National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards

The 2010 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards were recently given out on at the White House.

“The programs receiving National Arts and Humanities Youth Program awards each use achievement in the arts and humanities as “a bridge to achievement in life.” ~ Mrs. Michelle Obama.

Michele Obama presented the NAHYP awards to 15 community groups from the U.S. and Haiti at a celebration in the East Room on October 20, 2010. This year’s winners were recognized for their excellence in arts and humanities, for the creative efforts of young people and their ability to help develop after-school programs which impacted their communities in a positive way.

The honorees, selected from 50 finalists, were honored by First Lady Obama for engaging others in the arts and the humanities, and engendering a broad range of positive outcomes, including improvements in academic accomplishments, increases language abilities, and generating social and cultural knowledge.

The 2010 honorees embody a broad scope of participants, including teenagers from Washington, D.C. who wrote original stage plays about social issues, Seattle schoolchildren who created museum exhibitions about Asian Pacific American heritage, youngsters from Providence, Rhode Island who performed classical music for their families, and a group of teen-age girls who developed literature clubs in Claremont, California.

About the NAHYP Awards

The National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award is America’s pinnacle of honor for after-school arts and humanities programs, especially those programs that assist inner city youth. The NAHYP Award acknowledges and encourages outstanding programs that forge new paths to creative expression, and academic accomplishment after normal school hours.


Prizes

Each of the winning 15 community groups will receive $10,000 and 12 months of technological assistance in honor of their achievements. The winning programs will also be profiled on the website for the National Arts and Humanities. These outstanding after-school programs stimulate and motivate children of all ages and backgrounds. They foster creativity, self-expression, and academic improvement. The programs also form safe harbors for children during after-school hours, including evenings, weekends, and vacations.