Gala benefits underserved children

To the editor:

Recently, my husband and I decided to make the move back to our hometown of Cedar Rapids from Chicago, where I had been living and working since 2005. We were immediately impressed with the development of our hometown. I was looking forward to jumping back into this community and was thrilled when I was asked to volunteer at the Expressive Arts Gala for Tanager Place.

Expressive Arts is a unique program offering therapy opportunities to emotionally disturbed children in visual arts, creative writing, music and drama. Children and families who come to Tanager Place struggle with mental and behavioral health challenges. These are children in our schools; these are children and families in our neighborhoods. More than 2,000 therapy sessions were held last year, impacting the lives of Eastern Iowa's children.

The strong community support shown for the Expressive Arts Gala held Oct. 19 did not go unnoticed. Tanager Place is grateful for the contributions from local businesses such as Raining Rose, Guaranty Bank, The Linge Foundation, Matt and Red Rissi and the other 25 business sponsors of this event. The organization is also grateful to the hundreds who attended the gala as advocates for our underserved children.

Although my husband and I are not parents yet, it is important to us to live in a community where children are valued, cherished and given the resources to succeed. Expressive Arts at Tanager Place fulfills that goal and I am so proud to see its amazing programming here in Cedar Rapids.

Melissa McCarville

Tanager Place Expressive Arts Gala Committee

Cedar Rapids