WISH LIST $100: 2 1-hour piano lessons for an underserved student; $500: 1 necessary piano tuning; $1,000: complete supplies for a 1-semester children’s ceramics class.

The arts create challenge; the arts create common ground; and the arts must be accessible to all – these are the rallying cries of Capitol Hill Arts Workshop, which serves all ages and provides tuition assistance for youth and adult classes. Offerings include photography, writing, visual arts, textiles, ceramics, acting, and dance. A van collects children in Ward 6 at seven elementary and middle schools for after-school classes and private lessons (voice, piano, violin, guitar) and there are four two-week sessions of Arts Camp, plus musical theater and dance specialty camps–with equal access for all. The Youth Chorus (40 children from 6 schools) rehearses weekly and presents two concerts a year. Last year, they even sang at the Kennedy Center and Washington Monument. Juried shows for artists, an 80-voice chorale, a film series, and a theatre company keep adults engaged and alive. Some 500 people participate in the Workshop’s programs each week – 20,000 annually – and the need for tuition assistance only grows. Here, the arts inspire. We hope they inspire you, too.

Jill Strachan, Executive Director 545 7th Street SE Washington, DC 20003 202-547-6839 www.chaw.org