Fortitude Reinsurance Company Ltd. announced a $200,000 donation to the Educational Arts Team through its Fortitude Re 4 Good program. The company said the support will help expand arts-based learning that builds creativity, self-expression, and stronger academic skills for students in Jersey City and nearby areas. Fortitude Re shared that creative learning helps strengthen both school performance and the confidence young people need to grow.
- Fortitude Re donated $200,000 to the Educational Arts Team to support creative learning programs in Jersey City, including Family Literacy workshops, Camp Liberty, and training for educators.
- The Educational Arts Team has a 50-year history of using the arts to support learning, cultural understanding, and student growth, with school partnerships that have led to notable gains in test results.
- The organization has received long-term community support, national recognition, and awards, including a 2024 Library of Congress honor, and continues expanding its mission under its current leadership.
How the Donation Will Help Local Programs
The funding will support several long-running efforts led by the Educational Arts Team. Family Literacy workshops will continue bringing families together through stories and hands-on art activities. Camp Liberty, a summer program that gives children a welcoming place to explore art and nature, will also benefit from the donation. In addition, the support will help provide training for teachers and youth workers who want to use creative methods in their classrooms.
The organization said that its work with Fortitude Re over the last two years has already reached thousands of children. With this new support, it plans to continue offering free or low-cost programs to the community. Fortitude Re stated that the partnership fits with the goals of its Fortitude Re 4 Good initiative, which focuses on long-term efforts that support learning and community well-being. The company also reported having $105 billion in total assets as of December 31, 2024.
The Mission Behind the Educational Arts Team
The Educational Arts Team describes its mission as engaging young people through the arts, helping them connect creativity with thinking, encouraging personal growth, and making learning more meaningful. The group believes the arts help children build confidence, succeed in school, and imagine a positive future.
The organization’s history began in 1974, when local artists offered art and drama workshops in youth centers and a summer camp. Between 1975 and 1978, the group created a youth theater program to help address concerns about tension in high schools. From 1979 to 1985, several schools asked the team to develop a program that celebrated cultural diversity, which led to Children of the World. This project brought together stories from different cultures and involved songs, costumes, and dances. An article about the project was later published in the Youth Theatre Journal.
The group officially became a nonprofit in 1981 and received an award in 1983 for Camp Liberty. From 1985 to 1990, it performed puppet shows in a wide range of community spaces. In 1986, it received a special recognition from a national theater and education organization.
Growing Programs and Long-Term School Partnerships
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, the team welcomed educators and theater groups from the UK and Ireland, including Gavin Bolton, and that helped shape the Bringing Literature to Life program. By 1995, the group had joined a national arts education organization, and in 1996, one of its workshops was featured on a statewide education program. Between 1998 and 2008, its work in arts education was highlighted in local news interviews.
From 1999 to 2002, the Pop-Up Puppet Theater reached every 3rd-grade classroom in Jersey City’s public schools, leading to notable rises in test results. The project was later documented in a professional journal. Between 2000 and 2005, the team created video projects with middle school students that addressed violence and substance abuse, and provided teacher training in several New Jersey districts.
A three-year partnership began in 2005 to connect theater arts with literacy for 4th and 5th-graders. Evaluators reported clear academic gains for the 550 students involved compared with a control group. A teacher handbook and training video were created at the end of the project. From 2008 to 2011, the team helped develop a second arts-based program for 6th and 7th graders, which also showed stronger test results. Between 2010 and 2014, a third project focused on 2nd and 3rd-grade literacy and produced sharp increases in language arts scores in participating schools.
Community Programs, Leadership Changes, and Recent Recognition
Since 2010, support from the Turrell Fund has allowed the group to continue offering Family Literacy Events that bring families together through stories and art. In 2015, new grants helped the team work with teachers from kindergarten through high school.
In 2019, the organization partnered with the city’s cultural affairs office, public libraries, and many community groups on a Big Read project funded by the National Endowment for the Arts. The same year, it developed a teen theater program with the Jersey City Public Schools, bringing together 40 teens who performed 15 scary tales as part of Halloween events.
In 2020, the group shifted to online programming and opened Camp Liberty with a limited number of students. In 2021, Carmine Tabone retired, and Betsy Vorce became interim executive director. In 2023, a documentary titled Man on a Mission, created by Dina Bruno Ciborowski and Robert Albrecht, highlighted the organization’s work and received multiple awards. Later that year, Roxy Arrojo became the new executive director.
