The American Express Foundation recently awarded $250,000 to four local non-profit organizations in celebration of American Express’ 50th anniversary of operations in Phoenix as well as the Arizona Centennial.
Tovrea Castle
Tovrea Castle, Maricopa County Old Courthouse, Great Arizona Puppet Theatre, and the Winship House/Japanese Friendship Garden each received funding as part of American Express’ historic preservation and conservation giving theme, which is about saving and sustaining historic places – preserving them for future use and protecting them for all to enjoy.
- Tovrea Castle will receive $100,000;
- Maricopa County Old Courthouse will receive $50,000;
- Great Arizona Puppet Theatre will receive $50,000; and
- Winship House/Japanese Friendship Garden will receive $50,000.
Maricopa Co. Courthouse & Phoenix City Hall
“American Express is proud to be celebrating 50 years of service to customers and the community,” said Tammy Weinbaum, senior vice president and general manager for American Express. “We could think of no better way to celebrate than to contribute thank-you gifts from our employees to the Arizona community. From more than 7,500 Phoenix American Express employees to our community, thanks for making this a great place to work and do business.”
Great Arizona Puppet Theatre
American Express’ philanthropic program strives to bring to life the company’s value of good citizenship by supporting diverse communities in ways to enhance the company’s reputation with employees, customers, business partners and other stakeholders. This is done by supporting visionary not-for-profit organizations that are:
- Saving and sustaining historic places
- Developing new leaders for tomorrow
- Encouraging community service where American Express employees and customers live and work
Winship House
American Express is a global services company, providing customers with access to products, insights, and experiences that enrich lives and build business success. Learn more about the company on the web, Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube.
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Building Community Cinema hosts free screening of “Citizen Architect” on July 28
Today’s guest post is by Reid Butler, president of Butler Housing Company and developer of Roosevelt Commons, an award winning housing project that combined historic preservation, new construction, and urban infill in Phoenix’s Roosevelt neighborhood. Citizen Architect, described below, is the first of six “Building Community Cinema” films, sponsored by Roosevelt Commons/Butler Housing Company, to be presented at central Phoenix public spaces with issues common to preservation, protection, and growth of communities. You can reach Reid at 602-315-5031 or by email.
Citizen Architect is a documentary on the late architect Samuel Mockbee and the radical educational design/build program known as the Rural Studio. Hale County, Alabama is home to some of the most impoverished communities in the U.S. It is also home to Auburn University’s Rural Studio, one of the most prolific and inspirational design-build outreach programs ever established. Citizen Architect is a documentary film chronicling the late Samuel Mockbee, artist, architect, educator, and founder of the Rural Studio. Noted Phoenix architect, Will Bruder, new Mockbee very well.
The film follows Jay Sanders, a young, first-time instructor at the Rural Studio as he leads a group of students in the process of crafting a home for their charismatic client, Jimmie Lee Matthews. Known within the community as Music Man because of his passion for soul music, Jimmie Lee maintains a healthy zeal for life, blasting R&B from his vast collection of used stereos and boasting that he “ain’t never met a stranger!” Over the course of the project a powerful bond forms between Sanders, the students, and Music Man.
Citizen Architect supplements Mockbee’s words and the students’ experiences with perspective from other architects and designers who share praise and criticism of the Rural Studio, including Peter Eisenman, Michael Rotondi, Cameron Sinclair, Steve Badanes, and Hank Louis. Their dialogue infuses the film with a larger discussion of architecture’s role in issues of poverty, class, race, education, social change, and citizenship.