Arts & Ideas Fellowship program for low income high school juniors and seniors from the Greater New Haven

[Lee Cruz]

IFAI Fellowship Program Application Form (2).doc

The International Festival of Arts & Ideas has launched an Arts & Ideas Fellowship program for low income high school juniors and seniors from the Greater New Haven region. The program, designed as a basic skills training program through the arts, has an after school component leading up to the Festival followed by two weeks of intensive activity during the Festival.

They still have 4 or 5 slots available for students who meet the income guidelines as outlined in the attachment. These are fully funded opportunities including full access to Festival events and artists. Festival Fellows receive a stipend upon completion of the program.

While there are a number of high school juniors and seniors who are interested in the program, the income guidelines are very stringent since the program is funded through Connecticut's Workforce Alliance. For example, gross annual income for a family of 2 cannot exceed $15,469 and for a family of five cannot exceed $30,932 (see Application).

In order to reach out to even more young people, the following situations typically waive income guidelines:

• Family is on Food Stamps
• Student has a certified special need
• Student is living in a shelter

Let's identify students who can benefit from this program. Any help you can offer is greatly appreciated. Please forward any suggestions or contact information to me and I'll take it from there. Alternately, you can contact the Festival Fellows Program Director, Dawn Gibson-Brehon at [e-mail] or [phone].