“If not for the Education First funding Bellingham Arts Academy for Youth received via a grant from Whatcom Educational Credit Union in 2019, The Story of the Stolen Underwater Llamas may never have seen the light of day.
To better understand how nine Birchwood elementary students who weren’t in close proximity to each other created a short film with a storyline focused on llamas, an underwater city and a daring escape from a dicey dungeon, it’s necessary to backtrack to the beginning of the pandemic.”
Thus begins a Cascadia Weekly article by Amy Kepferle about how BAAY pivoted during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown to provide connections and creative enrichment to students through its EduArts program partnering with local schools, specifically focusing on grant-funded work in Title 1 schools.
The article goes on to share more about how BAAY carefully stewarded funds awarded from WECU’s Education First grant and how local youth participated in creative endeavors – view it here. Thank you Amy Kepferle for your excellent journalism! And thank you again to WECU for supporting local youth’s access to the arts!