FOMC Outreach Program


“WE LOVE YOU GUYS!!”	”Tickets to your events are more special to [the developmentally disabled adults we serve] than you can imagine. Your generous donation has truly changed their lives. They are still talking about shows that happened 3 years ago! We now have started giving tickets to people who want to have dates, but have no where special to go. I just had a mother call me crying after one such date saying she never thought her child would get such an experience.” -- Erin , REC, Inc.	Members of the Prescott Circus, a youth development service, were inspired by seeing the Peking Acrobats
FOMC offers free Marin Center event tickets to agencies that serve people with physical, mental, emotional and financial challenges and to schools for distribution to students. "I’ve really enjoyed every single event I’ve attended at Marin Center. It’s opened doors for all of us here. It gives me a lot of mental stimulation; I feel young again!’” “I can still hear that beautiful music and it just makes me smile.” - Parnow Friendship House residents		OUTREACH Mission Statement The mission of the Outreach Committee is to create greater awareness of the performing arts, to encourage more community participation, and to increase exposure, education and opportunities for those who otherwise would not have access to this cultural enrichment. History Established in 1993, the Outreach Committee distributes complimentary tickets for Marin Center performances to low-income and disadvantaged youth and adults who otherwise might not be able to attend these performances. No fee is charged to the agencies for this unique service. On average we distribute over 4000 tickets each season including tickets to the Marin Symphony. Method FOMC has created a distribution network to over 100 non-profit agencies and schools that allows for an equitable and effective system for ticket allocation. Events are matched with appropriate constituencies. An e-mail and fax-back system is used to notify groups of ticket availability, to determine interest and ability to take advantage of the tickets. Results We think the many thank you notes we receive every month tell more about the success of this program than anything we could say in facts and figures. Click here to READ SAMPLES OF NOTES we've received from guests and agencies .
	Every year the holiday season is a little sweeter for Outreach Program guests, thanks to the generous sharing of tickets by the Stapleton Ballet for the Nutcracker Suite and the Mayflower Chorus. A group from the Marin Housing Authority attends the Nutcracker Suite.
"Our clients really enjoyed Madama Butterfly and Tuesday night’s symphony! The group that attended the symphony hadn’t been in quite awhile and were excited to share with many of us the day after (and they made it all the way until 9:30 which is a bit past bed time)... :)" - Crystal Marker The Cedars of Marin A Cedars of Marin resident creates art to express his thanks for the ticket he received to the Golden Gate Opera’s Madama Butterfly.

	"The Shaolin Warriors were really cool. I'd never seen anything like them in real life, only in video games. We had a great time." -- A 'Little Brother' from Big Brothers/Big Sisters Read more
“‘Coming from Moscow and St. Petersberg, we grew up appreciating great music and culture, but because of the programmed narrow offerings of the Soviet Union, only now are we enjoying a full range of performances from all over the world." ‘FOMC’s free tickets are an example of the American experience, a generous people share a wealth of diverse cultural experiences.’ ‘We appreciate how close Marin Center is. It would be impossible for us to go into San Francisco for the symphony. But we feel as if we are living in near a great cultural center."‘It is the center of our lives.”	ESL Class for Russian-American seniors meeting at Maria Freitas Senior Center	Read the press on FOMC's Outreach Program. Marin Independent Journal Frankly Speaking (Civic Center) Patch.com ON BEHALF OF OUR OUTREACH GUESTS, WE THANK THE MEMBERS AND SPONSORS OF FOMC!