Diskin Fund grant to support JCC dance programs
“This investment in the JCC Dance program reflects the very purpose of the Fund: supporting arts organizations that enrich lives and strengthen our community.”
A $375,000 grant from the Arthur J. and Betty F. Diskin Cultural Endowment Fund will support and expand the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh’s School of Dance. The grant was announced last week by the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s Foundation and the JCC.
“The Diskin Fund honors Arthur J. Diskin, a respected Pittsburgh attorney, and Betty F. Diskin, a lifelong devotee of the performing arts who was active in local theater, including Little Lake Theatre and the original Pittsburgh Playhouse,” JCC and Federation officials said in a news release. “Betty established the Fund to honor Arthur’s memory, and it is administered by the Federation’s Foundation to support cultural, educational and civic organizations across the region, with particular attention to music and theater.”
The grant will be distributed over five years.
“One of our most important responsibilities as trustees is preserving the intent behind the Diskin family’s generosity,” said Fund trustee Nancy Rackoff. “This investment in the JCC Dance program reflects the very purpose of the Fund: supporting arts organizations that enrich lives and strengthen our community.”
Jason Kunzman, president and CEO of the JCC of Greater Pittsburgh, recognized Betty Diskin’s “extraordinary legacy in Pittsburgh, grounded in her belief in the arts, young people and the importance of creating opportunities for others.”
“We are deeply honored,” he said, “that her legacy will live on here, in spaces filled with young people learning, performing, building confidence and discovering what they are capable of.”
The JCC School of Dance serves students from preschool through high school, “combining strong technical instruction with an emphasis on confidence, creativity, discipline and belonging,” according to the news release.
Funding from the grant will be used to install professional sprung flooring in dance studios and the Katz Theater, upgrades to lighting and sound and an annual scholarship to support and attract new dancers to JCC programs, as well as “keep training accessible as students advance.”
The Diskin Fund is one of many funds administered by the Federation’s Foundation on behalf of “donors who want their giving to reflect what they care about most,” Federation officials said, “and the Foundation welcomes the opportunity to help new donors create funds of their own.” PJC
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