Youth Arts Concert Press Release

YAF Concert To Feed Homeless Children During The Holidays Official Press Release:

Concerts Planned to Feed Hungry Kids during the Holidays Presented by the Youth Arts Forum of Greenwich Village

These First-of-their Kind “Kids Helping Kids” Concerts Will Raise Money to Stock Local Food Bank that Feeds New York City’s Homeless Children

New York, N.Y., December 2, 2009 – Young artists from across the country are gathering in New York on Dec19th at The East 13th Street Theatre in New York to raise money to help feed homeless kids during the Holidays. “Six Volt”, a band from Monmouth County New Jersey, as well as artists from California, Illinois, Virginia and other states will be performing at the shows scheduled on Friday December 18th at 6:30 and Saturday, December 19th at 1:30 PM and again at 6:30 PM.

Tickets can be purchased at http://www.theatermania.com/content/show.cfm/show/161885 or by calling 212-352-3101 or 1-866-811-4111 and at www.theatermania.com.
Proceeds from the concerts will be donated to the Food Bank for New York to feed homeless kids in the greater metropolitan area.

This is what the Holidays are all about and we would love to work with Youth Arts Forum,” said Kate Hindin, Business Partnership Manager of the Food Bank For New York “and we hope to make the “Kids helping Kids” Concert a regular part of our annual Holiday schedule. The response from youth bands from across the country has been astounding, and we look forward to a very successful event to help our local homeless children.
“Many of the young artists have given concerts in their home towns for the less fortunate people in their communities. This type of "giving" by these youngsters is really what this organization works to highlight and support. This concert will be a wonderful event and become a Youth Arts Forum tradition in New York for years to come”. Barry Salottolo Founder Youth Arts Forum

Fact Sheet: Childhood Hunger

• 1 in 6 children in the United States is at risk of hunger, more than 12 million children overall.

In recent years, low-paying jobs, high housing costs, low benefit levels, lack of education and job skills and cuts in government assistance programs have converged to amplify poverty and hunger as major problems throughout New York City. Today, approximately four million New Yorkers report difficulty affording food.
In New York, approximately 1.3 million people rely on emergency food. Additionally, the number of New Yorkers reporting difficulty affording food has doubled to four million since 2003.
With one out of five New York City children relying on emergency food, kids are one of the largest groups accessing our citywide network of food assistance programs. Recognizing the severity of childhood hunger in our city, the Food Bank provides a multi-pronged approach to fighting this problem. Read below for key statistics on childhood hunger in our city and stories on the children we help.

• More than one-half (56 percent) of NYC households with children had difficulty affording needed food in 2008 — a 75 percent increase over five years. (NYC Hunger Experience 2008 Update)
• More than one out of four (27 percent) children in NYC (15 percent in the US) lived below the federal poverty level in 2007 (approximately $17,000 per year for a family of three). (US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2007)
• Approximately 397,000 children were served by soup kitchens and food pantries in 2007 — a 48 percent increase since 2004. (NYC Hunger Safety Net 2007)
• Among NYC households with school-age children accessing emergency food, more than three-quarters (79 percent) participate in the National School Lunch Program while only 59 percent and 39 percent participate in the School Breakfast and Summer Food Service Program respectively

About Food Bank For New York:

Food Bank For New York City's mission is to end hunger by organizing food, information and support for community survival and dignity. Working to end food poverty and increase access to affordable, nutritious food for low-income New Yorkers throughout the five boroughs, the Food Bank's initiatives focus on direct services, food sourcing and distribution, nutrition and health education, financial empowerment, disaster relief and policy and research.
There are approximately four million New Yorkers who experience difficulty affording food — an astounding number and one that continues to increase as the donated food supply drops to an all-time low and food costs skyrocket. To address this issue, the Food Bank procures and distributes food to a network of approximately 1,000 food assistance programs citywide. In addition, we provide food safety and capacity-building workshops; manage school nutrition education programs, after-school and emergency food programs; conduct food stamp prescreening and outreach; operate a Senior Food Program and a soup kitchen and food pantry; coordinate the largest Free Tax Assistance Program in the country; and develop policy and conduct research to inform community and government efforts to end food poverty throughout New York City.
As an independent, nonprofit 501(c) 3 organization, the Food Bank meets the Better Business Bureau's charity standards. The Food Bank is a certified member of both Feeding America and the Food Bank Association of New York State.
About Youth Arts Forum:

Youth Arts Forum began in the early 1990’s with the mission of uniting the Youth of The World through the Arts. YAF displayed and sold artwork by young people between the ages of 5 and 18. We produced several renowned art exhibitions in the NoHo Gallery in Manhattan New York, as well as having young artists’ works displayed in retail establishments, like A.I. Friedman, and numerous public and private schools through the greater New York area.

Founded by Barry Salottolo, the “new” Youth Arts Forum is more exciting and far reaching than ever before. In addition to photography, painting and sculpture, we now include musical and performing arts. This affords the creative young people from all over the world to showcase their work in the performing and visual arts. This, by its very makeup, will draw young people together in their common passion for the arts. It opens a dialogue that cannot be silenced. We hope kids, parents, teachers and everyone will support the youth of the world as they work through their talents in the arts, to unite the world.

About the Artists:

Six Volt Band: Five kids from Monmouth County, New Jersey playing fun, modern rock and roll. www.sixvoltband.com
Bria Kelly: Singer songwriter from VA http://briakelly.com
Nick Gargiulo: Guitarist song writer from VA
Holly Tache’: Guitarist from VA
Alex Raz: Guitarist and songwriter from Cleveland, Ohio
Johnny Gravitt: Guitarist New York
Khrome Rock Band: New York

For more information contact:
Youth Arts Forum:
Barry Salottolo, Director,
T: 914-310-2930
youthartsforum@gmail.com

Food Bank of New York:
Kate Hindin
Business Partnerships Manager
Food Bank For New York City
39 Broadway, 10th Floor
New York, NY 10006
t: 212.566.7855, ext. 8353
f: 212.566.1463 foodbanknyc.org

Youth Arts Concert