Actors Hosted Fundraiser for Arts Education in Los Angeles
Angelina Jolie and Octavia Spencer led a benefit to expand theater access for City Year-supported middle schoolers.
Updated on Oct. 5, 2026 in Philanthropy
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Should local schools prioritize partnerships with private organizations to expand student access to arts?
Angelina Jolie and Octavia Spencer co-hosted a fundraiser at the Aster Hotel to support the Stay Gold Project and City Year. The event coincided with a performance of the Tony Award-winning musical The Outsiders at the Pantages Theater for 35 local students.
Why it matters
The initiative addresses barriers to arts education by facilitating live theater access for students in under-resourced schools. By aligning with City Year, the organizers leverage existing educational mentorship networks to extend arts programming to new student cohorts.
The Stay Gold Project has reached 8,600 students and educators across 100 schools, marking a scale of engagement that the recent fundraiser aims to bolster. The event brought 35 students from Pio Pico Middle School to see a production that won the 2024 Tony Award for best musical.
The players
Angelina Jolie
An internationally recognized actor and filmmaker who frequently engages in high-profile humanitarian and arts-related philanthropy.
Octavia Spencer
An Academy Award-winning actor known for her work in film and her active involvement in community and educational advocacy.
City Year
A national education non-profit that utilizes AmeriCorps members to provide intensive, long-term support to students in under-resourced public schools.
The Stay Gold Project
A philanthropic initiative dedicated to improving equity in arts education by increasing student access to live theater productions.
The details
The fundraiser utilized the Aster Hotel to generate resources for the Stay Gold Project, which specifically focuses on increasing access to live theater for youth. AmeriCorps members operating through City Year provide the necessary classroom mentorship that supports these extracurricular activities. By connecting these support services with professional theater productions, the program aims to broaden the cultural engagement of students aged 12 to 14.
Timeline
The Outsiders novel was first published in 1967.
The 2024 Tony Awards recognized the musical adaptation of The Outsiders.
The fundraiser and performance took place on Wednesday, October 1, 2026.
Market Landscape
This initiative follows the successful Broadway transition of a literary classic that secured the 2024 Tony Award for best musical. The event demonstrates a model of integrating high-profile commercial arts properties with non-profit educational outreach.
Business owners in the arts and education space should observe how these partnerships utilize high-profile talent to bridge institutional funding gaps. Evaluating the scalability of such mentorship-integrated outreach can provide a roadmap for long-term community engagement strategies.
The takeaway
The successful execution of this event highlights the value of leveraging established intellectual property to draw attention to local non-profit objectives. Operators should monitor the long-term reach of the Stay Gold Project to see if its mentorship model proves replicable in other cities.
Further reading
For more on how local organizations support community initiatives, see our Philanthropy section.
Live Poll
Should local schools prioritize partnerships with private organizations to expand student access to arts?
