Chops, Inc., a nonprofit performing arts organization, has announced an update to its mission statement and core values. The new mission statement is, "Improving Lives through Music Education and Performing Arts."
“This new mission statement reflects our board's desire to capture why Chops exists – and what motivates all of us to bring our creative energy to students, members, and audiences,” said executive director Megan O’Leary.
The new mission statement was updated in response to community feedback and input from dozens of stakeholders, including alumni, program participants, current and past staff and board members, community members, and collaborators. This new mission statement isn’t so much a shift in focus as it is a better statement of how Chops aims to support the arts that are so vital to strengthening our communities.
This new mission statement was announced a few months after Chops’ board of directors ratified the organization’s first ever Core Values: Integrity, Excellence, Personal Development, Community, and Entertainment. The organization uses these core values to guide decision-making, and defines those values as follows:
Integrity: We exercise good judgment, character, and habits; we are fair, responsible, accountable, and respectful.
Excellence: We strive for the best possible work product, both internally and externally, toward providing superior experiences for our members, audiences, and staff; excellence drives quality musicianship, performance etiquette, education, joy, and fun.
Personal development: We create and support leadership development, provide expert training, and lead a culture of action over inaction; all stakeholders are better for having been involved with Chops.
Community: We are equitable in our actions, inclusive, accessible, non
-judgmental, and collaborative; communities are built when we truly engage with each other, work to achieve mutual understanding, and share experiences together.
Entertainment: We find our common humanity when we collectively experience the joy of performance art.