HOLLYWOOD—Industry friends and colleagues have started to lovingly refer to Carol Channing as, “America’s Ambassador to the Arts” as the U.S. Senate said YES to HCR275. Recently, Dr. Channing and Mr. Kullijian were presented with a very special Christmas present, which will give cause for celebration in 2011, when the U.S. Senate voted yes to Resolution 275 on Wednesday, December 22, 2010..
Carol (Channing) and her husband Harry (Kullijian) are praising the efforts of newly re-elected Rep Jackie Speier (D-CA). The U.S. House of Representatives approved the H Con Res 275 earlier this year by voice vote, a concurrent resolution expressing support for designation of a week in September as Arts in Education Week. The resolution had 101 cosponsors. Speier, who authored the Resolution, admits to being inspired by the efforts of the Broadway legend and her husband.
HCR275 went to the Senate on July 20, 2010, and was received by the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, but since then things had been stalled. Understanding that the Senate had many pressing items to deal with, Carol, Harry and Ms. Speier pushed onward, with the knowledge that the educational future of our children is of great importance to all of us! During a recent visit to the White House, representatives of the administration approached Ms. Channing to assure her that they had indeed been receiving the Foundation’s material, that they were making it a priority and, in fact, had made it to the president’s desk.
Since 2004, when Carol Channing was made the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts Degree at the CSU Stanislaus commencement, becoming Dr. Channing, she and her husband, Harry Kullijian, began devoting themselves to instilling a resurgence for the fine arts in the public school system. Many of her industry colleagues and friends (many of which participated in Channing’s recently produced PSA that garnered Emmy® attention), have begun lovingly referring to Carol as the, “U.S. Ambassador to the Arts.”
Their dream was to establish support for Arts in education, which ensures that young students will be exposed to the arts, that could then benefit them in other scholastic areas. “Research shows that students involved in the arts learn to read more easily, have higher achievement levels and are less prone to dropping out. Early arts participation also dramatically enhances our children’s abstract reasoning and higher brain functions required for math, science and engineering careers,” Carol Channing tells Canyon News. “This is about our children and our grandchildren. You and I don’t need to save the arts. We need to help the arts save our Children.”
“We are grateful to Congresswoman Jackie Speier for presenting her resolution to the House and also thank Sheila Dwyer (Asst. to Sec of the Senate) and Jason Unger (Asst. to Senator Reid) who kept 275 in the mix for year end approval,” remarked Mr. Kullijian.
The Dr. Carol Channing and Harry Kullijian Foundation has already established scholarships for deserving students who qualify under an endowment program.
The complete resolution can be read and downloaded from the foundation’s website at channingarts.org.
Photograph is Courtesy: Carol Channing and Harry Kullijian by Michael Davis
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