Business & Tech

Portsmouth Arts Org Receives Bank Grant

Arts In Reach, a nonprofit which assists teenage girls and gender-expansive youth, has received $2,500 from Kennebunk Savings.

AIR teens working with visual teaching artist Meagan Samson at Bedrock Garden in Lee.
AIR teens working with visual teaching artist Meagan Samson at Bedrock Garden in Lee. (​Provided by Arts In Reach)

PORTSMOUTH, NH — A Port City nonprofit has received a bank grant to assist with its in-person and online summer arts program.

Arts In Reach, which works to empower teenage girls and gender-expansive youth, received $2,500 from Kennebunk Savings recently. The funds will be used for the org’s arts programs, which are free to the students. Five teens were sponsored in 2021. That sponsorship includes access to transportation, interactivity with professional teaching artists, and more.

Debra Holloway, the executive director of the program, said they were “incredibly grateful” for the donation and the bank’s “ongoing dedication to empowering Seacoast youth.”

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Bradford Paige, the bank’s president and CEO, said the bank’s Community Promise program assists nonprofits by giving at least 10 percent of its profits to organizations.

“This Community Promise is a literal investment in our community — with more than $15 million contributed to area nonprofits since 1994,” he said. “We’re proud to make Arts In Reach part of our program and are inspired by their great work.”

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Arts In Reach offers dozens of teens the opportunity to explore creative endeavors including world drumming, mindful movement, and acting to visual art in nature, original character drawing, and songwriting, in a safe, inclusive community.

More information about Kennebunk Savings’ Community Promise can be found at this link.

To learn more about Arts In Reach, visit this link.

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