I can’t imagine a world without art. Nor can I imagine, as a child, not having been given the opportunity to express myself through dance, painting, drawing, music, or theatre. With the devastating cutbacks that have taken place in our public school system, the necessity to fund external art programs has never been greater. For twenty-three years City Hearts has been a leader in its field, using art to successfully heal the abuses of intolerance, poverty, violence, and despair. It is my honor to support them in this most noble endeavor through the sales of my book.
 “City Hearts: Kids Say ‘Yes’ To The Arts” is committed to intervene in a loving, supportive and nurturing way to break the cycle of poverty, neglect, abuse, homelessness, delinquency and violence that destroys the lives of our children. Through the discipline and healing of classes, workshops and performing experiences in the arts, City Hearts provides positive role models, enrichment and inspiration for our children to learn to be productive, creative, law-abiding members of society. City Hearts is a non-profit organization that has offered free visual and performing arts classes to children in Los Angeles for over 22 years. Established in 1984 by criminal defense attorneys, Sherry and Bob Jason, City Hearts was founded on the belief that the arts are the most powerful tools to communicate with and rehabilitate troubled youth at risk from gangs and drugs. City Hearts is an integral part of
the preventive and rehabilitative effort in Los Angeles, inner city, and serves as a model for youth diversion programs across the country.
Proceeds from the sale of each book go to City Hearts Biography of Sherry Jason
Co-Founder/ Executive Director
City Hearts: Kids Say Yes to the Arts
Ms. Jason began studying Ballet at the age of 4, and at the age of 11 she began teaching Ballet to neighborhood children for fifty cents a class in her parent’s garage. Even then, it was her firm belief that classes in the Arts should be provided free for those children whose parents could not afford to pay. Ms. Jason performed as a soloist with Ballet Concerto and has continued her teaching for over 45 years. Graduating from UCLA with a BA in Psychology, she received her Juris Doctor from Southwestern University School of Law. In l975, Ms. Jason was sworn in as a member of the State Bar of California in private ceremonies by the Honorable Consuelo Marshall. Ms. Jason joined the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office Juvenile Division in l977. It was there that she met her husband and partner of 29 years, Bob Jason. Describing herself as an “Attorney at Law/Ballerina at Heart”, Bob and Sherry Jason created Ballet for Topanga in l979 and together produce The Topanga Nutcracker Ballet now in its’ 26th season. Through their experiences in the Juvenile Justice System, Sherry and Bob formulated a philosophy on the nature of delinquency, intervention and prevention. In l983, the Jason’s used all their savings and borrowed from friends and family to create the Downtown Dance Studio/L.A. Fringe Theatre to be the artistic home to our community’s most impoverished children. City Hearts was created in l984 to provide FREE classes to Skid Row, inner city, and at-greatest-risk children. Now celebrating 21 years, City Hearts has provided quality Arts education to over 22,000 children. As an advocate and instructor in the Arts arena for over 45 years, and as an attorney and defender of children's rights for over 25 years, Sherry Jason is uniquely qualified to create, direct and implement City Hearts’ innovative programs of prevention. Utilizing her Dance skills, Ms. Jason choreographed a segment on Jane Seymour’s “Medicine Woman” TV series and has been interviewed regarding City Hearts’ award-winning programs by NBC Nightly News and featured on CBS, CNN and other local and international news programs including Oprah. City Hearts has been named to the President’s Committee on the Arts & Humanities and been honored by the Sesame Street Parents Magazine and  the Children’s Television Network as an inaugural recipient of the “Sunny Days Award”. Biography of Robert Jason
Co-Founder, Managing Director
City Hearts: Kids Say Yes to the Arts Mr. Jason graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in Political Science in 1964 and from Hastings School of Law with a Juris Doctor in 1967. He joined the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office in 1968, and has worked for the past 38 years representing indigent criminal defendants, both juvenile and adult. Working in the oldest and largest Public Defender’s Office in the nation, in high volume courts, Mr. Jason has represented over 200,000 individuals accused of crimes. Mr. Jason has written extensively on issues relating to the Constitution and the Criminal Justice System. He is also the author of a soon-to-be-published book of critical essays and social commentary. Mr. Jason co-founded Ballet for Topanga with his wife, Sherry, in 1979. He discovered his love of the stage when he began performing in their co-production of the Topanga Nutcracker Ballet in 1981, and now, heading into the 26th Annual season this December, helps direct and choreograph this heartwarming classic. Responding to the needs of the court-affiliated children and youth he represented on a daily basis, Mr. Jason contributed his entire retirement fund in 1984 to the creation and establishment of City Hearts, believing then, as now, that the Arts are a vital way to touch and intervene in the lives of our community’s at-greatest risk children.
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