Our mission is to invigorate the communities we serve with the joy and wonder of classical circus through a unique shared experience we create in our tent and through dedicated outreach programs in healthcare facilities and the community.
These outreach programs are unique to the entertainment industry. Year-round the award-winning Big Apple Circus, a world-renowned presenter of live family entertainment and a leading not-for-profit performing arts institution, serves not only the communities in which it performes but also children and families across the nation. These programs include:
Clown Care SM
Clown Care, the Big Apple Circus’s signature community outreach program, brings the joy of the classical circus to hospitalized children at 19 leading pediatric facilities across the United States. Circus Co-Founder Michael Christensen created the program in 1986, based on his desire to provide a unique service to youngsters undergoing treatment in pediatric facilities. In partnership with a participating hospital’s chief medical and administrative staff, members of the Clown Care team conduct ‘clown rounds,’ their own version of medical rounds, where the healing power of humor is always the prescription.
Learn more about Clown Care
Vaudeville Caravan SM
Vaudeville Caravan brings the joy and wonder of the classical circus to elderly living in residential care facilities. The program utilizes music, juggling, magic, and improvisational theater to create personalized, meaningful interactions with the elderly residents at eight Chicago-area nursing home facilities, and also with elderly veterans at the Veteran’s Administration Hospital of Hudson Valley’s Long Term Care facility in Montrose, NY.
Learn more about the Vaudeville Caravan
Circus After School TM
Young people and education have been a part of the Circus since its founding in 1977, reflecting the enduring appeal the circus arts have for children from all walks of life. Circus is an ideal activity for after-school enrichment, and over the years the Big Apple Circus has sustained its commitment to educational programming. Throughout, it has provided at-risk youth with the highest quality experience, engaging and empowering them to achieve their full potential.
“I’ve been in this field for 18 years now, working with kids. This is one of the best – if not the best – program that I’ve ever seen for kids. It hits on all of our core philosophies and principles that we believe in here: athletics, the arts, leadership skills, teambuilding, and the importance of practice, focus, and discipline. And then it all ended in this great show that the kids were so proud of.”
- Josh Kraft, Executive Director of the BGCB Jordan Club in Chelsea, MA.
Learn more about Circus After School
Circus For All ®
Circus for All! distributes free, discounted, and subsidized tickets to schools and not-for-profit organizations serving disadvantaged children, enabling them to experience the laughter, joy and magic of the Circus under the Big Top.
"Deutsche Bank and the Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation have a long history with the Big Apple Circus, going back more than 20 years. In particular, we have enjoyed funding Circus for All, whcih makes sure kids from all over New York City get to experience an outstanding production under the Big Top, regardless of their ability to pay the price of admission. Among the group's we've hosted have been Achievement First, Grovsvenor House, the YMCA and Big Brothers/Big Sisters. The children and their adult leaders are always incredibly grateful and make supporting this program all the more meaningful."
Alessandra DiGiusto, Chief Administrative Officer, Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation
SIGN-UP: Become a part of Circus For All
Circus Of The Senses ®
First offered in 1987, Circus of the Senses is a special performance offered free of charge to children with hearing and vision impairments and other disabilities along with their teachers, families, and caregivers. Presenting a slightly modified version of the Big Apple Circus’s annual production, the program allows children and adults with significant challenges to experience the performing arts in a meaningful and compelling way. The program exemplifies the Big Apple Circus’s commitment to the community and its ability to transcend the boundaries represented by language, age, culture and physical capacity.
SIGN-UP: Become a part of Circus Of The Senses®
Fundraising Tickets
Our community fundraising partnerships help other Not-for-profit organizations in the communities we serve to raise money through Big Apple Circus ticket donations. Partner with us today.
Big Apple Circus helps support the local communities that become our home for a period of time each year. We donate tickets to not-for-profit organizations that share our aims to enrich the lives of children and their families, helping to raise vital funds to benefit those communities who annually welcome us.
Learn more about Fundraising Tickets