December 1, 2020
Will match gifts made to Trinity Rep with $60,000 in food
PROVIDENCE, RI: Trinity Rep has an added partner in its commitment to supporting the Rhode Island Community Food Bank this year. One week after the announcement that the Rhode Island Foundation will match the first $60,000 in contributions made to Trinity Rep between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve with a cash grant to the Food Bank, Ocean State Job Lot has committed to matching the second $60,000 in gifts to Trinity Rep with an equivalent donation of food. Thanks to this partnership, the community is able to show support for both Trinity Rep and their neighbors who need assistance with food at a time when both organizations are seeing a higher than usual need for support. Public health restrictions have inhibited the theater’s ability to generate ticket revenue since spring. A new report issued by the Food Bank last week revealed that 1 in 4 households report being food insecure this year, a significant increase from prior years.
“Job Lot loves Trinity Rep. We have been a supporter for over two decades. Addressing food insecurity is a core initiative for the Ocean State Job Lot Charitable Foundation. The opportunity to support both missions at the same time gives us great pleasure,” says Ocean State Job Lot CEO Marc Perlman.
“Community is one of Trinity Rep’s core values and bringing people together – whether that is in a theater, in a classroom, or around an important cause – is what we do,” added Executive Director Tom Parrish. “This unique partnership of Trinity Rep, the Food Bank, Rhode Island Foundation, Ocean State Job Lot, and the community will help ensure a happy holiday season for so many Rhode Islanders.”
Thanks to the generosity of Ocean State Job Lot and the Rhode Island Foundation, Trinity Rep is able to continue its 15-year tradition of encouraging support for the Food Bank through this $120,000 matching opportunity. Traditionally, at the end of every performance of Trinity Rep’s production of A Christmas Carol, the actor playing Ebenezer Scrooge has stepped forward and asked the audience to help support the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. Audiences drop money into buckets on their way out of the theater, with totals averaging over $60,000 for the last several years and over $667,500 contributed since 2006. This year’s campaign needed to look much different with in-person performances of the holiday classic not possible. The theater pivoted to an on-demand streaming production and is making it available to audiences worldwide for free.
The public may participate in the match by donating to the theater at www.trinityrep.com/match, by calling (401) 453-9235, or texting “SCROOGE” to 44-321. Donations are also accepted during the registration process for free access to A Christmas Carol Online at www.trinityrep.com/carol. The video will be streaming December 17, 2020 – January 10, 2021.