NOTE FROM:

Adair Margo
Chairman
President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities

The President’s Committee applauds the great work of this year’s Coming Up Taller Award winners! They bring to light how after-school and out-of-school arts and humanities programs enrich children’s lives and strengthen their communities.

We welcome our friends from Mexico to The People’s House and thank them for sharing exceptional programs from their country. Whenever we are together, we are reminded that we are not just neighbors, but family. We also recognize the caring shown by the leadership of our Gulf Coast Coming Up Taller programs. When their children were dispersed after Katrina, teachers searched for their budding dancers, painters, and musicians, and in some cases, they even found classes for them thousands of miles away.

The White House is a festive place on Coming Up Taller day as children dance, lift their voices, and share traditions as diverse as the world. It is a place of joy, with children responding to the wonder of life and their unique place in this world.

We are grateful to our partner cultural agencies—the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Humanities—and all of our contributors, especially GMAC and Time Warner, for making this program possible.