LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As many as 7,200 children and adolescents at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles are touched each year by the art and music therapy services of the Mark Taper-Johnny Mercer Artists Program—thanks in part to a private family foundation that has helped shape the Southern California landscape.
The S. Mark Taper Foundation and its predecessor, the Mark Taper Foundation, have a long history of generous support for the Mark Taper-Johnny Mercer Artists Program, founded at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles in 1991 with $320,000 in seed money from the Mark Taper Foundation. A subsequent grant of $160,000 from the S. Mark Taper Foundation came in 2002. Their most recent gift, another grant of $150,000 announced in December, 2010, brings the total giving from the Foundation to $630,000 in support of the Artists Program.
“I can’t emphasize too much our belief in this program and the good it’s doing,” says S. Mark Taper Foundation Grants Director Adrienne Wittenberg. “We are impressed with how the program has grown and its achievements in helping children and families.”
S. Mark Taper began his business career in England in retail and real estate. He moved to Long Beach, Calif., in the late 1930s. Three decades later, the Mark Taper Forum at the Los Angeles Music Center was named in recognition of his generosity.
The intersection of art and healing is a natural one for the foundation that bears his name. It was established in 1989 to enhance the quality of people’s lives through the support of nonprofit organizations and their work in the community.
“One of the foundation’s top priorities is health,” notes Wittenberg, “in particular, increasing access to community-based services.”
Within the Mark Taper-Johnny Mercer Artists Program at Children’s Hospital, a staff of certified music and art therapists work with patients one-on-one at their bedsides or in small groups in Child Life playrooms and the Teen Lounge. Their tools include sculpting clay and watercolor paints, as well as kazoos, guitars and songwriting software.
“The Artists Program is vital for the therapeutic well-being of our patients who may not respond to traditional psychotherapeutic interventions,” notes Scott Ferguson, MSW, LCSW, administrator of Family-Centered Care Support Services.
Children are not equipped to verbalize their feelings, especially when sick or injured. Research shows that art and music therapy reduce pain and anxiety and promote healing. Even decorating a child’s hospital room with his or her own art brings a much needed sense of normalcy.
The hospital staff is supplemented by visiting artists, including ensembles that provide music in public spaces for appreciative families. Last year the program also added Dréa’s Dream, a dance therapy and expressive movement program for children with cancer and special needs, funded by The Andréa Rizzo Foundation.
The Mark Taper-Johnny Mercer Artists Program is entirely dependent on philanthropic funding; its services are not reimbursable by health insurance.
“Without the support of the S. Mark Taper Foundation, this beloved program could not reach the same number of children each year,” says Ferguson.
For more information, visit http://www.chla.org/site/c.ipINKTOAJsG/b.3579141/.
About Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
Children's Hospital Los Angeles has been named the best children’s hospital in California and among the best in the nation for clinical excellence with its selection to the prestigious US News & World Report Honor Roll. Children’s Hospital is home to The Saban Research Institute, one of the largest and most productive pediatric research facilities in the United States and is one of America's premier teaching hospitals through its affiliation since 1932 with the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California.
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