Any Given Child Shenandoah Valley Staff
"A vibrant community is alive with the arts. Creativity, beauty, and passion are essential features of a thriving society, and the arts ensure those elements are alive. The arts are EVERYWHERE around you from the sounds you hear, the colors you see, the food you eat, and the energy you feel. We MUST continue to provide our children with the opportunity to find their creative artist identity so that our future home is even more vibrant than ours is today. The arts change me, drive me, empower me, and challenge me and I am so thankful I found my identity as a young artist and that I live in a community that believes, supports, and creates art for the youngest members of our community!!"
-J.R. Snow, Director |
"I'm grateful for the opportunities I had in the arts as a child - they instilled a confidence and curiosity that has been woven into the fabric of my life. The arts enrich, excite, and enable people of all walks of life to exchange ideas, imagine, and connect in a creative process; in short, the arts transform lives and help build a more vibrant community. I'm proud to support the important work of Any Given Child Shenandoah Valley, encouraging all children to find their voice through the arts." - Sarah Orem, Outreach and Advocacy Manager
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Any Given Child Shenandoah Valley Board of Directors
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"The arts are vital to us as humans. We need them for connection, for understanding, for reflection. I support Any Given Child because live arts performances can spark so many emotions inside of us. I love what Ethan Hawke said about the arts: “Do you think human creativity matters? Well, most people don’t spend a lot of time thinking about poetry, right? They have a life to live and they’re really not that concerned with Allen Ginsberg’s poems or anyone’s poems—until, their father dies; they go to a funeral; you lose a child; someone breaks your heart. And all of a sudden you’re desperate for making sense out of this life. ‘Has anybody felt this bad before? How did they come out of this cloud?’ Or the inverse—something great. You meet somebody and your heart explodes—you love them so much you can’t even see straight. You’re dizzy. ‘Did anybody feel like this before? What is happening to me?’ And that’s when art’s not a luxury—it’s actually sustenance. We need it.” I am honored to serve on the board of AGC as we work to make arts experiences- and all the healing and awe that come with it- accessible to all children of the Shenandoah Valley." -Jerri Alexiou
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"As a child, I was fortunate to have experiences in the performing arts that helped me grow confidence, relationships, and an appreciation for the arts as a whole - all of which helped shape my path into adulthood. As a parent and educator, I have worked to foster arts experiences for my own children and students, understading that the arts have the power to impact every human at some level. I am honored to serve the Any Given Child Board by supporting opportunities for arts exposure in our schools and community." -Jackie Baker
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"I cannot imagine my life without Art. Art is what brings us together and helps us see the world through a multi-faceted and beautiful lens. Live performance and visual art allow us to experience different stories and viewpoints, and to collaboratively share in the human experience. Art moves us to explore a vast array of emotions, learn from others, embrace difference and diversity, and view our past, our present and our future in illuminating ways. Art is what survives from generation to generation allowing us to hope and dream for the future."
-Regan Byrne |
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"I was exposed to creative movement in 1st grade and have been captivated with the arts ever since. The idea of taking risks, trusting my intuition, being vulnerable, and doing all this with a group of people who are experiencing the same thing really is a gift. Art does this and I couldn’t be more thrilled to be a part of giving this opportunity, that so impacted my life, to thousands of other students."- Ryan Corriston
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"The arts and music have been a lifelong passion for me, instilled by my mother and nurtured through my involvement in school choruses and musicals. I've continued to share this love with my three sons, fostering their musical talents from a young age. Providing all children with the opportunity to explore and embrace the arts is essential for their growth and development as individuals. It is through the arts that we discover our creative identities and learn to appreciate diverse perspectives. As a member of the Any Given Child Board, I'm dedicated to advocating for arts and music education, knowing firsthand the transformative power it holds in shaping well-rounded and empathetic individuals. Together, we can ensure that all children have equitable access to these transformative experiences." -Ashley Gordon Becker
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"The arts and creativity have been integral to growth in all aspects of my life. Learning to think and act creatively has allowed me to better handle difficulties, express myself authentically, connect with others, and experience immense freedom. I am excited to join in the work that Any Given Child is doing to ensure that every student has the opportunity to experience their own personal connection with the arts. I firmly believe that it will create benefits that will impact the entire community, both now and in the future." - Jeff Guinn
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“ I was fortunate to have parents who valued the arts and ensured that our family experienced many live arts experiences throughout my childhood. The same was true for my husband and I as we raised our children and now that is continuing with our grandson. All of our lives are richer because of the arts!As a former special education educator, I continually looked for arts-related opportunities for my students. The result was students were better able to connect with academic concepts, became more self-aware, found ways to more effectively express themselves, exuded more confidence in risk-taking and self-advocacy, and found great joy while discovering their personal styles of creativity. I'm so grateful to live in a community that supports and values the arts and to be a part of providing live arts experiences to students in our area through my involvement with Any Given Child Shenandoah Valley.” - Jill Martorana
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I was captivated by the arts at an early age and managed to touch every facet as a student. I later understood how those transferable skills made me a better person, community member, and professional. Every child deserves those foundational experiences and Any Given Child is an amazing way to invest in the education of today's students."- Chris Meyers
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"I believe we need beauty. Beauty softens hearts. Beauty builds community. Beauty makes peace. I was encouraged to make music from a young age and to have a life filled with the beauty of arts and artists. I want that for every child." - Dan Ott
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"I would not have the life I have now if it were not for the arts education I got in my public schools growing up. From the choir that I traveled with to New York City from my small Vermont town in middle school, to the life-long friends I made doing musicals in high school, to the elementary string program that led to two degrees in music performance and a professional career as a violist - public arts education has shaped me as a person, an educator, and a parent. Having the opportunity to serve Any Given Child to ensure that this next generation of Virginia students has exposure to a comprehensive and diverse arts education is a personal honor and privilege." -Katie Overfield Zook
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