Mission: The 52nd Street Project (The Project) is dedicated to the creation and production of new plays for, and often by, kids between the ages of nine and eighteen that reside in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood in New York City. The Project does this through a series of unique mentoring programs that match kids with professional theater artists. The Project was founded in 1981 by actor/playwright Willie Reale in response to a deepening need to improve the quality of life for the kids of Hell's Kitchen. The Project is about making children proud of themselves. The Project is not about teaching children to act, although they will learn to. It is not about teaching them to write plays, although they will learn that as well. What it is about is giving a kid an experience of success. (Less)

The 52nd Street Project is a 501(c)(3) organization, with an IRS ruling year of 1993, and donations are tax-deductible.