Haddonfield Plays & Players Receives $87K Grant

HADDONFIELD, NJ — Haddonfield Plays & Players has received $87,360 in grant funding from Columbia Bank, through their Columbia Bank Foundation, to support capital improvement initiatives at the theater, the theater announced on Monday. This includes sound and lighting system upgrades, a new box office window, and other renovations to enhance the theater facility.

“We are so very thankful to everyone at the Columbia Bank Foundation for this generous award,” Haddonfield Plays & Players President David Stavetski said. “The benefits to us will be passed along to the many artists, actors, dancers and students that find a creative home in our theater, and it will help us provide a more enriched experience to those we serve the community.”

Haddonfield Plays & Players was founded in 1934. Since then, it has produced hundreds of plays and musicals with the aim of providing quality theater at an affordable price to a wide range of Delaware Valley audiences, as well as to provide a creative outlet for local non-professionals with a commitment to non-profit theater. The theater building, located at Crow’s Woods in Haddonfield, was built in 1986.

Haddonfield Plays & Players offers a wide array of programming for the community in addition to their main stage theatrical productions, including Stage Kidz and Stage Teenies, a children and teen theater program to build confident kids and introduce them to the theatrical arts; Shining Stars, which offers teens and young adults with Autism, PDD, Aspergers, Down Syndrome, Fragile X, and other developmental disabilities an opportunity to show off their talents in partnership with Amazing Transformations; and Number the Stars, a groundbreaking program for raising Holocaust awareness in schools–currently observing its 20th year.

“This grant will revolutionize the way we present theater to our community,” Haddonfield Plays & Players Director of Development Taylor Brody said. “With a more efficient box office system complimenting a complete overhaul of our sound and lighting systems, this generous contribution addresses multiple essential needs of our organization and our theater.”

The Columbia Bank Foundation provides grants and contributions to organizations recognized as tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Columbia Bank Foundation actively seeks to provide support in seven major areas: affordable housing programs, community investment and economic development opportunities, financial literacy and educational opportunities, health and human services, community sponsored events, food pantries, and the arts. Special consideration is always given to programs that provide a measurable community impact.

“As our largest donation to date, we are thrilled to help Haddonfield Plays & Players continue to deliver quality performances while making an impact,” Columbia Bank Foundation Executive Director Amy Dupuis said. “We are a proud supporter of the arts and the creative energy they bring to the community.”

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