Claude Moore, Inova Loudoun Sponsor Same Sky Project for LCPS
Leesburg, VA – January 9, 2017 – The Claude Moore Charitable Foundation and Inova Loudoun Hospital have donated more than $64,000 to the Loudoun Education Foundation (LEF) to fund two touring mental and physical health awareness theatrical productions by the Same Sky Project at Loudoun County public schools.
The productions are “Behind the Label,” which tours middle schools and “A WILL to Survive,” presented at high schools.
The $32,444 commitment from Inova Loudoun Hospital, combined with a $32,000 commitment from the Claude Moore Charitable Foundation, provides full funding for the first year of this two-year initiative.
“Behind the Label” features a teenage ensemble that shares how they live with various challenges and disabilities but do not let themselves be defined by those labels.
“A WILL to Survive” is a music-driven performance that explores depression, suicide prevention and learning to accept yourself no matter what life challenges you face. This show seeks to educate students about ways to handle life when it reaches a place where it seems too hard to handle.
The Same Sky Project has toured some of Loudoun’s public schools during the past few years. None of the performance dates covered by the commitment from Inova Loudoun Hospital and the Claude Moore Charitable Foundation have been booked yet. Following are the schools that will be visited as the result of this funding:
Behind The Label
Winter 2017
Belmont Ridge Middle School
Eagle Ridge Middle School
Seneca Ridge Middle School
Smart’s Mill Middle School
Fall 2017
Blue Ridge Middle School
J. Michael Lunsford Middle School
Mercer Middle School
Stone Hill Middle School
Winter 2018
Farmwell Station Middle School
Harmony Middle School
Sterling Middle School
Trailside Middle School
A WILL To Survive
Winter 2017
John Champe High School
Dominion High School
Potomac Falls High School
Stone Bridge High School
Fall 2017
Briar Woods High School
Broad Run High School
Loudoun County High School
Riverside High School
Winter 2018
Freedom High School
Park View High School
Rock Ridge High School
Tuscarora High School
The Same Sky Project, piloted in fall of 2012, is an ensemble of 40-plus teenagers living with diverse challenges. They create and perform original work thematically rooted in empathy, kindness, joy, and hope to raise awareness about differences. The Same Sky Project is part of A Place to Be, a Middleburg-based, music therapy and counseling non-profit. It provides services to more than 200 families each week and has satellite hubs at the Paxton Campus in Leesburg and Inova Loudoun Hospital.
Founded in 1987, the Claude Moore Charitable Foundation’s mission is to enhance educational opportunities, including higher education, for young people in the Commonwealth of Virginia and elsewhere.
Dr. Claude Moore was a pioneer radiologist and the first chairman of the George Washington University’s Radiology Department. Born in Danville on October 21, 1892, Moore was a World War I veteran who came to Loudoun County in 1941. He bought a 357-acre tract in Sterling that now serves as Claude Moore Park. After retiring from the practice of medicine in the late 1950’s, Moore devoted himself to investments and farming. He died at the age of 98 on July 11, 1991, in Charlottesville.
Moorefield Station Elementary, which opened in September 2013, is named in his honor.
Inova Loudoun Hospital, serving Loudoun County for more than 100 years, is part of Inova, a not-for-profit healthcare system based in Northern Virginia that consists of hospitals and other health services, including emergency- and urgent-care centers, home care, nursing homes, mental health and blood donor services and wellness classes. Governed by a voluntary board of community members, Inova’s mission is to improve the health of the diverse community it serves through excellence in patient care, education and research.
The Loudoun Education Foundation (LEF) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation that raises private funds to enhance the quality of education in Loudoun County Public Schools. The Foundation supports projects that stimulate students’ curiosity and create exceptional learning opportunities.
In 1991, four members of the Loudoun County School Board (Fred Flemming, James Callahan, William White and Barbara D’Elia) founded the LEF. The foundation was modeled after a similar organization in Fairfax County. Since its formation, the LEF has given more than $2.9 million to Loudoun’s students.
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