A Ministry For Children

REACH, INC.

(Revealing Effective Arts while Capturing Hearts)

 

Address:  1321 2nd Avenue, Opelika, AL 36801

Phone:  (334) 703-7430

 

Inspiring and equipping youth in character, confidence, and creativity
through the magic of theatre.

​

Research has shown and we believe that participation in art activities is linked to higher academic performance, a higher level of self-confidence and discipline, and improved social skills.  REACH will help the children develop poise, independence, and accountability through self-expression through theater, liturgical dance (praise dance), piano, vocal and poetry.

​

 

About the Director

Lynda Tidwell Morris was born and raised in Opelika, Alabama.  Due to circumstances beyond her mother’s control, after losing their home, they moved to the Fruitwood projects at the age of ten where she lived until she married her high school sweetheart, Roy Morris Jr.  As a child she started out participating in Easter, Christmas and Black History programs rapidly capturing hearts and gaining an audience of devoted followers.  She was easily cast as one of the original “Hallelujah Singers” of Beaufort, South Carolina, seen in the popular Paramount motion picture “Forest Gump.”  A lead actress in the “Spirit of Ole Beaufort” production and a member of Beaufort’s Little Theater, Lynda is no stranger to the stage.

​

Playwright and author, Lynda made her directorial debut in Japan with “The Garden of Eden” musical play in 2002 and is the founder, president and director of Letty’s Gospel Theater.  Since 2003, she has been writing inspirational stage productions and African-American fiction, including Nappy Head and All, Concealed Issues and Consequences.

 

How REACH Came About

REACH is adopted after Lynda’s former church youth department where she played a major role in writing the Christmas, Black History and Resurrection Sunday productions.  Youth from the church and disadvantaged children from the community participated in productions and people from the community and surrounding areas packed the sanctuary to see the performances.  In conjunction to the youth preparing for the productions, they participated in fundraisers to help with the church sponsored annual youth trips; a week-long trips that includes, a college tour(education), place of attraction (industrial, technology) and amusement parks. The productions performed by REACH children will go towards their trips coupled with tax deductible donations.

 

Target Area    Low-income communities

 

Our Philosophy

We believe that children benefit greatly from being in theater.  A major study showed that the arts are a vital part to a well-rounded education.  Those who are involved with theater, music or other kinds of art perform better academically.  This study didn’t just apply to “middle class” children; students from every socio-economical background performed better if they were involved with the arts. 

 

REACH is organized to provide wholesome theatre experiences, skill building, and content to help children between the ages of 6 to 18 in the Opelika area, develop their character as well as their talent.  REACH will allow the children to transition from quiet and uncertain by-standers into brave and confident citizens of the world through their years at REACH.

 

Registration and Cost to Participate

 

There is no cost to participate in REACH, however, an initial one-time registration fee of $10 will be collected from each participant with their registration form.

 

REACH is relying on grants, tax deductible contributions from individual donors, local businesses and other organizations, our three major productions and fundraisers to cover the cost to operate the program. The productions will be the major fundraisers for the organization and families of the participants will be required to sell at least twenty tickets per production.

 

The three productions are:

 

    Christmas                                      (December)

  Black History Month                     (February)

           Resurrection Sunday                    (March or April)

 

Smaller activities dotting the calendar will be done throughout the year (i.e. MLK Day and Juneteenth) to engage, educate and stimulate the children young minds.    

 

Our Curriculum

 

REACH will meet once a week for two hours.

 

At the beginning of each class, the children will participate in a 15-minute talk “Rap Session” on a variety of topics (i.e. Lies/dishonesty, Healthy/Unhealthy relationships, Friends, boyfriends and girlfriends, Bullying/forgiveness, Puberty, Self- confidence, Self-esteem, Self-Image, Forgiving others, Fitting in…, Faith, Drugs, Decisions, Bad Language, Acceptance, Abortion, Communicating, Being Part of a group, Rules, Expressing your feelings, Self-control, Caring about yourself and others, How your behavior affects others, Respect, Standing up for yourself, Positive Thinking, Stress, Anger, Apologizing, etc.)

​

 

Community Outreach

REACH will invest in the community and strive to give back in every way we can. We understand the impact members of the community have in our cultural and civic enterprise and will work toward offering community members accessible and enjoyable theatre experience at a very affordable price. Local businesses and organization will be invited to attend our weekend productions.  We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to enjoy the magic of theatre and we will also serve the community by helping children (non-participants) with scholarships to attend a production.

 

Volunteers

 

REACH is an all-volunteer organization that requires well-dedicated parents and others to run all aspects of the organization.  In addition to their regular weekly session, youth will be required to rehearse as much as two hours on Saturday morning during the rehearsal period prior to opening night.  Parents will be assigned supervision duties throughout the rehearsal and performance period.  Their volunteer hours will satisfy the required 18 hours of volunteer services.

 

Donations
Every contribution, big or small, makes a difference.  REACH is accepting one-time donations and encourage monthly recurring donation of any amount.  Tax-deductible contribution will allow REACH, a 501 (c) (3) organization, to continue the vision of outreach to disadvantage youth and to enhance our productions so that we can serve our community with high-quality theater productions at an affordable price.

 

Corporate Sponsors

 

• REACH is seeking Corporate Sponsors to underwrite a specific show or an entire season.   Corporate Sponsors will receive business advertising and branding dependent upon the size of the sponsorship.

 

• Patron $100 – Sponsors one production in the current season- Acknowledgement in e-newsletters for 3 months, acknowledgement on our website for the entire season and 2 complimentary tickets to the production.

 

• Spotlight $250 – Sponsors one production in the current season – Acknowledgement in e-newsletters for 3 months, acknowledgement on our website for the entire season, a half-page ad in one professionally printed production playbill and 4 complimentary tickets.

 

• Headliner $500 – Sponsors all three production in the current season – Acknowledgement in e-newsletters, half-page ad in each production’s professionally printed playbill, color logo placement on our website for the entire season and 2 complimentary tickets to each production.

 

• Director $750 - Sponsors all three production in the current season – Poster from each show signed by the entire cast, acknowledgement in e-newsletters, half-page ad in each production’s professionally printed playbill, color logo placement on our website for the entire season and 4 complimentary tickets to each production.

 

• Artistic Director $1000 - Sponsors all three production in the current season – Poster from each show signed by the entire cast, acknowledgement in e-newsletters, half-page ad in each production’s professionally printed playbill, color logo placement on our website for the entire season and 6 complimentary tickets to each production.

 

• Sponsors can also sponsor a child (ren) youth trip. (Estimate $600-$800)

​

​

Donations in Kind

REACH also welcomes donations in kind.  For example, if an owner of a printing company wanted to donate the printing of programs, we will give them a tax-deductible receipt for that donation.

 

To donate, click the donate button at the top of this page or make check payable to: REACH, Inc. and mail it to Lynda T. Morris, REACH, Inc., P. O. Box 1515, Opelika, AL  36801.

 

For more information, please call Director, Lynda T. Morris at (334) 703-7430 or send an email to LyndaTMorris@ltmreach.com.

 

If you are interested in becoming a part of the board, please submit a letter addressed to the board to admin@ltmreach.com.  In the letter, please let us know why you want to become a part of the board, as well as what skills/experience you bring with you that could benefit the board.

​

Volunteers are welcome.  If you are interested in volunteering contact us at admin@ltmreach.com for an application.

Thank you for supporting REACH.