WELCOME TO GOTO
BUILDING A BRIGHTER FUTURE FOR ALL
Giving Opportunities To Others (GOTO) enriches the lives of promising, underprivileged middle school students by immersing them in art and music. This effort is complemented by a series of initiatives that encourage philanthropic awareness and leadership among young professionals.
ABOUT US
Our Story
In 2001, a 23-year old recent college grad moved to New York and saw two problems. The first: Despite living in one of the nation’s cultural centers, inner city kids were losing access to the arts. The second: he and his fellow young professionals had few ways to truly give back to their community. Cameron Snaith’s solution was Giving Opportunities to Others (GOTO).
For more than a decade, GOTO has continued to expand its core outreach program aimed at enhancing artistic literacy and educational opportunities for disadvantaged children. GOTO has sent hundreds of middle school students to summer camp for the arts and has enabled thousands of young professionals to give back through volunteering and mentorship events.
GOTO’s mission is more important now than ever before. New York City area schools have slashed arts education in recent years due to the prolonged economic downturn. About 9% of New York City schools do not spend any money on arts education, according to a recent study by the New York City Public Advocate’s Office. Such a statistic is particularly disheartening when considering the apparent impact of arts education on graduation rates. The top third of NYC schools with the highest graduation rates have an average of 40% more spaces and instructors dedicated to the arts than the bottom third, according to a 2009 study by the Center for Arts Education.
“Schools have been cutting arts, music, shop – anything that has to do with creativity. When I went to school you had that, and now that is all disappearing. This program is a way of keeping that alive. It is something that our kids desperately need and it is vital to their enhancement of themselves as creative human beings.”
- Victor Burgos, father of a recent GOTO scholar
BEING A GOTO VOLUNTEER
Our Work. Our Hearts. Our Pride.
At GOTO we focus on building a community - with our scholars and their families, and also within our volunteer core. Our friendships have made GOTO a unique volunteer experience since its founding in 2001.
Completely grassroots (that means no office, no paid staff and no unnecessary overhead expenses), GOTO is truly a non-profit and we're very proud of this fact.
The most deserving scholars are immersed in an incredible summer arts camp experience and the best volunteers are given the ability to be as creative and committed as they would like to be to our organization.
We volunteer throughout the year to raise funds, to engage new volunteer leaders, to hold awesome social events, and to inspire our scholars to be the very best during their formative years so they not only see the importance of honest-to-goodness philanthropy but also hold onto our ethos as they become young adults. Many of our scholars are now GOTO volunteers, and to us that is the greatest measure of success possible.
Learn about our exciting initiatives and how we are working on every day in order to promote the best communities possible - today, tomorrow and long into the future.
SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
Deserving and talented middle school students are awarded a summer arts camp scholarship to attend our partner camp, Appel Farms, for a one-month program where they delve into their passions and develop a sense of independence all their own. As a volunteer, seeing these teenagers grow into young adults is one of the most rewarding benefits.
VOLUNTEER LEADERSHIP
One of the core missions and purposes of GOTO is to give young professionals the opportunity to explore areas of interest that they may not have in their 9-to-5 jobs. Some of our core areas of volunteerism are strategic business development, event planning, marketing, volunteer management and financial accounting.
QUESTIONS ABOUT GOTO?
READY TO START?
Please sent us an email and we will be in touch as soon as possible!
