Rye Arts Center to Hold Fundraising 'Phone Gala'

The Rye Arts Center will be calling around town soon.

The RAC, the largest not-for-profit multi-arts center in Westchester, will begin a fundraising phone-a-thon on March 7 called “The Phone Gala.”

The event will be somewhat of an “art to art” talk. The center will be making calls, asking people to give the RAC a tax-free donation to help keep the arts alive in and around Rye.

The RAC is looking to raise $50,000 through its fundraiser and Arts for Arts Sake Drive.

Peggy Hill, executive director of the RAC, said the phone-a-thon is a cost-effective way for the center to raise money. Rather than having a large benefit, all of the money will go directly to funding the RAC's various programs and events.

Throughout February, the RAC will be asking individuals and businesses to make donations rather than purchase tickets for a special event, so 100 percent of donations are tax deductible.

Those donations serve 17,000 residents in 30 communities through art, music and outreach programs, Hill said.

The RAC has been involved in the arts locally for more than 51 years, dating back to the time when five Rye families made their vision of a community arts center a reality. The RAC’s mission is to encourage participation in the arts throughout Westchester County and neighboring areas.

“We are committed to artistic excellence and fulfill our mission year-round, making the arts available to all,” Hill said.

As part of the upcoming phone gala, 24 of the center’s board members will make personal calls for this one night phone-a-thon. Rye’s Tara Yeager will be one of them.

“I feel RAC is vital to the community, and the arts are vital to the community,” Yeager said while stuffing envelopes at the RAC recently for the February fundraising mailing. 

“I’ve been so impressed with RAC as a community resource that I’ve been on the board for six years, and have seen my children (Ryan, 14, and Hannah, 12) benefit from courses they have taken at RAC in art, music and theatre.”

On the evening of the March 7 phone-a-thon, RAC will raffle off 11 prizes, including a weekend for two at Vermont’s Stratton Mountain, a Hermes bracelet, and tickets to see the New York Knicks.

The RAC even tells you what various donations can buy: $5 helps buy crayons for children’s art outreach programs; $25 helps support transportation costs for music for seniors; $100 helps support free gallery exhibits; $225 helps to install a new IMac digital arts studio; and a $1,000 donation helps support violin lessons for four children through the RAC scholarship program. 

For more information: Rye Arts Center, 51 Milton Rd., Rye; phone: 914-967-0700; www.ryeartscenter.org. Donations can also be made directly at the RAC website (www.ryeartscenter.org) or by calling RAC directly at 914-967-0700.