Jacoby Hosts Christmas in July to Benefit Community Hope Center

ALTON, IL — July 3, 2012 – In the heat of the summer, Jacoby Arts Center is planning a toy drive to bring thoughts of a cooler time of year for Riverbend area residents. Christmas in July is a community service project aimed at helping families and individuals who have been affected by job recession or other difficult life struggles.

Eva Perkins, one of the members of Jacoby’s Performing Arts Committee, came up with the idea and received full support from the Arts Center. “I just thought there are people who are suffering and we could get a jump start on helping in advance of the true holiday season,” Perkins said. “And what better marketing idea – Christmas in July just seemed like a good slogan.”

Community Hope Center in Cottage Hills is the agency that will benefit from this effort. Established in 1988 as a nonprofit corporation with a main and primary purpose to help the poor, the homeless, children, and the elderly with programs that meet their individual needs, the Center is solely supported by local businesses, foundations, private donations, and receives no state funding. It is self-supporting through its own philanthropy efforts.

The facility also operates as a full service crisis emergency center that provides diverse programs which are offered free of charge to those who are less fortunate. Each program is designed and implemented to help families out of their crisis situations. This type of assistance is crucial because in Madison County there are thousands of local people who do not have health care. 

Jacoby Arts Center is asking the community to help in two ways: donate at its LIVE at Jacoby: Saturday Nights concert on July 28 or anytime in July during regular business hours. Unwrapped new toys can be dropped off Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. On Thursdays, hours are extended until 8 p.m.

Donations at the concert won’t take the place of the admission price, but with the toy donation concertgoers will receive a coupon to be used at the beverage bar. Perkins said, “Concertgoers can feel good twice: from the joy that listening to great music provides and knowing they have made a positive difference in someone’s life.” General admission at the concert is $10 per person ($8 for seniors 65+ and students) and the music flows from 7 to 9 p.m.

Vocalist Danita Mumphard will be featured at the concert on the 28^th. Mumphard recently headlined the Miles Davis Jazz Festival in May at Lewis and Clark Community College and has a multiple octave voice range. Her Jazz CD, "With Love", was released in October 2005. She has been featured at the Whitaker Jazz Festival, Missouri Botanical Garden, as well as in Jazz shows at Laumeier Sculpture Park and City Park in Edwardsville.

To get in the festive spirit, Jacoby Arts Center is celebrating with a blend of Christmas decorations including a tree with lights, and staff at the concert will wear Santa hats with Hawaiian shirts and leis to further celebrate the benefit and the occasion. Perkins said, “Don’t be surprised if Mumphard’s band throws in a few Christmas tunes for good measure.”

Advance table reservations are suggested. Located at 627 East Broadway in Alton, Illinois, Jacoby’s hours are Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with late hours on Thursdays until 8 p.m. The Center is closed on Sundays and Mondays. Jacoby Arts Center is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to foster the artistic development and economic success of artists, and to expand accessibility to the arts through programs that promote education, participation and exploration.

For more information about Jacoby Arts Center and any of its programs and services, visit our website at www.jacobyartscenter.org, email us at info@jacobyartscenter.org, call 618.462.5222, or stop in at the Center.

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