Baltimore School For Arts To Get $1M Donation

BALTIMORE (AP) -- The Baltimore School for the Arts is receiving a $1 million donation that will help sustain a decades-old youth program.

City schools CEO Andres Alonso plans to announce the gift from longtime school leaders Mark and Patricia Joseph on Friday. The donation will benefit the TWIGS program, which has exposed city students to the arts since 1982.

TWIGS provides free after-school and Saturday arts instruction to children in second- to eighth-grade. It serves about 700 children annually.

Mark Joseph says he wants to make sure the program can grow as public and private funding dwindles.

Joseph helped start the school in 1979, and his wife serves on the school's board of overseers. The couple also made a $1 million donation to the school in 2003.

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