THEA VIDEO
We hope you enjoy a historical look back into the past 10 years.
Thea’s friends in this video say it all, “Thea made me feel truly beautiful, she made me feel truly smart. Every talent you had, she had she made sure you knew you had it.” So we have learned from Thea now to help move young people forward in their lives and that’s what we do.
This video shows the power of acknowledging young peoples talents, because it translates into personal confidence that lasts a lifetime and affects everything from accomplishments in school to personal relationships and more.
This video was made in honor of MADD’s 2001 Student Advocate of the Year. The THEA Foundation was founded by Linda and Paul Leopoulos in the honor of their daughter Thea Kay after her passing on May 28, 2001. This video was made by MADD/Arkansas and was played during the awards ceremony in Dallas in August of 2001.
The mission of the Thea Foundation based on the life of Thea Kay and how her involvement in arts related activities gave her personal confidence that translated into better grades, more success in all aspects of her short life.
PSA made by Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Thea Leopoulos
appeared in this video as she volunteered for MADD. She appears at the beginning
and end of the video.
Fall of 2000
President Clinton announces Thea Foundation’s Education Partner Program. This
program awards additional matching scholarships to Thea scholarship winners and
has raised over 1.2 million dollars for Arkansas high school seniors.
October 9, 2004
Jacob Watson 2006 a Thea Performing Arts scholarship winner. Jacob attended Ouachita
Baptist university and graduated December 2011.
February 2006
Arkansas students enjoy the opportunity to spend the day with a Broadway star! Bill Hastings comes to Arkansas each year to Little Rock and Fayetteville to share his expertise in Jazz Dance. Dancers expanded their knowledge and grow in their technique, while learning a bit about life along the way. These workshops are designed to help give these young people a little more confidence in themselves.
Mister Hastings has performed in over forty musicals and plays on Broadway and in national touring productions. Bill danced under the acclaimed Bob Fosse on Broadway for years and now teaches master classes in New York and around the world in such places as the Royal Copenhagen Ballet.
The background music of the video was written for Thea by Steve Marzullo. The choir singing is from Parkview Magnet School in Little Rock and the artist is good friend Ron Logan. We hope you enjoy.
Chesapeake Energy a company drilling for gas in the Fayetteville shale area of Arkansas donated $25,000 to Thea’s Art Closet to purchase art supplies for the 26 elementary schools in their drilling area. Once Chesapeake was educated on the positive affect quality art classes has on students, it was an easy decision to support Thea’s Art Closet. All year teachers wrote letters bragging on how their students were having an easier time learning science now that the arts were infused into that curriculum. They stated fewer students were missing school now that quality art supplies increased the interest of the students. The supplies made it possible for their students to enter statewide art competitions giving them something to look forward to. This feedback influenced Chesapeake to donate $29,000 to buy the 19 high schools art supplies through Thea’s Art Closet in 2009.
