Today, New York City public schools rely largely on private funding for arts education and they continue to struggle due to a constant shortage of public funding. This is where Rosie's Theater Kids comes in. Rosie's Theater Kids was inspired by Rosie O'Donnell's life-long concern for children, love of theater, and dream of teaching. In 2003, thanks to the generosity of Rosie and Kelli O'Donnell, Artistic and Executive Director Lori Klinger created RTKids, dedicated to providing quality instruction in music and dance at no cost to New York City public schools or students.