Allentown Art Museum to Offer Free Admission to High School Students
Posted on 10/11/2019
The Allentown Art Museum is pleased to announce that high school students in the Allentown School District will enjoy free admission to the Museum during the 2019–2020 school year, thanks to a gift from Alvin H. Butz, Inc. The Butz family was honored earlier this year at the Museum’s annual Gala for its many contributions to the arts in the Lehigh Valley.
Students attending William Allen High School, Louis E. Dieruff High School, or Building 21 can present their school ID at the Museum’s front desk and bring their family members with them to receive free admission. The program, which began in September will run through June 2020.
“The Art Museum has partnered with the Allentown School District to teach, inspire, transform, and engage our students through such programs as Discover Art, the Middle School Summer Arts Program, the Urban Arts Partnership, and student exhibitions,” says Museum President and CEO David Mickenberg. “With the generous support of Alvin H. Butz, Inc., now high schoolers will have open access to our exhibitions and programs for a full academic year, fostering an appreciation of the arts and helping them to develop twenty-first-century skills such as critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and imagination.”
“The Allentown School District is excited to partner with to Alvin H. Butz, Inc. and the Allentown Art Museum for this truly meaningful collaboration,” said Thomas Parker, Superintendent of the Allentown School District. “This opportunity provides ASD students and their families access to world-class, culturally significant art and reinforces two strategic actions identified in the district’s Strategic Framework of providing individualized learning experiences and leveraging partnerships,” he continued. “We are thrilled to partner with the Allentown Art Museum to offer high school students the ability to engage with original works of art as an integral part of education and the community experience.”
“Exposure to the arts not only ensures that young people will experience a higher quality of life, it’s been shown to enhance learning capacity,” says Greg L. Butz, President and CEO of Alvin H. Butz, Inc. “It’s so rewarding to help the kids in our community benefit from exposure to one of our community’s phenomenal cultural assets.”
Beyond its partnerships with the Allentown School District, the Allentown Art Museum offers diverse ways for the Lehigh Valley community to enjoy the arts, from thought-provoking exhibitions, to family friendly activities on Free Sundays; after-work films, tours, and performances on Third Thursdays; dynamic panel discussions; memory-care programs such as Art Can; bilingual story time during Arte en Español; artist workshops, and more.
Through their companies and individually, the Butz family has given more than $2 million dollars to arts organizations in and around the Lehigh Valley in the past ten years, including to the Allentown Art Museum.
ABOUT THE ALLENTOWN ART MUSEUM The Allentown Art Museum is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to use the arts and culture as a catalyst to drive interaction, experimentation, and social change for everyone. By collecting, preserving, studying, exhibiting, interpreting, and teaching visual art, the Museum enlightens, engages, energizes, and empowers people—transforming the community one person and one idea at a time. For more information please visit AllentownArtMuseum.org.
ABOUT ALVIN H. BUTZ, INC. AND THE BUTZ FAMILY OF COMPANIES The Butz Family of Companies, consisting of Alexander Building Construction Co., Alvin H. Butz, Inc. and Shoemaker Construction Co., provides exceptional, comprehensive construction management and design/build services, led by a strong commitment to complete customer satisfaction with special attention to safety, quality and value. The Butz family has a long, successful tradition of building in the Lehigh Valley that dates back to the mid-1800s when the family constructed covered bridges. Alvin H. Butz Inc. has been continuously owned and operated in the Lehigh Valley by the Butz family, with the sixth generation in line to preserve the tradition and reputation of the organization. For more information please visit Butz.com