Charlie Puth Helps Launch $20M Campaign For Red Bank's Basie

RED BANK, NJ — The Count Basie Center for the Arts has begun its $20 million Forever For Everyone endowment campaign, and onetime student, Grammy-nominated Charlie Puth, helped get it started.

Puth, now a multi-platinum singer, songwriter and producer, opened his One Night Only tour at the Basie Sunday night. Puth studied at the Academy at the center.

“My One Night Only tour kicked off at the Count Basie Center for the Arts, where I once trained and honed my skills,” said Puth, whose third studio album, "Charlie," was released on Oct. 7 through Atlantic Records.

“It is important to me to make arts education accessible to children, which is why I'm proud to serve as honorary chair of the Basie Center's Forever For Everyone endowment campaign,” he said.

Philanthropists and longtime Count Basie Center supporters Carol Stillwell and Valerie Montecalvo will co-chair the campaign, expressing their commitment to providing arts education opportunities to the region’s students.

“Valerie and I love the Count Basie Center for the Arts and recognize the impact this campaign will bring to the children of our community,” said Forever For Everyone co-chair Carol Stillwell.

“The opportunity we have in front of us, to create a legacy by widening the impact of the Basie Center’s arts education programs, is potentially life changing.

"We’ve witnessed the joy and confidence arts education creates in students, and we believe it’s crucial that all children receive these opportunities,” she said.

Also on Sunday, the Count Basie Center announced a scholarship in Puth’s name, available to students interested in participating in any Count Basie Center Academy program.

For more information on that, visit http://www.thebasie.org/puth/.

The endowment hopes to raise $20 million, funding several aspects of the nonprofit organization, including three goals:

• Foster access and equity through the creation of a perpetual scholarship program, allowing students to become part of Basie Center programs regardless of their stage of life or socio-economic standing.
• Provide funds to launch new programs and initiatives, especially those that will deepen the Basie Center’s commitment to cultural competency, racial equity, and social inclusion.
• Create a reserve capital improvement fund to ensure the Count Basie Center campus remains viable in the long term, including reserves for maintenance of the Basie Center’s 96-year-old historic theatre.

“As our historic theater approaches its 100th anniversary, we’re focused on the next century, and the opportunities the Count Basie Center can create for the community,” said Adam Philipson, president and CEO of the Count Basie Center for the Arts.

“At the core of our mission to inspire, educate and entertain is the creation of a new generation of equitable access to arts education for our children. This campaign, and the generosity of our donors and the general public, will make those opportunities possible.”

“Forever For Everyone isn’t just a slogan, it’s our credo moving forward,” Philipson added.

“What the Count Basie Center provides in the field of arts education should be equitable, accessible, and available to all students interested in the arts. This campaign is our commitment to ensure that legacy is fulfilled,” he said.

“The Forever For Everyone endowment will award hundreds of yearly scholarships to students who wish to study at the Basie Center Academy, like I did,” Puth added.

“The Basie Center offers classes and arts education experiences that teach not just performance skills, but also critical life skills like confidence, tolerance, teamwork, and collaboration,” he said.

For more information or to contribute to the Count Basie Center’s Forever For Everyone endowment campaign, visit www.thebasie.org/endowment.

For more information on the Count Basie Center for the Arts, the Forever For Everyone endowment or other initiatives, contact Jon Vena at jvena@thebasie.org, 732-225-8778, ext 107, or visit the Basie website, www.thebasie.org.