Dear LEAF Community,

For more than three decades, LEAF has helped Western North Carolina understand the arts not as an accessory to community life, but as an essential part of it. Through cultural exchange, arts education, music, international partnerships, youth programming and extraordinary shared experiences, LEAF has introduced generations of people to new cultures, new ideas and one another.

We are excited to share the next chapter of that work. LEAF Global Arts will transition from operating as an independent nonprofit to becoming part of Camp Grier.

As the landscape for nonprofit arts organizations continues to change, we have spent considerable time thinking about what structure gives LEAF’s mission and programs the strongest possible future. For LEAF and Camp Grier, the answer is to move forward together.

Since 1952, Camp Grier has created opportunities for young people and families to connect, grow and thrive. Over the past decade, its work has expanded to include education, workforce development, outdoor recreation, community development, public school partnerships, live events and cultural experiences.

LEAF brings its own history and expertise to that growing family: decades of relationships with artists and culture keepers, arts education, international programming, event production and a deep belief in the power of cultural exchange.

Together, we see an opportunity to preserve what has made LEAF special while creating new possibilities for arts and cultural programming across Western North Carolina and beyond.

LEAF Schools & Streets, LEAF International and arts-focused summer camp programming will continue, and key members of the LEAF team have joined Camp Grier to help ensure continuity in that work.

We are also deeply grateful for the continued support of the community partners who have helped sustain LEAF’s work and believe in what comes next. That includes longtime partners such as Integrative Family Medicine and Fred Anderson Subaru, as well as a new partnership with Lake Eden Reunion carrying forward the festival tradition. Together, these relationships help create new ways to celebrate culture, music and community while carrying forward the spirit of connection that has always been central to LEAF.

We know this transition will naturally bring questions, and we look forward to sharing more in the coming days and weeks as plans continue to take shape.

This is not the end of LEAF’s work. It is the beginning of a new chapter, one that gives us the opportunity to focus on what has always been at the heart of LEAF: arts education, cultural exchange and creating experiences that connect people across communities and cultures.

We are grateful to everyone who has been part of LEAF’s story, and we are excited about what we can build together.

With gratitude,

Mike Hale
board@theLeaf.org
President, Leaf Global Arts Board of Directors