Jay Leno gives $10,000 donation to Alys Stephens Center, ArtPlay

The gift will be used to create arts opportunities, including classes, tickets to performances and more, specifically for military veterans and their families.

jay leno5Comedian Jay Leno donated $10,000 to the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center and ArtPlay at the Viva Health Starlight Gala on Sunday, June 7.

ArtPlay, the Alys Stephens Center’s home for arts education, provides arts classes, camps and programs to residents of Birmingham and surrounding areas. The substantial gift will be used to create arts opportunities specifically for military veterans and their families. Programs may include arts-based classes, tickets to performances, and other opportunities for our servicemen and -women to experience the joys of the arts and engage in creative expression.

Proceeds from the gala, of which Leno was the headliner, benefit the programs and education initiatives of the ASC and ArtPlay. ArtPlay’s education and outreach programs have served more than 17,000 individuals in the Greater Birmingham area this year.

Alys Stephens Center donors Jim Stroud of Warren Averett, LLC, and Mac Fairley donated a block of tickets for 60 veterans and their guests, all from the Birmingham VA Medical Center, to attend the Viva Health Starlight Gala. ArtPlay is working to develop programs with the VA for veterans, in addition to the outreach work ArtPlay does with senior adults through its ArtCare program and with children and adults in underserved communities through ArtReach.