Press Release For Immediate Release
Contact: Lauren Stevenson Yacina
Upper Darby Performing Arts Center 610.506.1355 lauren.stevenson@verizon.net
Upper Darby Summer Stage offers Scholarships to local Foster Children in Memory of Summer Stage Participant
May 11, 2013 – Drexel Hill, PA – On the one-year anniversary of the death of Terrance Calvert, a long-term Summer Stage participant and staff member, Upper Darby Summer Stage announces a scholarship program for teens in foster care.
Upper Darby Summer Stage begins its 38th season this summer and has become one of the nation’s oldest and most successful youth theater programs. Over 700 young people from throughout the Delaware Valley participate in the program each summer learning theater skills and more. From the staff to the students, the Upper Darby Summer Stage community is made up of kind and talented individuals that are driven by fervor for musical theater and a natural inclination to help others.
Tristan Horan, a senior at Haverford High School and active Summer Stage participant, is organizing the Summer Stage Foster Child Program, entitled T’s Kids Scholarship Program, in memory of his friend Terrance Calvert. “I can’t think of a better way to remember Terrance than to offer others the opportunity to participate in the program he loved,” said Tristan.
The public is encouraged to contact Tristan if they are aware of a teen in foster care that would benefit from the Upper Darby Summer Stage program. Tristan may be reached at 610.675.4424 or TsKidsScholarship@gmail.com.
Terrance Calvert was an active member in the Upper Darby Summer Stage community. He was a living example of how the Summer Stage community cannot only support and nurture artistic talents but also provide a loving and supporting environment for children. Terrance was placed into foster care at a very young age. Like many children in foster care, he faced many challenges. His life changed when he discovered Upper Darby Summer Stage.
Starting out as a student in the children’s theater program, Terrance displayed immense talent, an extraordinarily loving personality, and an inspiring passion for helping others. Terrance eventually became a staff member, sharing his passion for musical theater as a choreographer in the Children’s Theater program. Terrance was diagnosed with Renal Cell Carcinoma, kidney cancer, in 2011. The Summer Stage family was with Terrance every step of the way. During the summer of 2012, Terrance showed great courage by continuing to support the Upper Darby Summer Stage program despite experiencing the physical toll that cancer was taking on his body.
Terrance’s soul and spirit refused to stop his mission to give back. In his last months, Terrance spoke about his love for his friends, his family, the arts, and the Upper Darby Summer Stage community.
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