Thank you to everyone who helped make our dream of a new theatrical home come true
We are thrilled to announce the completion of our $890,000 “Bold New Home” capital campaign. The fundraising drive began two years ago, has received strong support from several prominent community members, and has given us a new theatrical home, which is known as the Bette Aitken theater arts Center, in honor of gifts totaling over $285,000 from community leaders Wylie & Bette Aitken.
The journey to this home began in September 2013, when we announced plans to move our company into a new space that would include two stages, a classroom, better amenities for patrons and artists, and, most importantly, an opportunity to make a larger impact in our community by broadening our educational and outreach programs.
On August 29, 2015, the campaign came to a close at our fundraiser, Chance Noir, when Board Chair Scott Well, realizing that we were only $5,200 short of meeting the $50,000 Final Encore Challenge, asked everyone to help close out the campaign once and for all. Almost instantly, patrons’ hands started shooting up in the air, and in a matter of minutes, over $8,000 had been raised and the capital campaign was over. The Chance staff, board, and resident artists breathed a collective (and stunned) sigh of relief… and then everyone in the room burst into applause. Scott then invited Vice-Chair Larry Cripe and his wife, Sophie, to the stage. In honor of their accumulative gifts of over $100,000 during the course of the campaign, the Chance’s larger of its two stages with a capacity of 150 seats, will henceforth be known as the Cripe Stage. Larry and Sophie stepped to the microphone and were met with a standing ovation. They spoke about the strong bond they feel to the Chance and how proud they are to have been a part of this important stage in its growth.
The amazing people who made it possible
Over the course of the last two years, over 230 individuals stepped up to help make this campaign a success, plus several prominent community members who made major gifts, including:
- Wylie & Bette Aitken
- Sophie & Larry Cripe
- Mary Kay Fyda-Mar
- Tod & Linda White
- Yvonne & Damien Jordan
- Scott & Sandra Graham
- Robert Berman & Robin Preiss-Glasser
- Dr. Michael & Jean Abdalla
- Lily M. Fan
- Camille Goulet
- David & Danice Limberg
- Pierce & Gray families
- Eddie Schuller & Rachelle Menaker
- Scott & Georgia Well
For a full list of contributors to our capital campaign, click here.
For more details about the campaign, including photos from the donor events, details about the new space, and more, click here.
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