IceHogs Community Fund Awards $20,000 Grant to Rockford Area Arts Council

Grant supports RAAC’s Summer SPARK! programs for youth

The Rockford IceHogs Community Fund has awarded a $20,000 grant to the Rockford Area Arts Council (RAAC) to support SPARK!, the RAAC’s summer art program that provides an apprenticeship program to youths who demonstrate an interest in the arts. SPARK! provides youth with the unique opportunity to work closely with local artists in a variety of mediums. The primary focus of SPARK! is community building and positive social connection through the arts. SPARK! projects focus on the development of public art for the experience of the youth and the enjoyment of the Rockford Region.

The IceHogs Community Fund presented the grant award to RAAC at the culminating performance and art show for SPARK! in the Park at Nicholas Conservatory where 50 elementary school students just finished a two-week program that consisted of artistic exposure and hands-on experience through dance and movement, art and nature, visual art, and digital art.

“The Arts Council is thrilled to have the support of the Rockford IceHogs for its 2024 SPARK! Summer Programs,” said Mary McNamara Bernsten, Executive Director, Rockford Area Arts Council. “The IceHogs recognize the compelling impact of the arts on youth and are particularly impressed with the increased reading and retainment scores of the Arts Council’s year-round enrichment program at Washington Park Community Center. The Arts Council is eager to continue our relationship with an organization like the IceHogs, an agency clearly committed to the health and development of our region’s youth.”

Studies have shown that communities with youth involved in the arts see a decrease in juvenile crime and an increase in academic achievement, high school graduates, college-bound students, and young voters at the polls.

“The impact of the Arts Council’s SPARK! programs goes far beyond the few weeks these kids spend participating over the summer,” said Dave Costello, Manager of Marketing and Community Relations, Rockford IceHogs. “Exposure to the arts will make these kids better students and better citizens, and will have a long-lasting effect on our community.”

Earlier this summer, 33 high school students participated in SPARK! - Somnium, an intensive three-week skill-building apprenticeship program for young artists who had the opportunity to work alongside award-winning local and international artists across a variety of disciplines including creative writing, muralism, production animation, prop design and creation, movement and flow arts. The student work created in the camp was integrated into an immersive outdoor public art production and a literary journal produced by Mentes Extremófilas.

The final summer SPARK! program, SPARK! – Build Mosaic for middle and high school students, will run August 5-16 where youth will work closely with nationally recognized mosaic artist, Susan Burton, in the planning, construction, and installation of a public sculpture in Rockford. Twenty-five students are expected to participate in SPARK! – Build Mosaic.

This $20,000 grant is part of $133,000 in grants the IceHogs Community Fund will award to nine organizations and ten unique programs for the 2024-25 grant cycle. Earlier this week, the IceHogs Community Fund announced a $20,000 award to Rockford Hockey Club (RHC) to, in part, support the formation of a new girls hockey program at RHC.

Additional grant award announcements from the IceHogs Community Fund will be forthcoming this summer.

About the IceHogs Community Fund

The IceHogs Community Fund (ICF), supported by the Chicago Blackhawks Foundation, is invested in making a positive social impact by supporting initiatives that will help make the Rockford region a better place to work, live, and play. Through partnerships with local organizations, the ICF is dedicated to growing the game of hockey by working to broaden exposure and reduce barriers to the sport.

The ICF raises funds throughout the year in a variety of ways, including specialty jersey auctions as well as gameday sales of 50/50 raffle tickets and Chuck-A-Pucks.

About Rockford Area Arts Council

The Rockford Area Arts Council was established in 1969 as a four-county umbrella arts organization. The Arts Council provides Winnebago, Boone, Ogle, and DeKalb Counties with organizational resources, collective advocacy efforts, and critical arts and cultural resources for our communities, with a special focus on our disadvantaged and underserved populations. The Arts Council exists to support, promote, and develop access to the arts for everyone. We achieve this goal by funding artists and arts organizations that oversee programs for under-served communities; supporting arts education and programming; developing collaborative relationships with the City of Rockford, the Rockford Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, Transform Rockford, R1 Regional Planning Council, the Rockford Park District and Rockford Public Library, regional school districts—both public and private; overseeing events that showcase local talent; and advocating for the arts at the local, state, and federal level.