the ability to fund a whole week at camp. Thanks to the generous contributions from the community, many scholarships have been provided to qualifying families with the over $15,000 raised per season. The community's need for scholarship has increased from approximately 10% to 30%. Community Involvement Spokane Civic Theatre has approximately 500 volunteers who serve as actors, backstage crews, front of house, house managers, and board members. They contribute an estimated 90,000 hours every year. Volunteers return to Civic time and time again, supporting the theatre's endeavors. In addition to volunteering their time, the Spokane community has given incredible amounts in the form of donations that support the theatre and its mission. Civic provides over 600 Main Stage tickets to help various other community organizations and individuals with their auctions and fundraisers. Civic also presents benefit performance nights for other not-for-profit groups, reaching 4,500-6,000 individuals. Many of these individuals have never been to Civic or a live stage production before. In the fall of 2011, Civic launched the Shakespeare in Schools community outreach program. The program is free for Middle and High School students and teachers and is taught by Civic's Director of Education. Shakespeare in Schools this 2013-14 season has reached approximately 750 students and 16 teachers at 7 schools. During the fall of 2013, the Academy tested a pilot program called Creative Dramatics with the focus on Elementary school students/teachers; it received an enormous response (serving approximately 350 students, 14 teachers, and 9 schools) and will become a full program, like the Shakespeare in Schools. For the first time in March 2014, Civic and the Spokane Symphony joined forces to present a two evening performance of the theatre's earlier hit production of Les Misérables live at the Martin Woldson Theatre at the Fox. The joint fundraiser for the three community organizations exceeded their expectations. Awards Spokane Civic Theatre holds approximately 150 local, state, regional, and national awards for community theatre from the Inlander's Spokie awards to the American Association of Community Theatres' (AACT) Festival. At the 2011 AACTFest, Spokane Civic Theatre's production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee received two awards and three nominations. The awards were for Lacey Bohnet as Best Supporting Actress and Nancy Vancil for Best Musical Accompaniment. Nominations were in the areas of Best Lighting Design, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Ensemble. Civic has also been recognized by the city of Spokane,