Springville High drama dept. surprised by anonymous $5,000 donation

r Springville High School’s drama department was recently surprised with an anonymous donation of $5,000 through the Nebo Education Foundation. Lana Hiskey, the foundation’s executive director, presented the generous donation to SHS drama teacher Christian Cragun.

“We are extremely grateful for the donation that has been made to the Springville High School theater department,” Cragun said. “The arts have always been an important part of the culture and education of Springville High School and the greater Springville community, as is evidenced in the name ‘Art City.’ A donation like this is encouraging because it will allow us to continue educating and serving the students and the community, but it is also encouraging as a tangible example of the ways in which our community supports us as well. We are so grateful, not only for the donation, but for the relationship that the SHS arts programs have with our community, and the continued growth and development we look forward to in the future.”

Becca Hammond, the SHS Drama Guild president and a member of the Class of 2017, said, “We are so excited to receive this donation. It is really great to know that someone appreciates our program and what we do. Especially this year, we have been focusing on a lot of community outreach, so it is great to be recognized by someone out there. This money will go to a great use. Theater has always been an important contributor to the lives of many high school students. It can help students make friends, get outside of their comfort zone and participate in something fun while they struggle through the pain of calculus or physics. As a student, I am very excited to see how this will help our department flourish. Even just knowing that we have support out there in the world has brought joy into my life. I am grateful for the opportunity that I have to participate in theater, and I am grateful for the support of our city and community.”

This is the second anonymous donation made to an arts program at Springville High School in recent months. On Sept. 22, 2016, SHS band students were surprised with a $10,000 anonymous donation to the band through the Nebo Education Foundation.

On Thursday, September 22, Springville High band students and band director, Mr. Ben Major, had a huge surprise from Lana Hiskey, Nebo Education Foundation Director—a $10,000 anonymous cash donation to SHS band.

To learn more about the Nebo Education Foundation, visit http://www.nebo.edu/foundation.