CAST SPOTLIGHT

In July 2004, Director Christy Sanders traveled to Guatemala to adopt her daughter, Chalan Sanders. Chalan and students like her, have been the source of inspiration for the Cast Spotlight Scholarship Program.  Adoptive parents make a huge financial investment into the lives of their children to finalize their adoption process. There are very little resources available to adoptive children in the performing arts, and many families cannot afford extracurricular activities due to costly costs incurred during the adoption process. Additionally, we have several students whose foster or adoptive families are unable to pay tuition and competition fees.  We do not have the heart to turn any student away. Therefore, we felt led to start a scholarship fund to help underserved students like Chalan. “Chalan’s Spotlight Scholarship” (named after Christy’s daughter) helps us serve adoptive and foster families in our community. 

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For our foster families we felt led to include them in this program as there are some of the most vulnerable and at-risk youth. Facing neglect, abuse and trauma these children so desperately need a safe and fun environment where they can heal and flourish. We rely on community referrals from local foster agencies to help identify youth who may benefit from our programs. If you are a foster or adoptive parent who would like more information about this program, please reach out to us.

With such close proximity to Fort Campbell Army base, many CAST students we serve have a military affiliation. For this reason, we offer the “Heroes Spotlight Scholarship” to students whose parents have served or are serving in the Armed Forces, with special preference given to Wounded Warrior and Gold Star Families.

We are so grateful to the men and women who devote their lives to keeping our country safe. At CAST, we want our military students and their families to have a home away from home. We have seen our military students find a safe harbor at CAST while their parents are serving abroad. Military children face numerous relocations and separations so it is our hope that engaging in the arts will help them to find a therapeutic outlet and offset some of the stressors that the military lifestyle brings.   

The “First Respond Spotlight” is for children of public servants (paramedics, law enforcement and firefighters) serving in Clarksville, Tennessee.  We created this scholarship program to allow these children the opportunity to take classes at no cost to their families to say thank you for protecting our community and keeping us all safe. Clarksville’s first responders truly are our heroes, and this is the least we can do to thank them for their service. 

 In the Spring of 2023, CAST and Crowns began offering adaptive dance classes to both children and adults in Clarksville. Christy's 37 years of dance experience, combined with her degrees in Kinesiology and Christian Counseling, has positioned her to offer a physically and emotionally safe learning environment for performers with special needs.

Currently, we have an adult day class serving students with Down Syndrome, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Cerebral Palsy, and Williams Syndrome. CAST also offers a children’s adaptive dance class for children with down syndrome.  These are some of the most precious students we serve, and we are so excited to be the only performing arts center in Clarksville that offers adaptive and inclusive classes.

We are proud to partner with SEASONS, a ministry of First Presbyterian Church in Clarksville.