Submitted by Tracie Jenkins, director of arts, Duke Ellington School of the Arts

Our first major fundraising effort for this school year is the upcoming One-Mile Walk of Fame. Our goal is to raise $300,000, which will be used towards new initiatives within each arts department such as Musical Theatre, New Repertoire Choreographic Works, Foreign Exchange Programs, Producing for Film and TV, Musical Scoring, Digital Media, Innovative Curation Strategies, and so much more. 

On Saturday, October 17, the entire Ellington community will meet at the Ellington Field (1700 38th Street NW) to walk a mile, listen to music, enjoy performances, engage in activities and—most importantly—raise much needed funds to support Ellington's arts programs. 

Our Goal: $300,000

How do we expect to raise this? Simple. We are asking each student to be responsible for raising $600. With our student population of 500, we know this goal is within our reach. But as you know, Ellington serves students from a variety of backgrounds—some of whom will not be able to meet their fundraising goal. That's where you come in! Your participation in the walk or donation to the campaign will help us reach our goal and even surpass it.

What do you need to do to participate? Visit the campaign website or ellingtonschool.org to sign up to walk with us and pay the $25 registration fee. You can also make donations in lieu of or in addition to the registration fee. If you are supporting a specific student, staff member, or department, please make sure you make the designation at the time of your payment.

Questions? Email us at events@ellingtonarts.org.