Dear Casita Maria Families, Donors, and Partners,

In our last newsletter we shared with you that we had launched a Teen Arts Apprentice Program (TAAP) in the fall of 2024 in response to lost state funding. We weren’t deterred then and aren’t deterred now. In fact, what started out as a refusal to turn our backs on our teenagers, has blossomed into a jobs program for high school students hungry to learn, serve, earn, and make a difference. 

For decades, Casita Maria has employed high school students who have attended our programs since kindergarten and taught them how to deliver public services to high need populations. They have worked as program aides, group leaders, administrative assistants, and community outreach ambassadors. Many have become managers and directors at Casita Maria.

Now, with the launch of TAAP, we are taking a bold step of establishing a permanent arts-based workforce development program for high school students wanting and needing their very first employment experience. But we will do much more than just provide them a minimum wage job, we are going to help them develop the kind of agency that will ensure their success in their community, high school, college, and careers.

TAAP is a first-of-its-kind initiative designed to provide paid apprenticeships, career readiness, and cultural enrichment for young people ages 15 and older. This dual-focus program blends real-world job experience with arts engagement, ensuring that participants gain both professional skills and cultural exposure through partnerships with renowned institutions like the Bronx Museum, the Whitney Museum, The Metropolitan Opera, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Public Works of The Public Theater.

Next time you visit Casita Maria or attend one of our public events, you will see our Teen Arts Apprentices helping us run the organization and bring joy and arts and cultural excellence to the people of the South Bronx. We are proud of our TAAPers. They rock!

If you believe in Casita Maria, please donate here.

Felix A. Urrutia Jr.
Executive Director

Creativity, Community & Culture – Powered by You!

This spring and summer, Casita Maria is bringing the South Bronx to life with joy, creativity, and pride—and we need your support to keep it going. Your generous gift fuels: the South Bronx Culture Festival 2025: Play it Forward, a three-day celebration of music, dance, and community featuring legends like Arturo O’Farrill and the next generation of performing artists; You CAN Sit Here, a powerful exhibition by Tiff McFierce that reimagines her family’s living room—a space both sacred and off-limits—into a place for connection and reflection; Summer Day Camp, where young people learn, play, and grow through art, exploration, and adventure; and TAAP, our new arts-based workforce development initiative giving high school students their first paid jobs and exposure to NYC’s leading cultural institutions. From city field trips to gallery exhibitions, from teen apprentices to festival headliners—your donation makes it all possible, and every dollar counts. Thank you for helping us keep these programs free and accessible in the South Bronx. We hope you’ll give today.

Donate Today!