Spreading the love with donation drives at the Center
At Segerstrom Center for the Arts, we’ve been thrilled to be able to reach a wide range of theatergoers across Orange County, and through that, have found that we can utilize our reach to spread goodwill across the area. Since Fall 2022, we have been able to help several local nonprofits with collection drives in our lobby during a Broadway show’s run, simply putting the call out to any theatergoer who may be interested in showing their support and donating a small item.
In September 2021, several members of the Segerstrom Center staff participated in 9/11 Day of Service and volunteered together at Grandma’s House of Hope in Garden Grove to package meals for the food bank. It was a wonderful way to give back to our community and further support other nonprofit organizations in the area, and when Grandma’s House of Hope reached out and mentioned that their food pantry shelves were nearly empty and they were looking for donations wherever possible, we knew we wanted to help. When Hadestown came, we pioneered our first canned food drive in the lobby of Segerstrom Hall and let our patrons know that they could bring canned goods with them to the theater to donate. We were immediately met with an outpouring of support, inspiring a series of collection drives throughout the season that have enacted positive and exciting change in the community.
Hadestown – Canned food drive for Grandma’s House of Hope
During our very first collection drive, we had both audience and cast participation! Not only did our audiences bring in thousands of cans during the show’s run, the cast of Hadestown went on their own grocery shopping trip and brought in boxes upon boxes of food to contribute to our donations. Thanks to the help of everyone who participated, we were able to restock the shelves at Grandma’s House of Hope that were nearly empty at the time, bringing meals to families across Orange County.
To Kill a Mockingbird – Book drive for CHOC Hospital
Since To Kill a Mockingbird is undeniably one of the great American classics, our audiences brought books with them to the show and donated them to children undergoing treatment at Children’s Health of Orange County. The books went to The Family Resource Center at CHOC, which provides a space at the hospital for children to connect with one another, seek comfort and education, read, and feel like a child. Some of our Center staff members were fortunate enough to be able to make the book delivery in person and see the Family Resource Center for themselves. It was an incredible experience that allowed us to see the space where kids could enjoy the books our audiences gifted them. In total, we were able to donate almost 1,000 books!
Moulin Rouge! The Musical – Canned food drive for The OC Food Bank
Our first canned food drive with Hadestown was such a success that we decided to do another when Moulin Rouge! The Musical came to town! The Can-Can Canned Food Drive lasted 3 weeks and this time, supported The OC Food Bank, which works with nearly 400 local charities and soup kitchens to end hunger and malnutrition. We collected 3,310 pounds of food to donate, and before delivering everything, we shot a quick thank you video to express our gratitude for everyone’s immense support!
Disney’s Frozen – Winter outerwear (Coats/mittens/scarves) drive with Clothing the Homeless and The Lighthouse Outreach in partnership with One Warm Coat
Currently, we are working with One Warm Coat to gather coats, mittens, and scarves during the run of Disney’s Frozen, which will all be donated to two local charities: The Lighthouse Outreach and Clothing the Homeless. One Warm Coat works to provide free coats to those in need, and we are so excited to see how many items we can contribute to these two groups to support their powerful mission! If you are seeing Disney’s Frozen and wish to participate, bring your donations with you to the performance and place them in the collection bins inside the lobby.
Thank you to everyone who has participated in any of our collection drives here at the Center, our audiences are the absolute best and we are continually blown away by the generosity of everyone who has donated. We hope to continue these collection drives and further support local nonprofits, and we can’t wait to update you on the final result of our Frozen collection drive. Keep an eye out on social media to see everything we’re able to donate thanks to all of you!