Georgia Hospitality Shines for Broadway Cares

The best thing about theatre students in Georgia is that they are always smiling.

Maybe that’s because their teachers and administrators support their efforts wholeheartedly. In a state where theatre education is mandatory in schools (in Georgia, the statewide One Act Play competition is almost as popular as football playoffs), it’s no wonder the Georgia Thespians are such effective fundraisers for Broadway Cares.

And they’re as creative as they are organized. At the Georgia State Festival this past February, the State Student Officers challenged their friends and fellow festival-goers to a weekend match of Coin Wars, a friendly fundraising competition initiated at The National Thespian Festival a few years back. The game has simple rules: drop coins in your own team’s jar, and that’s more points for you; drop dollar bills in your opponents’ jar, and that’s negative points for them. Simple enough, and even more fun when the student leaders decided to divide the teams into boys versus girls. (Girls won, by a lot.)

Mary-E Godfrey led her own BC/EFA campaign at Baldwin High School in Milledgeville and presented a check at the Festival for over $1,000, adding to the rising total for the weekend.

The Georgia Thespians raised over $3,000 for Broadway Cares this year, and have pledged to keep the tradition alive for next year.

We thank all the students involved in the campaign, and express our gratitude to State Director Yatesy Harvey, and sponsors Pam Ware, Ray Horne and Jerry Smith for supporting the campaign. Check out www.gathespians.org