Gene Dallevechia, of Power Supply Electric, Lehigh Valley, presented a $2,000 donation to the Whitehall Theatre Program recently in the Whitehall High School's auditorium.

The donation will be used for the theatre program's upcoming performance of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical "South Pacific," which begins in April.

The cast of the musical, Theatre Director Andrew Borghesani, Whitehall-Coplay School District Superintendent John Corby and Whitehall-Coplay School Board President Tina Koren were present at the ceremony.

"This is a generous donation," Borghesani said. "I'm humbled and overjoyed by it. I think in a time when programs like this get cut, this shows that people support and appreciate the arts and value the importance of it."

According to Borghesani, the donation will help with the costs of the overall production.

Dallevechia associates often with the cast, since his wife, Randi Dallevechia, plays the piano as the program's rehearsal accompanist.

"With my wife playing, I got to be around them [the cast] and see how much work the kids put into it," Dallevechia said. "It's nice to take a burden away from them and I hope it helps them get a Freddy Award."

"It's appreciated that Gene has made these kids a priority," Corby said. "We can't thank him enough."