sculpture and other mediums requiring specialized equipment.

Lansing Symphony Orchestra The Lansing Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is committed to taking an active role in the development of music education programming for mid-Michigan area youth and has been introducing orchestral music to young audiences for over 60 years. By bringing music into the lives and classrooms of young people, they encourage students to develop an active interest in, and appreciation for, orchestral music and their community’s symphony. The LSO was awarded $60,000:

• To offer a concert free of charge to local school districts so that students may experience a performance by a live, professional symphony orchestra
• To provide professional, curriculum-based pre-concert materials to prepare students and teachers for the program they will experience
• To create a performance of engaging symphonic repertoire which is appropriate for upper-elementary and middle school students
• To expose young listeners to the melodies, rhythms and styles of Native American and African-American cultures and demonstrate how this indigenous music was used by European and American composers of classical music
• To supplement arts education in our local schools during a time of severely restricted budgets, and
• To introduce young listeners to the instruments of the orchestra