POSITIVE PERFORMING ARTS ASSOCIATION® is a 501-C 3 Public Charitable Organization; all donations are tax-deductible.
Positive Performing Arts Association’s mission is to make a positive difference in a negative world, through the Arts…locally and globally.
Globally, PPAA strives to unite Artists worldwide in becoming positive influences on our youth and culture.
PPAA reaches out to Instructors, performing arts schools, and performing artists, of all varieties, providing resources and opportunities for them to teach life skills, along with the Arts, to financially challenged and at-risk youth and young adults. We partner with them, once they join P.P.A.A. by agreeing to our Code of Ethics and pledge, in which they agree to use their artistic talents in a socially positive and responsible way, and assist them in becoming positive influences on our youth and young adults around the world.
Our Partner Schools, Studios, and Instructors can utilize our nonprofit status to procure business donations which will be used to scholarship financially challenged students into their programs.
THE ARTS SHOULD BE AVAILABLE FOR ALL YOUTH AND YOUNG ADULTS WHO WISH TO PARTICIPATE.
We also reach out to mainstream entertainment industry artists that are so influential in the culture of young people around the world to help change the culture of our youth, and young adults, one artist at a time.
Locally, PPAA utilizes the discipline and passion of the performing arts to motivate at-risk youth and young adults to make positive changes in their lives.
We combine the teaching of the Arts with other programs designed to keep them on track or to get them back on the right track.
Besides professional Arts education in dance, drama, and other art forms, we offer mentoring programs, drug awareness education, life skills education, and partner with other programs all designed to assist our students in reaching their full potential.
As our students progress in our program, the older students will become leaders and mentors, upon qualification, to the younger students. We believe this cycle of student/leader/mentor will groom our students into the future leaders of our nation and the world.
We strive to bring balance into the lives of the youth and young adults in our program…physically, mentally, and spiritually, all of which the performing arts encompass.
This program has reached hundreds of youth and young adults. There are numerous testimonies of many lives that have been changed in our program…young people coming out of gangs, depression, drug abuse, etc. Several say the discipline and confidence they’ve developed while in our program helped them attain their professional goals. In fact, our students have gone on to become nurses, teachers, pastors, professional dancers, social workers, even a commercial pilot, and many other professions.
Positive Performing Arts Association was formed after the founders, Kevin and Natasha Firth, saw the impact that dance and the performing arts have on youth and young adults, and how the arts could be combined with mentoring, life skills, and other programs to make a real life changing difference in the lives of youth and young adults, especially those that are considered "at-risk".
We strive to make a difference in the lives of youth and young adults of all races, nationalities, and economic backgrounds.
Join us today by: “MAKING A POSITIVE DIFFERENCE IN A NEGATIVE WORLD THROUGH THE ARTS!” ™
Join us today as a Donor or by signing up as a professional performance artist, studio, or school. Help us change the lives of our youth and young adults one artist at a time. THANK YOU!
ABOUT THE FOUNDERS:
President Natasha King Firth and her husband, Kevin Firth, Chairman and CEO, have been involved in youth and young adult outreach for over 27 years.
Natasha and Kevin are the Founders of Natasha’s House of Hip Hop and “Chosen Urban Dance Crew”, dance and drama programs that reach out to “at-risk” youth and young adults.
The dance program started at the Tulsa Dream Center in 2002, but over the years has grown its outreach and influence throughout the city and region to include: public schools in Tulsa, Union, Jenks, Broken Arrow, Owasso; Tulsa area Job Corps; Light House Charter School; KIPP Charter School; Victory Christian School; New Hope; Parkside Psychiatric Hospital; Muskogee Teen Center; Oklahoma City Thunder performances; American Veteran’s program performances; Victory Christian Center; Victory Christian Center’s Word Explosion performances; and many other churches and outreach venues all over the state of Oklahoma and multiple states.
Natasha won the Miss Black Muskogee pageant in 1988 and competed in the Miss Black Oklahoma Pageant.
Natasha completed her social work practicum at the Oklahoma Production Center, a facility for the mentally and physically disabled and handicapped.
Natasha received her Bachelor of General Studies degree, an interdisciplinary degree, with a triple minor in Social Welfare, Criminal Justice, and Theatre Dance from Northeastern State University.
Natasha is a Special Education Teacher for Tulsa Public Schools.
Kevin, a former collegiate scholarship basketball player, has volunteered as a youth basketball coach for many years. He started a program called “Hoops, Hope, and Honor”, which he ran from 2000-2005, at the Tulsa Dream Center (46th St. N. and Martin Luther King St.), which combined basketball, ministry, and life skills education for “at-risk” teens and young adults ages 14-24.
Kevin Firth has been a licensed insurance agent for 32 years. He is the Founder and President of The Life Man® LLC, www.thelifeman.com an insurance marketing organization, and Certified Medicare Insurance Planner™, www.certifiedmedicareinsuranceplanner.org a professional designation and credentialing organization for the life and health insurance industry.
Kevin and Natasha have been married for 35 years. They have 2 sons and 4 grandchildren.
PPAA was initially created as a 501c3 Public Charitable Organization in order to fund scholarships for financially challenged youth and young adults for programs like our own "Natasha's House of Hip Hop" and "Chosen Urban Dance Crew."
Our vision has expanded globally to assist performing arts schools, studios, Instructors, and performing artists, who partner with us, with the tools to become positive influences to youth and young adults around the world.
Help us help our youth by becoming a donor!
Your donation will go toward scholarships for children, whose financially struggling families don't have the ability to pay, in Positive Performing Arts Association's programs or our Partner Schools, Studios, or Instructor's programs.
PPAA utilizes the discipline and passion of the performing arts to motivate at-risk youth and young adults to make positive changes in their lives.
We combine the teaching of the Arts with life skills education and programs designed to keep them on track or to get them back on the right track.
Besides professional Arts education in dance, drama, and other art forms, we offer mentoring programs, drug awareness education, life skills education, and partner with other programs all designed to assist our students in reaching their full potential.
As our students progress in our program, the older students will become leaders and mentors, upon qualification, to the younger students. We believe this cycle of student/leader/mentor will groom our students into the future leaders of our nation and the world.
We strive to bring balance into the lives of the youth and young adults in our program…physically, mentally, and spiritually, all of which the performing arts encompass.
With the lack of funding and willingness of our local and federal governments to provide resources for programs that can make a difference in the lives of kids, it becomes ever so important for individuals and businesses to step up to the plate and help fund programs that are making differences in the lives of our youth and young adults.
THANK YOU FOR HELPING!
Remember, we are a 501 (C) (3) Public Charitable Organization, your gift is tax-deductible.
Become a Partner School, Studio, or Instructor by first accepting our Code of Ethics and Agreement at our store and pay your annual P.P.A.A. Partner Fee.
(You can view our P.P.A.A. Partner Code of Ethics and Agreements (pdf) in the Partner Schools/Artists section of this website.)
Become a P.P.A.A. Artist Supporter by just agreeing to our Artist Pledge and making a donation of any amount.
(You can view the P.P.A.A. Artist Pledge (pdf) on the Partner Schools/Artists section of this website.)
Our goal is to ensure that all of our Partner Instructors, Studios, Schools, and our Performing Artist Supporters are on board with our philosophy and goals in becoming a POSITIVE influence in the lives of the youth and young adults that they teach or reach.
As a Partner School, Studio, or Instructor you will receive:
We know your hearts! Most of you would let all children come to your classes for free if you could. The problem is...this is your business, and you can not stay in business long if you are not being paid.
Therefore, most of the youth that you teach come from families that can pay. The financially challenged children, and at-risk children, often get left out. Yet, these are the youth that needs positive arts programs the most.
We have the perfect solution!
Utilize the non-profit status and influence of Positive Performing Arts Association by going to your local and regional businesses and talk to them about donating to Positive Performing Arts Association to provide scholarships in your program to financially challenged youth.
80% of the donation goes to your program for low-income youth scholarships and 20% to further the vision of Positive Performing Arts Association. The business gets a tax-deduction while helping a worthy cause.
It's a win-win for everyone!
P.P.A.A. PARTNER SCHOOL, STUDIO, OR INSTRUCTOR FEES: $177/year
Included:
(Contingent on Partners accepting and adhering to PPAA's CODE of ETHICS and AGREEMENT and current on their PPAA Partner fees.)
P.P.A.A. ARTIST SUPPORTER:
Accept the P.P.A.A. Artist Pledge and donate any amount, annually.
We appreciate all donations of any amount.
ANNUAL DONOR LEVELS:
Individual DONORS at the SILVER, GOLD, PLATINUM, and BOARD SPONSOR levels will be listed on our website with their approval.
All Donors beginning at the Bronze level can expect to receive gifts such as tickets to upcoming events, P.P.A.A. branded items, and clothing, etc, at our discretion.
BUSINESS DONORS beginning at the SILVER BUSINESS DONOR LEVEL will have a brief description of their business and contact information listed on our website. They can also incorporate our LOGO in their marketing materials stating they are a supporter of Positive Performing Arts Association.
BUSINESS DONORS at the PLATINUM and BOARD SPONSOR levels will receive their own Sponsor Page, upon consent, on our website, where they will be able to advertise their business in detail with their Logo.
They will also be listed on our flyers, brochures, event programs, and playbills.
BUSINESS and Individual Donors at the BOARD SPONSOR level will also get a seat on our ADVISORY BOARD.
Were you aware that the United States of America incarcerates more of its citizens than any industrialized nation on Earth? With only 5%the world's population, the U.S. has 25% of the world's prison population.
That's right! We are number one! Not what you'd expect from the land of the free and home of the brave.
My home state of Oklahoma has the distinction of being number one in the United States in incarcerating females and number three in incarcerating males....not the type of winds we should want sweeping down these plains. When I read these statistics, it was staggering and depressing.
According to a report by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, of those that are incarcerated in the U.S., over 65% meet medical criteria for substance abuse and addiction, but only 11% received treatment for their addictions.
The report also found that alcohol and other drugs are significant factors in all crimes, including 78%of violent crimes, 83% of property crimes, and 77% of public order, weapons offenses, and probation and parole violations.
Also, according to the report, federal, state, and local governments spent 74 billion dollars on incarceration, court proceedings, probation, and parole for adults with substance abuse problems and juvenile offenders in 2005, but less than 1% of that amount was spent on prevention and treatment.
In fact, I know some states offer virtually no viable drug treatment program for offenders.
Is it no wonder why prison recidivism is so high?
States and taxpayers complain about rising prison costs which could be dramatically reduced by spending a fraction of incarceration costs in increasing substance abuse treatment programs...but they still refuse to fund the treatment programs that can make such a difference in the lives of millions of individuals, families, and society.
Which brings us to the most innocent victims in this travesty....the children of addicted and incarcerated parents.
In a 2010 report from the Pew Charitable Trust, it was found that more than half of incarcerated men and women are the parents of children under the age of 18.
As a result, there are 2.7 million minor children who have a parent in jail or prison. This means an incredible 1-in-28 American children have an incarcerated parent. The number was 1-in-125 only 25 years ago.
Help us spread the message of this national travesty.
I appreciate former President Trump's acknowledgment of the opiate and prescription drug addiction epidemic in our nation, along with former President Obama's efforts to draw attention to our ridiculously high incarceration rates.
This should be a bi-partisan problem as it affects people of all political persuasions and, especially, our most vulnerable children with no political persuasion.
We must all come together to bring pragmatic and sensible solutions to fix this problem that has become such a disgrace to this nation.
Let us strive as a people and a nation to be that shining city on a hill that the world admires; striving for excellence, justice, integrity, righteousness, and selflessness, while simultaneously reaching out a helping hand of grace, mercy, and forgiveness to our wretched, broken, and hopeless brothers and sisters, pulling them with all of our might into the light.
---- Kevin Firth, Co-Founder/Chairman/CEO
Positive Performing Arts Association
We combine the teaching of the Arts with life skills education and programs designed to keep youth and young adults on track or to get them back on the right track.
Besides professional Arts education in dance, drama, and other art forms, we offer mentoring programs, drug awareness education, life skills education, and partner with other programs all designed to assist our students in reaching their full potential.
Ariel started as a student at Natasha's House of Hip Hop many years ago and became a Leader/ Mentor for Chosen Urban Dance Crew while attending Oral Robert's University in Tulsa, OK.
Ariel has made her career choice one of helping people. She works as a Child Welfare Specialist for the Dept. of Human Services.
Ariel is giving of herself as an Advisory Board Member, Mentor, and Instructor with Positive Performing Arts Association.
We thank Ariel for her dedication and hard work!
Ariel received her B.A. in Social Work from Oral Roberts University.
Diamond started with Natasha's House of Hip Hop and Chosen Urban Dance Crew when she was an eighth-grader in Tulsa, Ok.
Because of her leadership qualities and academic achievement, in spite of economic and family challenges, Diamond earned a scholarship to one of Tulsa's most prestigious private high schools and is currently attending the University of Oklahoma.
Diamond is one of our top Student Leader/Mentors for Positive Performing Arts Association.
Diamond we salute you!