Storytelling can be one of the most powerful ways to get a message across. For Margaret Edwartowski, Executive Director of Y Arts, telling her story led her to a $225,000 grant that will allow her to continue enriching lives of young adults in metro Detroit through the arts.
Edwartowski was mentioning challenges that Y Arts faces to a longtime friend. Outdated equipment and program cuts limited Edwartowski and her team in their quest to unleash creativity in metro Detroit teens. She saw opportunities to do so much more, but the funding just wasn’t there.
Following their conversation, Edwartowski’s friend relayed the information to the Wyncote Foundation, a Philadelphia-based organization that awards grants to support a variety of causes, with arts and culture at the center of its focus. Representatives from the Wyncote Foundation visited Detroit and, although the organization is well known for supporting Philadelphia-based programs, they wanted to build up a good cause in the Motor City.
With the $225,000 grant, Edwartowski said Y Arts will update and replace its equipment, expand its summer media camp and reinstate its after school video production programs for teens. She said the impact will be huge.
“We are overwhelmed by the generosity of the Wyncote Foundation, and we’re extremely thankful that they are giving Detroit-area kids a chance to experience the arts,” Edwartowski said.