Tools for Tomorrow

During the summer of 2023, Tools For Tomorrow will provide its first ever summer program in partnership with the Boys & Girls Club of Cathedral City. TFT Teaching Artists will work with Scott Robinson, the CEO of the BGCCC, and staff to develop a hands-on arts experience that will meet the needs of the children. TFT Programs encourage the children’s artistic self-expression and nurture the positive self-esteem resulting from the discovery of their inherent creativity. Our goal is to nurture and inspire young people with an opportunity that might spark a passion, provide a cultural experience, and broaden their horizons.

All art and creative writing supplies are provided by TFT, FREE to the children. Each child will also receive a book as a part of TFT’s new art inspired by literature program. Teaching Artists introduce a storybook and use the book to inspire an art lesson, writing project and/or music lesson.

The TFT program provides social emotional learning through art, music, theater, and creative writing. Students develop and increase self-confidence, form a community of positive and supportive social networks, and continue to be involved in the arts through high school and college.

Contact: Andrea Hecht

Email: ahecht@toolsfortomorrow.org

Tools For Tomorrow provides free, after-school and online arts literacy programs integrating Creative Writing, Art, Music and Theater for children ages eight to eleven.

With the support of Anderson Children’s Foundation the TFT Theatre Troupe will return during the 2022-2023 school year after having been canceled due to COVID for the last two years. The TFT Theatre Troupe will provide an opportunity for 25 at-risk students, at no cost to the children, to design a student-produced, student-presented complete theatrical production from designing sets and costumes to singing and performing in the play for hundreds of students and families. We will seek students from Abraham Lincoln Elementary School in the Desert Sands Unified School District. The class will be conducted at Abraham Lincoln Elementary School and utilize a Tools For Tomorrow-trained teacher and assistant.

The TFT Theatre Troupe program is designed to develop and enhance the following skill sets: self-esteem, self-confidence, the ability to express oneself through theatre, critical thinking, reading with expression, collaboration, cooperation, improvisation, public speaking in front of a large audience, teamwork, responsibility, poise and presentation, importance of hard work, pacing oneself, making mistakes in a safe setting, sense of accomplishment, creativity, social maturity and memorization.

Tools For Tomorrow programs improve a child’s literacy and academic performance, unlock the power of imagination in a child, develop a child’s appreciation for the arts, and broaden a child’s vision for the future.

Contact: Andrea Hecht, Executive Director

Email: ahecht@toolsfortomorrow.org

Tools For Tomorrow (TFT) provides FREE, after-school and online arts literacy programs integrating creative writing, art, music and drama for children grades three through five in elementary schools throughout the Coachella Valley.

This year TFT will be partnering with Desert Sands Unified School District to expand programs, providing a creative outlet for students to express themselves through hands on activities that support their social and emotional well-being. With the support of Anderson Children’s Foundation, TFT will offer two 15-week, online, afterschool programs to children in the Title 1 DSUSD Schools that do not have programs onsite at their schools. This includes, a qualified teaching artisit and a professionally designed curriculum. Art Kits with supplies will also be provided free to the children.

TFT programs encourage children to share their creativity, and inspire them to take leadership roles in their schools. Children try instruments and develop the confidence to join the band. Children learn to express their feelings, collaborate to write plays, design costumes and sets, and present their creative projects to peers and communities.

Students who have participated in TFT programs report that they have benefited from the development of academic and personal life skills, increased self-confidence, positive social networks, and a desire for continued involvement with the Arts.

Tools for Tomorrow (TFT) is a free, on-site, after-school integrated arts literacy program for elementary school children in grades 3-5 that provides the students with “hands on” opportunities in creative writing, art, music and drama. All units of instruction are standards-based. The art unit teaches the elements of drawing, painting and sculpture, the music unit teaches about the elements of the orchestra with the composer being a musician/artist/storyteller and the drama and writing unit lets students create a short play and dialogue. Poetry and creative writing are also taught as storytelling. TFT operates 17 programs in 15 Coachella Valley Title 1 schools. In many of these schools the student population is as much as 80% at or below poverty level. TFT’s students are predominantly Hispanic, and a large percentage speaks English as a second language.

Each TFT “program” consists of two semesters, each semester accommodating 25 students and meeting once a week for an hour-and-a-half over a period of fifteen weeks. The classes are held in classrooms provided by the schools, with Tools for Tomorrow providing the curriculum, qualified instructors and necessary art supplies and equipment.

Over its fifteen-year history, TFT has served more than 15,000 children, at its peak hosting 27 programs in 16 schools stretching from Desert Hot Springs to Mecca. The 2008 recession forced Tools for Tomorrow to curtail some of its offerings, and today 13 programs in 13 schools are active. TFT’s goal is to restore its furloughed programs, where as many as 200 children remain on waiting lists at each location, and to initiate programs in additional schools where it is felt students can benefit.

Tools For Tomorrow (TFT) provides free, on-site, after-school arts literacy programs for elementary school children in grades 3-5. It operates in 17 different school locations stretching from Desert Hot Springs to Mecca and has served over 17,000 children. Tools for Tomorrow uses professionally designed, child-friendly, and themed lessons to introduce students to the disciplines of music, creative writing, visual art, and drama. The children are exposed to the work of the "master," are taught the fundamentals of each art discipline, and are enabled to explore their own innate creative abilities through "hands-on" art projects and experiences.

The TFT Theatre Troupe program will provide students with an opportunity to design, a student-produced, student-presented complete theatrical production from designing sets and costumes to singing and performing in the play for hundreds of students and families. The class will be conducted at Rancho Mirage Elementary School and utilize a Tools for Tomorrow-trained teacher with extensive experience in teaching theatre arts all over California to both adults and children.

The TFT Theatre Troupe program is designed to develop and enhance the following skill sets: self-esteem, self-confidence, the ability to express oneself through theatre, critical thinking, reading with expression, collaboration, cooperation, improvisation, public speaking in front of a large audience, teamwork, responsibility, poise and presentation, importance of hard work, pacing oneself, making mistakes in a safe setting, sense of accomplishment, creativity, social maturity and memorization.

Tools For Tomorrow (TFT) provides free, on-site, after-school arts literacy programs for elementary school children in grades 3-5. It operates in 15 different school locations stretching from Desert Hot Springs to Mecca and has served over 16,000 children. Tools for Tomorrow uses professionally designed, child-friendly, and themed lessons to introduce students to the disciplines of music, creative writing, visual art, and drama. The children are exposed to the work of the "master," are taught the fundamentals of each art discipline, and are enabled to explore their own innate creative abilities through "hands-on" art projects.

In the Music Enrichment Program, TFT will focus on giving children a rich musical education. Last year, as part of its program for children with special needs, Tools for Tomorrow purchased musical instruments to provide these children with more tactitle learning opportunities. The addition of instruments helped these children form bands, write, rehearse, and perform. This year, Tools for Tomorrow will purchase basic musical instruments for its remaining fourteen programs, thus enriching the TFT offering for all children.

The children of Desert Hot Springs are among the “neediest” in the Coachella Valley. The student population is 88% at or below poverty level, 87% Hispanic and 50% English Learners. This grant will enable Tools For Tomorrow to implement a program for children with “special needs” by augmenting TFT staff with appropriately trained personnel, and purchasing musical instruments and supplies appropriate for these children. By working closely with Dr. Marlatt, the principal at Bubbling Wells Elementary School, TFT will be able to select students documented with special needs. These children will experience the Tools For Tomorrow integrated arts literacy program that promotes:

1. Critical thinking skills needed to succeed in the regular classroom
2. Necessary tools to create a brighter tomorrow for themselves, and
3. A vision of what their future can become.