San Francisco Youth Arts Festival 2002 As part of Global Philanthropy’s ongoing focus on education and underserved youth, Merrill Lynch signed on as a major supporter of the 2002 San Francisco Youth Arts Festival, a multi-week showcase of visual arts, live theatrical, music and dance performances, and hands-on art activities by and for the youth of San Francisco. This unique festival, May 9-26 at Yerba Buena Gardens, involved more than 8,000 young people from 223 San Francisco schools and attracted as many as 75,000 visitors this year. Local Merrill Lynch employees were encouraged to visit the Festival, and many joined in the festivities with their families. Jim Dullanty, Managing Director, USPC, San Francisco, attended the festival along with a number of his colleagues. “An event like this is a great way for Merrill Lynch employees and families to connect with what we’re doing in the community.” said Dullanty. Garrett Gin, Vice President and Community Development Manager for Merrill Lynch, who also took part in the Festival’s opening ceremony, noted that Merrill Lynch’s support for the Youth Arts Festival is part of a larger commitment to providing youth with the tools they need to build solid futures. “The arts and young people are two of the most important ways to bring communities together,” he noted. “Merrill Lynch’s support for the Youth Arts Festival is consistent with our efforts to give back to the communities in which we live and work. It also reflects our ongoing investment in youth, whether it be by increasing their financial knowledge or promoting their involvement in the literary, visual and performing arts.” The San Francisco Youth Arts Festival was produced by the San Francisco Unified School District in collaboration with Zeum (a high-tech arts center in Yerba Buena Gardens for young people ages 8 to 18), the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, more than 60 non-profit community organizations and many volunteers. Merrill Lynch was recognized as a major sponsor in all of the Festival’s distribution materials and on the festival’s web site. At the festival’s opening ceremony on May 9, 2002, Eddy Bayardelle, FVP and head of global philanthropy, was on hand to honor 19 San Francisco youths who earned national awards in the literary and visual arts. “A goal of our giving is to increase educational opportunities for underserved children and youth,” said Bayardelle. “Our partnership with the San Francisco Youth Arts Festival fulfills this goal by enriching the personal and cultural lives of young people of all backgrounds, through increased exposure to the arts. We can’t think of a better partner in this city to help level the playing field for youngsters who might otherwise not have the chance to interact so directly with the arts and discover their own creativity.” All students in San Francisco’s public, private, independent and parochial schools — as well as those who take part in community or after-school programs — were invited to participate in the Festival, and schools from every part of the city arranged field trips to the site. During the festival’s two Saturdays — 11 May and 18 May — all Youth Arts Festival events and activities were free to the general public. “Our mission is to foster creative arts experiences for students K-12 and their families and teachers, especially the under-served populations,” said Scott Hindman Artistic Director for this year’s Festival. “Youth Arts Festival activities inspire a connection for kids between the creative process and general literacy, leadership and life skills. Quite simply, this would not take place without the kind of support pioneered by Merrill Lynch.”