(photo by Mike Underwood)

Inner-City Arts, an arts education campus for underserved children located in Skid Row, recently honored The Walt Disney Company with the Philanthropic Leadership Award at its 2014 Imagine Awards at The Theatre at Ace Hotel. The event celebrated the 25th anniversary of the organization and its mission to unlock the creativity of young people. Mayor Eric Garcetti (left) presented the award to Jay Rasulo, senior executive vice president and CFO of The Walt Disney Company. Rasulo announced that The Walt Disney Company will grant $1 million to Inner City Arts to support program development and expansion of the organization’s Creativity Lab over three years. The funds will additionally be utilized to found a Creativity Lab endowment. The lab encourages students to use creative thinking and problem solving.

“Today, creativity is fast becoming the main currency of a global economy that rewards new ideas and problem-solving skills,” Rasulo said. “It’s only by expanding their imaginations that our kids will be able to realize their biggest dreams, and take all of us with them to new heights of possibility. As a company built on creativity and innovation, Disney is proud to work with Inner-City Arts to provide even more kids with the tools, resources and inspiration they need to build the future they imagine is possible.”

For information, visit www.inner-cityarts.org.