2020-2021 Community Access Initiatives Underwriting Opportunities

2020—2021

community access initiatives underwritING OPPORTUNITIES

COMMUNITY ACCESS INITIATIVE UNDERWRITING OPPORTUNITIES

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who we are The first museum of its kind in Los Angeles, the Cayton Children’s Museum taps into the power of the arts and play to inspire bold and generous thinking, spark human connection and ignite social change for a kind and more equitable world.

With 21,000 square feet of open-ended play, handson exhibits, art studios, a theatre, public art gallery, multipurpose rooms, and a robust calendar of arts and cultural programming, the Cayton is a playground for visitors to put core universal values into practice so they can discover their potential, perspective and purpose.

But the Cayton is so much more than play.

We are a place of gathering; a place for cultural and interpersonal exchange. We build character, through the act of sharing, learning and challenging one another. We are a reminder to parents that there is still a big kid inside, and life lessons can always be learned. We are an institution that sparks understanding and breaks down walls to remind us of the things that make us similar, not different.

THE CAYTON IS A PLACE FOR EVERYONE.

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social justice + access initiative • Field Trips for Title 1 Schools • Special Needs Initiative • Arts Enrichment Scholarships At the Cayton Children’s Museum, we believe that the arts are a conduit to learning. The arts encourage children and youth to explore, create and engage with the learning process.

Approaching arts education through a social justice lens, we look for opportunities where we can increase access to arts exposure for all children in greater Los Angeles, and beyond.

We believe equity is fueled not only through arts exposure, but through participation, particularly for those students that lack meaningful opportunities for arts enrichment due to income, background or social status.

• 2021 Programming Intergenerational Volunteerism Cayton-In-Community As a community leader, the Cayton has an opportunity – an obligation – to develop and introduce programs that create positive change. This ethos is embedded in all of our programs and Museum initiatives.

Our commitment to inclusiveness is envisioned through our “We All Play” Initiative, an effort that dates back 20 years when we were still the Zimmer Children’s Museum.

• Youthink Student Ambassadors Filmmaking Fellowship We All Play is our gift to the children and youth who cannot afford admission. It is our solution for students that don’t have ready access to high-quality arts education in their schools that will help to improve their outcomes for lifelong success. It is our dream for those who may not have the same abilities to experience the Cayton the way other kids would. And it is our commitment to inspiring members of our local community to discover the things that unite us, versus divide us.

In our first year alone, the Cayton will welcome hundreds of thousands of children, youth and families through our doors. Still, there are so many that are left out of this equation.

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field trips for title 1 schools At the Cayton, we recognize the long-term impact that a field trip can have on young minds. Studies show that a field trip can open up a student’s mind, expand their awareness, promote critical thinking, teach them how to navigate real-world problems and help them retain lessons better.

Yet, despite their many educational benefits, economic factors prevent many students from experiencing one.

Funding to Title I schools — schools with the highest concentrations of low-income children — has increasingly decreased since 2010. While budget cuts affect the learning experience, they also reinforce the poverty cycle by limiting academic opportunity that can improve a child’s lifelong outcomes.

We currently strive to subsidize a field trip for a Title 1 school for every three field trips we host for paid school groups. Still, limited resources and capacity force us to turn many schools away.

With financial support, we can build capacity to manage and facilitate multiple field trips at the same time, thereby doubling the number of Title 1 schools we can subsidize to reach schools in some of the most under-resourced communities in South and Metro Los Angeles. Support can also help us provide bus transportation for schools where the cost of getting to the Cayton makes it cost-prohibitive.

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field trips for title 1 schools

PROGRAM DESIGN

WHY

SNAPSHOT OF A FIELD TRIP

Children living in poverty face many challenges that limit their educational success. Teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District report that children in low-income households often come to school without enough sleep or breakfast. They experience toxic stress that can be brought on by trauma and scarcity of the most basic of needs.

Extra-curriculars like field trips help to expand their minds, expose them to new places and ideas and provide community support. This program increases equity so all children can benefit from the extracurriculars of a high-quality education.

Our visiting students arrive via bus or car and are greeted by staff and escorted and welcomed into the Museum. Students are then separated into smaller groups to ensure a good ratio of Museum Ambassadors to students and plenty of individual attention for everyone. Students gather for conversations to explore Cayton values: how our exhibits give us an opportunity to practice being our best selves, the meaning of cooperative play and the importance of community. Then, the group breaks to enjoy Museum free play to put those values into practice.

After plenty of purposeful play, each class heads back to one of our multipurpose rooms to participate in an arts enrichment activity. These activities are carefully crafted to serve as a culmination of their visit, illustrating the Cayton values of global citizenship, altruism and community.

Current themes include: Community Construction, where students design their own model building, What’s Your Power where students create art to give to their personal hero or Play-Dough Playtime for our youngest students to create a play dough collage from their own handmade dough.

At the end, every visit concludes with a group picture of the whole crew in front of the Grand Exit mural.

Additional funding would bring the potential to host more schools and groups with a stronger prioritization towards arts enrichment.

With underwriting support, the Cayton can achieve the following:

• Enable us to cover transportation where necessary to limit barriers to entry.

• Accommodate 260 field trip groups starting with the • Provide every Title 1 school with an arts enrichment activity — which are traditionally an additional $3 per 2020 academic year, while subsidizing a minimum student. of 50% for Title 1 schools, charter schools and Head Start programs.

• Allow us to create and produce the “Cayton Creators” Activity Book for all field trip participants.

• Hire additional staff necessary to enhance the The book is designed to stimulate creative and curriculum, manage and facilitate more groups simultaneously, and market to new Title 1 schools in analytical thinking, while encouraging students to apply core universal values during their own time. some of LA’s lowest-income neighborhoods.

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special needs initiative For years, the Zimmer hosted special hours and programming in the Museum for children with special needs and different abilities. During these designated hours, the Museum provided families with a gentler, low-pressure sensory environment and access to a community of families who understood their unique challenges. The program became an important representation of what we stood for and the institution we wanted to be.

Now at the Cayton, we have an even greater responsibility to serve these families. While the Museum is fully ADA-compliant, we believe this commitment goes further and should be something offered every day, versus a few times a year.

Funding will help us develop a toolkit of “sensorysensitive” items and resources that families can customize to their child’s unique needs during their Museum visit and outside our doors. To ensure program effectiveness, Cayton staff would work with a consultant to assess our space and identify practical tools and areas for adaptation, as well as provide staff training in techniques and strategies for addressing unique needs of this population.

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special needs initiative

PROGRAM DESIGN

WHY

SENSORY SENSATION PROGRAMMING

TRAINING & ADAPTIVE RESOURCES

We recognize that the museum experience may need to be adapted to better suit the needs of some children. This initiative will strive to make every child and members of their family feel comfortable, safe and empowered when they step through our doors.

At least four times a year, we will host “Sensory Sensation” Days at the Museum for children with special needs and their families. During one of these events, the Cayton will limit public access and customize operational settings to create an environment conducive to the needs of our visitors.

These events will invite community partners to activate at the Museum, providing informational resources for parents, tips and tools for conflict resolution, and a support network of other families faced with similar challenges and experiences.

Support would also enable us to enagage all museum ambassdoars and staff in sensitivety training. Lead floor staff would recieve more extensive training to ensure that visitors always have access to a highlevel ambassador that can help them create a more customized experience. Parents would also be able to check out items and resources at the front desk that are tailored to their needs, including weighted blankets, headphones, sunglasses and therapy balls.

In addition, parents would have access to on-demand videos in our “Sensory Sensitive” online resource guide to help them walk their child through the Museum experience prior to visiting.

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arts enrichment scholarships Arts and cultural programming at the Cayton are what set us apart from other children’s museums.

Designed by experienced early childhood educators and teaching artists, our signature classes, workshops and camps explore themes of social responsibility, community and sustainability to help young participants discover their place and purpose in the world.

Individualized arts engagement is particularly important for the healthy development of children that have been affected by trauma, which is statistically more common in low-income households and communities.

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arts enrichment scholarships

PROGRAM DESIGN

WHY

CAMP CAYTON

CAYTON CLASSES

Exposure to the arts and immersive play help young children develop both gross and fine motor skills, which are essential for school readiness, hand-eye coordination, cognitive development and math and language skills.

Camp Cayton is offered in 10-week sessions over the summer, and abridged sessions are built around school breaks in the winter and spring. With experienced educators conceiving inventive curricula, every day of camp Cayton is built from art-based activities, immersive lessons and museum play time.

Each week of Camp features a unique and timely theme, presented in ways that speak to students between the ages of three and eight, like World Wonders, Sustainable Art, the Tokyo Olympics and our most popular—Intergalactic Expedition.

We offer 14 distinctive 6-week class curricula throughout the year across the categories of art, music & movement, cross-cultural exchange and foreign language. Class programming is designed for a range of ages and nurtures motor and language skills, as well as stimulating visual learning, inventive and early self-awareness. Recent classes include Pequeños Rockeros led by our favorite in-house rocker and teaching artist Luis Torrealva, Toddler Town (in English and in Spanish), Preschool Prep, and Act It Out, a class targeted at the afterschool crowd that focuses on theater exercises for older children.

With underwriting support, the Cayton can achieve the following:

• Provide at least 90 scholarships for both sessions of our class workshop series, or 15% of projected annual class enrollment.

Because we work so thoughtfully to create educational programming that impacts young minds and lives, it’s especially vital that we provide opportunity for early childhood development to those that can benefit the most. With funding, we can bring Camp Cayton and Cayton Classes to children who would otherwise not be able to afford to participate.

• Create a robust community outreach plan to expand awareness of scholarship opportunities in the highest-need communities and schools.

• Provide at least 55 scholarships across all Camp Cayton sessions (summer, winter and spring), or 15% of projected annual Camp enrollment.

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intergenerational volunteerism The number of people age 65 and older has nearly doubled since the 1960s in the U.S. By 2035, the U.S. Census projects that seniors will outnumber kids and youth. As an institution focused on diminishing the barriers that divide us, we see an opportunity to celebrate this evolution.

With funding, we can introduce an intergenerational engagement program at the Cayton. The program will give individuals of different age groups a mechanism to volunteer, engage and interact with our young visitors, diverse staff and with one another to promote cross-generational exchange.

Seniors are given the opportunity to share their experience, knowledge and skills with younger generations, while giving young people access to positive role models and mentors that can help them grow.

Studies show that when seniors engage with children and youth in an authentic way, they can learn new skills, rediscover their purpose and keep their minds and bodies stimulated for a longer, fuller life.

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intergenerational volunteerism

PROGRAM DESIGN

WHY

PILOT

With the intergenerational divide increasing, we see the Cayton as a mechanism for encouraging cultural and experiential exchanges across generations while helping to shift public perceptions and mitigate the societal limitations created by “ageism.”

To pilot the program, we would partner with community and social service organizations, as well as public and private schools to recruit cohorts of senior and youth volunteers for two 8-week sessions per year, in summer and fall/winter.

Funding will help us develop a curriculum for meaningful collaboration and interactions between people of different generations, allowing the Museum to grow through the sharing of talents and resources, and by supporting relationships that benefit both groups and their communities.

The goal would be to build each cohort to have a relatively equal number of seniors and teens (18+) or college students. Participants would take part in an orientation and training that is tailored to each generational cohort, developed by key members of our Women’s Philanthropy Circle. Part of the initial onboarding will include sensitivity and hospitality training, tools and tips for mentoring and coaching youth volunteers, and floor training. Youth volunteers will also engage in sensitivity, hospitality and floor training, with special focus on customer service, conflict resolution and working with children.

Participants will have the opportunity to sign-up for set volunteer windows with close attention paid to maintaining a balance of youth and senior volunteers for each shift. Volunteers will be expected to meet a minimum number of hours each week to ensure they get the full experience. Apart from engagement with other volunteers, participants will also have the opportunity to engage with Museum ambassadors, our teaching artists, executives and of course, families and visitors.

At the end of each session, we will host a Cayton Graduation, where we invite participants to share how they have seen their fellow volunteers grow and evolve over the course of the program and what they learned through the experience for positive reflection. All participants will be asked to complete an evaluation for future program design. Volunteers that met expectations will be encouraged to continue their involvement, with the goal of cultivating alumni to oversee and train future cohorts.

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youthink

youTHink—the Museum’s long-running youth outreach initiative—is an integrated arts curriculum program that allows middle and high school students from low-income backgrounds to engage in social justice issues.

While gaining a sense of agency and advocacy, students develop their own voices and perspectives through the arts.

Through sequential learning experiences in theatre, photography, creative writing, urban planning/design and creative movement, Youthink challenges students across more than 40 of Los Angeles County’s highest-need Title 1 schools to learn about the world around them.

The programs motivate them to think critically, express their opinions and make a difference as they explore contemporary social issues touching on community, identity, place, adversity and civic and social responsibility.

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student ambassadors youTHink is built around the Student Ambassador Program, an immersive 9 month-long training for a cohort of high school students enrolled in Title 1 schools that combines multiple creative disciplines with leadership development and mentorship opportunities. Students in the program come from some of the highest-need schools and most underserved communities in Los Angeles.

The program launches with a weekend retreat where students start to build camaraderie with other students that are in similar circumstances but face different specific challenges. The retreat is followed by a series of weekly trainings that span the duration of an entire academic year, with a culmination event at the end of the second semester. All trainings are held at a central Title 1 school to limit transportation barriers. During the program, participants also get the opportunity to visit community and cultural organizations while interacting with leaders in creative, cultural and social transformation areas.

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student ambassadors

PROGRAM DESIGN

WHY

MODULE 1: STORYTELLING

MODULE 3: URBAN PLANNING

The Student Ambassador Program aims to bring arts education into schools where funding is grossly limited and there is a lack of focus on the arts. Youth enrolled at these schools face immense economic and social barriers that impede their lifelong success.

This program devotes individual attention to a group of students that can benefit from arts exposure the most, empowering them to enact positive change in their community using the tools of creativity.

Students understand how to shape stories, build their confidence as public speakers, and begin to recognize their own perspectives and points of view under the mentorship of Christopher Rivas, a master storyteller.

Rivas, a sought-after public speaker and storyteller, has led workshops for the US Embassy, CalArts, and Skirball Cultural Center.

Ambassadors work with urban planner, Theresa Hwang, to look deeply at the development of their communities. Together, Ambassadors will define community and what it’s comprised of. They will build models of what their dream streets would look like, thinking critically and equitably. As they learn to tell their own stories, followed by telling stories through images, Ambassadors will look to the stories that have been physically built around them. Through participatory design and community engagement, students will tell the stories of their neighborhoods.

MODULE 2: PHOTOGRAPHY

Students meet with photographer Mario DeLopez After participants take part in a weekend-long retreat to learn basics of photography, composition where they explore identity, vulnerability and their and storytelling through the lens. They learn to role in community, they embark on the real work. communicate with their subjects, thus overcoming shyness or fear both behind and in front of the The program is broken up into four modules across camera and creating stories with their surroundings. an academic year to enable students to focus Students will critique each other’s work going beyond intensively on one artistic discipline or social justice photography to storytelling through images. perspective at a time. Each module is designed to foster creativity, activism and community building.

MODULE 4: THEATRE Lastly, students learn about storytelling through their movement. Student Ambassadors work with an esteemed local theatre company to help with a live theatrical production. Students will learn to create plays inspired by community engagement.

The program finishes with the Student Ambassador Showcase, a culmination to celebrate their hard work and to apply all they’ve learned in a show of the storytelling skills they’ve learned during the school year.

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filmmaking fellowship When trying to influence change, visual stories have the most power to stimulate a response, change opinion and inspire people to act. youTHink also enables students to navigate complex issues through an intensive 12-week filmmaking fellowship program operated at a Title 1 school. Led by a professional filmmaker with experience working in communities and school settings, the program teaches a class of Title 1 high school students the skills and techniques of film and facilitates their creation of narrative stories to discover and express their perspectives on their lives, neighborhoods and communities.

This program is hosted in collaboration with teachers so the fellowship can be baked into the curriculum as an in-school artist residency, which has historically enhanced class participation. Each program concludes with a culmination night where students can unveil their finished film for their peers and teachers.

The inaugural program launches in February 2020 with a class of journalism students from Roosevelt High School in Boyle Heights. The fellowship will be facilitated by Elizabeth Gray Baynes, a professional filmmaker with experience working in underserved communities and school settings.

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filmmaking fellowship

PROGRAM DESIGN

WHY

SESSION 1: THE POTENTIAL OF FILM

SESSION 3: SCREENING THE FILM

Filmmaking gives students professionallevel instruction in an artistic medium while empowering them to use their voices to impact their communities, increase their confidence and social skills. The youTHink Filmmaking Fellowship provides a mechanism for students that may not otherwise have access to filmmaking equipment or arts education to be an active participant in issues that are important to them.

During the first four classes, students will be introduced to the medium of film. As they consider the new potential offered to them by film, they will start exploring and discovering their own narratives.

They will contemplate how they might tell their own stories, what is noteworthy in their neighborhoods and what story they want to tell about their own lives.

In the final sessions, students will learn the technical skills to combine their footage in a way that cohesively tells their story. With professional guidance and instruction in the use of Adobe software, they will pull together the material they spent months producing and gathering to achieve the creation of their first short film.

SESSION 2: METHOD AND TECHNIQUE The following weeks will be an overview and thorough instruction in the technical aspects of film.

Students will learn the elements of filmography, the importance of filming b-roll, the art of framing the subjects and how to listen to their instincts regarding what to film and what to cut. As they start the filming process, the facilitator will offer in-depth assistance to each student tailored to help them meet their challenges as they capture their story on film.

Students will hold a short film festival for their friends and family at the end of the academic year to showcase their work in celebration of completing the program.

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cayton-incommunity Cayton-In-Community will bring the Museum to the children, youth and neighborhoods that may not otherwise experience it, providing arts immersion and educational opportunities that are based in our core belief of learning through creativity.

Through partnerships with local community and social service organizations, non-profits, centers and schools, Cayton-In-Community will recreate the Museum experience for upper elementary and middle school students who are local to each partnering community location. Workshops will be led by trained art educators and offered weekly as drop-in sessions or culminating series, depending on the location. The curriculums will be based in visual arts, music, theatre, dance, design and other creative disciplines, to stimulate creativity, create social and emotional connections, and foster critical thinking.

The pilot program is slated to launch in early 2021 in partnership with the City of Los Angeles, Virginia Avenue Park’s Neighborhood and Park Initiatives Unit and after-school programs. Cayton-InCommunity will be offered in two to four community gathering spaces across Los Angeles where the need for cultural resources is highest, with the plan to expand into new neighborhoods after our pilot year allows us to assess challenges and opportunities for improvement and scale to other neighborhoods across Los Angeles.

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cayton-incommunity

PROGRAM DESIGN

WHY

WHEN

Studies link arts access to better health, safety and educational outcomes in low-income neighborhoods.

Arts and culture are an essential part of a vibrant, healthy and thriving community.

The pilot program is slated to launch in early 2021 in partnership with the City of Los Angeles, Virginia Avenue Park’s Neighborhood and Park Initiatives Unit and after-school programs. Workshops will be offered weekly as drop-in classes or culminating series, depending on the location. The pilot will allow us to assess challenges and opportunities for improvement and scale to other neighborhoods across Los Angeles.

Cayton-In-Community removes some of the opportunity gaps for children that do not have the means or transportation to benefit from the Museum experience. By bringing resources to these communities, we are empowering youth and families that are often left behind with opportunities for selfexpression and personal growth.

WHERE Cayton-In-Community will be offered in two to four community gathering spaces across Los Angeles where the need for cultural resources is highest, with the plan to expand into new neighborhoods after our pilot year.

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community access initiative financials FIELD TRIPS FOR TITLE 1 SCHOOLS $300,000 Field trips give youth an opportunity to discover, explore and connect outside of the classroom, opening up their minds, expanding their awareness and promoting critical thinking.

Support can help us double the number of Title 1 school field trips we can accommodate and subsidize at the Cayton, while providing students with arts enrichment and educational takeaways.

ARTS ENRICHMENT SCHOLARSHIPS $50,000 Designed by experienced early childhood educators and teaching artists, our signature classes and camps explore themes of social responsibility, community and sustainability to help participants discover their purpose. Support can help us promote scholarship opportunities in at-risk communities, and reserve at least 15% of enrollment for children on scholarship.

FIELD TRIP TRANSPORTATION $100,000 Bus transportation to the Cayton costs roughly $700 roundtrip, driving the cost of a field trip up by more than 500%. For Title 1 schools, this can be cost-prohibitive.

Support can enable the Cayton to provide bus transportation for eligible schools.

INTERGENERATIONAL VOLUNTEERISM $100,000 As the number of seniors grows in the U.S., there is an opportunity to create meaningful collaboration between generations. Support will help us introduce an intergenerational volunteer program at the Cayton to bridge age gaps, enhance the Museum experience through the exchange of talents and resources, and support relationships that benefit communities.

SPECIAL NEEDS INITIATIVE $200,000 As part of our commitment to accessibility, we want the Cayton to be a comforting space for children who are differently abled. Funding will help us ramp-up special needs programming to hire a consultant and develop a toolkit of “sensory-sensitive” items and resources that families can customize to their child’s unique needs in planning their visit to the Museum.

YOUTHINK $250,000 STUDENT AMBASSADORS ($250,000): Support will help YouthHink offer its evidence-based Student Ambassador Program at more school campuses to provide mentorship and life-changing opportunity to change the course for more students at-risk.

FILMMAKING FELLOWSHIP ($250,000): Film invites us to better understand our own circumstances and address them. Funding will enable us to offer this intensive 12-week fellowship to more Title 1 schools within the Los Angeles Unified School District so students without ready access to the arts can benefit from the creative process.

CAYTON-IN-COMMUNITY $250,000 To truly increase access to the arts, we need to expand beyond Museum walls and infiltrate communities that lack creative resources. Funding will allow the Cayton to build partnerships with social service organizations, community centers and after-school programs to connect underserved neighborhoods to opportunities for arts immersion and creative expression.

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thank you Underwriting of community access initiatives are part of an annual commitment to the Cayton. Donors are recognized in Museum signage, publications and communications. Annual donors over $100,000 are also acknowledged on a “blade of grass� in our Generosity Garden.

Smaller contributions can also be made toward the full underwriting cost of the program. To request a more detailed breakdown of program design and costs, or to schedule a tour to discuss giving opportunities, please contact:

Carly Harrill Chief Advancement Officer charrill@caytonmuseum.org (424) 416-8327 Esther Netter Founder & CEO enetter@caytonmuseum.org (424) 416-8332

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