Albany Park Theatre Project: Acclaim - Coming Up Taller Award

Coming Up Taller Laura Bush presents the Coming Up Taller Award to APTP Members

On December 14, 2004, eight of us traveled to Washington, D.C. to accept the Coming Up Taller Award from the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities.

Founded in 1998, the Coming Up Taller Awards recognize and support outstanding arts and humanities programs that celebrate the creativity of America's young people, and provide them with new learning opportunities and with opportunities to contribute to their communities. The Coming Up Taller Awards are conferred annually by the President's Committee, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

From First Lady Laura Bush at the presentation of the Coming Up Taller Awards:

"...With Coming Up Taller programs, more young people are staying after school instead of dropping out of school. More are participating in plays and tuning into music. Rather than giving up, they are giving in to the joy of expressing themselves on stage. This is just what young actors from the Albany Park Theater Project do - and according to theater critics in Chicago - they produce some of the most exciting theater in the city. Mentors also provide career counseling and more than 90 percent of the students in the program go on to college....The study of the arts and humanities gives children the chance to be extraordinary - the power to be themselves. This is truly what we celebrate today. Congratulations to the recipients of this year's Coming Up Taller Awards for the remarkable difference you are making in our world."

From Illinois Senator Dick Durbin:

"The art that is created by the Albany Park Theater Project is truly beautiful. Moreover, I want to congratulate you on the success of your college preparation and planning program. The fact that over 90% of Albany Park Theater Project teenagers graduate from high school and enter four-year colleges is remarkable. There is no doubt that the Albany Park Theater Project has a profound impact on youth. This is a proud day not only for me but also for the entire State of Illinois."

APTP Does D.C.

Click on a thumbnail to view an image from our trip to the nation's captiol, where we accept the Coming Up Taller Award!