Jaffes earn Center for the Performing Arts Distinguished Service Award
May 6, 2008
The Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State has named a suburban State College couple as recipients of its 2008 Distinguished Service Award. Honey and Bill Jaffe are longtime supporters and members of the non-profit fine arts presenter.
Honey Jaffe served on the Center for the Performing Arts Community Advisory Council from 1998 to 2003. Bill Jaffe, an alumnus of Penn State, has served in various volunteer positions. In 1996 he was named an Alumni Fellow, the highest award presented by the Penn State Alumni Association. The Ferguson Township residents are members of the Center for the Performing Arts at both the Director’s Circle and The Jazz Train levels.
“They are exceptional membership leaders in that respect,” said George Trudeau, director of the Center for the Performing Arts. “Bill and Honey Jaffe have been model volunteers at the Center for the Performing Arts, sharing talent, time and resources with us for many years.”
The couple’s philanthropy is extensive. In 2002 they established—through a planned gift—an endowment at the Center for the Performing Arts to support the audience development program. A year later they started giving early activation funds to finance their intentions until the endowment became mature in 2007.
Working closely with the couple to tailor a plan, Center for the Performing Arts staff members have used the endowment to support attendance at the Informances for Schools series. The series of school-time performances are presented on weekdays and are designed for elementary and secondary students from throughout central Pennsylvania. The endowment has been used to promote presentations through direct-mail marketing campaigns targeted at educators and to help schools offset the cost of transporting students to University Park to see performances.
“This subsidy means the difference for many of these schools between attending or not,” said Amy Dupain Vashaw, Center for the Performing Arts audience and program development director. “Their funding has also allowed us to reach out beyond our typical marketplace to draw schools from as much as a hundred miles away. The students in central Pennsylvania owe a debt of gratitude to Bill and Honey for their support. The center is grateful for the audience development efforts achieved through this funding.”
The Jaffes recently decided to add to their endowment, Trudeau said, and are in the process of finalizing a significant additional pledge.
Contact: Laura Sullivan, 814-863-6379