The Record Newspapers - Hometown News For Orange County, Texas

The Stark Foundation is thrilled to announce the culmination of a phenomenal holiday season at the Stark Cultural Venues in Orange, Texas. As part of their commitment to spread the joy of the season to the community, the Lutcher Theater, Shangri La Botanical Gardens & Nature Center and The W.H. Stark House hosted food drives and pajama collections during their holiday events. The Stark Museum of Art also provided merriment to budding artists in the community through their distribution of various art projects.

The Lutcher Theater ushered in this initiative to spread warmth to those in need with a pajama and blanket drive. With the help of Shangri La Botanical Gardens, a total of 60 new pajamas and 178 blankets were collected that benefitted Salvation Army of Orange. In conjunction with performances of STOMP, the Lutcher also initiated a STOMP Out Hunger campaign, involving Free State Cellars, First Financial Bank and Dow as community partners. More than 550 pounds of non-perishable food items were collected to benefit Orange Christian Services. From the Lutcher Incredible Kids Events to their Christmas a cappella performance, the Lutcher welcomed 7,333 patrons during the holiday season. During this time, a total of 952 volunteer hours were served by the Lutcher Theater Service Guild members.

In all, 543 hours of service were committed by Shangri La volunteers and other corporate partners to facilitate a successful, record-breaking season of Christmas Strolls. Shangri La Botanical Gardens brought joy to 51,850 visitors during their annual Strolls in December. Thanks to the altruism of these visitors, 10,404 pounds of non-perishable food items and a generous amount of monetary donations were collected to benefit Orange Christian Services. Further community impact from Strolls includes the efforts of Orange Lions Club. The organization sold more than 6,000 cups of hot cocoa and 3,000 cookies throughout Strolls. The funds generated by Orange Lions Club will be used to support community projects.

The W.H. Stark House opened its doors to a grand total of 830 visitors throughout December. The home served as a focal point of holiday festivities during the community-centered Christmas Downtown event. This Christmas Open House event experienced record-breaking visitation, with 629 visitors to the home. Additionally, 202 individuals enjoyed guided tours of The W.H. Stark House throughout December. During the Stark Family Christmas events, more than 100 non-perishable food items were collected to support the Salvation Army of Orange.

The Stark Museum of Art joined The W.H. Stark House in the Christmas Downtown festivities by distributing 178 kits that provided holiday art-making opportunities for area youth. The museum staff lent their efforts throughout the holiday tours and programming offered at The W.H. Stark House. In November, the Stark Museum of Art team was especially busy distributing 3,910 art kits to Orange County schools for their virtual field trip offerings.

"The Stark Foundation would like to express our deepest gratitude to the community for such a remarkable response to our holiday programming and charitable initiatives. We are incredibly thankful for our wonderful community that lends its tremendous support to continuously go above and beyond to exceed our expectations. We appreciate the efforts of all who have helped us make a meaningful impact this holiday season," said Clyde "Tad" McKee, president and chief executive officer of the Stark Foundation.

For more information on any of the Stark Cultural Venues, 2024 event schedules or how to get involved, please visit starkculturalvenues.org.