Artists for the Arts

The Event

Jimmy Presler, a sophomore at Portland State University, as well as a musician and artist, needed to find a nonprofit group that would benefit from the capstone project for his Freshman Inquiry course: To produce an event and donate all the proceeds to a selected charity.

Jimmy, along with classmates Taylor, Sam, Killian, Dylan, and Evan, went online, Googled some keywords and found Artists for the Arts. When asked, Why AFTA?, Jimmy explains: “My classmates and I all went to Portland Public Schools and know firsthand what it’s like to live with budget cuts year after year. We felt we could really identify with what Artists for the Arts was doing.”

The Results

The resulting event was held on June 1 and was a resounding success. Jimmy estimates that over 200 people attended the event, which showcased 4 local bands, as well as an auction of donated visual art pieces created by Jimmy and several other Portland artists. All in all, Jimmy and his team raised more than $500 for the AFTA Endowment Fund to directly benefit arts education projects in our schools!

Even though it won’t be required for a class, Jimmy says the experience was so rewarding that he would like to throw the same type of event next year. Our biggest thanks go out to Jimmy and his team for showing how much they care about arts education in our schools. We hope to see them again next year!