October 1, 2009 - On Monday, September 21, 2009, Materials for the Arts was presented with the Stewardship Award at the New York Innovative Theatre Awards, for its vital role in providing free materials for use by producers, artists and arts educators among New York City’s diverse nonprofit theatre community.

Founded in 1978 by the New York Department of Cultural Affairs, Materials for the Arts (MFTA) is the City’s largest and oldest reuse program, collecting high quality items from businesses and individuals for reuse in classrooms, studios, and on stages across the five boroughs. Last year, donations to MFTA diverted more than 1.3 million pounds of high quality goods – from mannequins to paint to office supplies – to more than 1,800 nonprofits and schools in New York City. Goods, housed in MFTA’s Long Island City warehouse, are made available to organizations for free, saving the arts community more than $6 million last year alone.

This month, MFTA’s supporters will celebrate with the annual Masked Marvelous Cocktail Party on October 27, 2009. MFTA offers funders and donors of materials a way to save the environment and provide the nonprofit community with much needed resources. This fall, MFTA encourages all New Yorkers to support sustainability and the arts by donating items to MFTA for reuse by teachers, students and artists. MFTA is also one of the many resources that local film and television shows can use as part of MOFTB'sNYC: Green Screen page online.

Visit www.mfta.org and get involved today!