In keeping with WAM Theatre’s mission, we are thrilled to announce that $2500 raised from tickets to Cadillac Crew were donated to Arise for Social Justice to defend and advance the rights of poor people and FairFight to promotes fair elections around the country.

In the spirit of adrienne maree brown’s Emergent Strategy, for 2022, the Philanthropy Committee decided to experiment with the following process to select the recipients for Cadillac Crew:

• Asking the staff and board for the names of organizations or individuals doing work either locally or nationally that addressed the themes of the play. The themes identified by the director of CADILLAC CREW, our fall play, taneisha duggan, were: black Feminism, civil rights, power and legacy of ancestors, hidden figures, and history – how it is told and shared.
• Reviewing the 20 organizations that were suggested and narrowing down the list to five organizations.
• Presenting this slate to the board followed by a vote on two questions: Who were their top two choices and did they want to give to one or two organizations?
• Arise for Social Justice in Springfield, MA and Fair Fight in Georgia resulted as the choices of the staff and board.

(Photo caption: Tanisha Arena, Executive Director of “Cadillac Crew” recipient Arise Springfield, with WAM Producing Artistic Director Kristen van Ginhoven and Managing Director Molly Merrihew at the 10-16-2022 opening performance of CADILLAC CREW in Shakespeare & Company’s Tina Packer Playhouse.)

About Arise
Arise for Social Justice was founded 30 years ago in Springfield MA by women on welfare. Arise is  a member-led community organization dedicated to defending and advancing the rights of poor people. Arise has worked on issues such as housing, homelessness, criminal justice, environmental justice, and public health. For more info visit arisespringfield.org.

About Fair Fight
Fair Fight promotes fair elections around the country, encourage voter participation in elections, and educate voters about elections and their voting rights. Fair Fight Action brings awareness to the public on election reform, advocates for election reform at all levels, and engages in other voter education programs and communications. For more information visit fairfight.com.

Those two organizations both received a portion of the box office proceeds of CADILLAC CREW.