My name is Jason and Performing Hearts is about helping other people. I started Performing Hearts in 1998, initially as a "tzedakah" (doing good things) project. I wanted to spend time with the people who we sometimes might, unintentionally, be forgetting - in particular, people who might otherwise feel left out in a kind of "personal wilderness." I chose to focus on the many children stricken with terrible illnesses and disabilities. To accomplish my goal, I organized a group of my friends who dance, sing, and play musical instruments. Most of our activities are conducted at special camps, hospitals and nursing homes where we conduct basic movement and dance workshops to upbeat music and perform dance routines, vocal numbers and musical pieces.

When I initially reached out to my friends with the idea behind Performing Hearts, I received a tremendous response. We spent several months planning for our first major event during the summer of 1999. We were obviously very anxious as the day approached........Well it turned out to be a major success! We visited Camp Happy Times in Tyler Hill, Pennsylvania. CHT is a camp for kids who are battling cancer and blood disorders. They host approximately 200 children ranging in age from 5 to 20. The camp originated in 1983 and is run by The Valerie Fund. We recognize the Valerie Fund and the CHT leadership for having the courage to give us the opportunity to share in their wonderful gift. From our experiences, we have learned that helping other people is important. It might take a lot of your time but it is not hard to do, and it is a lot of fun and rewarding. I believe that Performing Hearts is about doing the right things and I am committed to keeping it going.

Performing Hearts activities fall into three major categories:

Volunteer community service functions – Performing Hearts primary goal is to arrange for performing artists to serve as volunteer workshop leaders, class teachers and performers for social service agencies and other organizations operated by a state or local government or organizations that qualify as exempt under 501(c)(3) of the IRS Code focused on helping people disabled with mental and physical impairments and serious health issues. Performing Hearts activities are conducted by volunteers from the community including performing artists, and any other interested individuals. In many cases, those ‘other interested’ individuals are teachers, friends and family members of the performing artists. Volunteer community service functions are conducted throughout the calendar year. As a great number of the volunteers are students, most of the events are conducted on weekend days and during the summer. Most of the events are conceived, arranged, and conducted by local volunteers who schedule the events based on the availability and preferences of the organizations being served. For example, if a local volunteer group has an interest in visiting a local camp for children with disabilities, the schedule might be limited to summer times if the camp is a seasonal facility. On the other hand, if the volunteer group was interested in visiting a children’s hospital, the activity could be arranged for any time, subject to the availability of the hospital’s facilities and appropriate staff, as applicable. Community service activities, which are the culmination of all of the other Performing Hearts activities, are conducted predominantly in facilities designed to care for the individuals Performing Hearts is most interested in helping. For example, Performing Hearts workshops for children with mental and physical handicaps are usually held in either special schools or camps dedicated to those individuals. Workshops for children with serious illnesses are usually conducted in hospitals or in hospital-like facilities.

Education and Motivation – Performing Hearts is committed to promoting, encouraging, and educating the public regarding the performing arts and its role as therapy for people disabled with mental and physical impairments and serious health issues. Educational and motivational sessions are conducted throughout the year. December through July, most of the sessions are held during weekends concurrent and co-located with major performing arts productions (e.g., dance conventions and competitions). During the balance of the year, the sessions are held on an on-request basis, usually during normal business hours in performing arts educational facilities. Performing Hearts will also conduct regional sessions on an annual basis, subject to level of interest and registration.

Funding - Performing Hearts receives its operating resources from contributions - in many cases, from unsolicited donors and others as a direct result of fundraising activities. Fundraising that is ongoing includes primarily website-based solicitations. Special event fundraising is based on one-time and annual events such as theater-based variety shows, annual gala / dinner dance and annual golf outings. Performing Hearts funding comes from three principle sources: (1) Contributions from the general public, predominantly individuals close to performing arts activities; (2) Contributions from corporate sponsors in the form of cash and supplies for the community service events; and (3) Performing Hearts conducted fundraising events such as annual golf events or special performances provide additional funding in ticket sales proceeds and the sale of donated materials through event-based auctions.