Artists for the Arts Concerts Raise $125,000 for SMMUSD Programs

Arts programs in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District will get a financial boost after the 10th Annual Artists for the Arts benefit concert raised $125,000.

Over the course of two nights, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Jackson Brown, rock icon Gary Wright and local band Venice teamed with students to deliver shows that will benefit the public schools.

The funds raised will be added to the Santa Monica-Malibu Education Foundation’s For The Arts endowment, which supports visual and performing arts education throughout SMMUSD.

"Arts in high school are really important," Browne said. "Arts make the individual complete. Arts connect us to the rest of society. And arts, like sports, are really important for people who are developing."

Since 2004, the Santa Monica-Malibu Education Foundation has been the beneficiary of the benefit concerts, which have now raised nearly $900,000 for arts programs.

"Our annual collaboration with Artists for the Arts Foundation creates truly unique opportunities for our students and faculty to work hand-in-hand with amazing professional musical talents to create once-in-a-lifetime experiences while raising funds to ensure our arts programs can continue,” Linda Greenberg Gross said, Executive Director of the Santa Monica-Malibu Education Foundation.

One of the highlights was a rendition of the Beatles' classic "With A Little Help from My Friends," got the crowd on its feet, as all the artists joined together with the students musicians.