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Smarts Announces Its Return -- as Soon as Fall
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Students Motivated by the Arts -- Smarts -- is back and plans to resume serving children in the Mahoning Valley from kindergarten to 12th grade this fall.
At a press event Tuesday afternoon at the Jewish Community Center, architect Ron Faniro acted as emcee in presenting an organization whose governance is undergoing a restructuring but whose mission remains unchanged.
“Smarts is the only stand-alone community arts school in our region where classes in the visual arts, music, dance, theater and creative writing is offered,” said its executive director, Rebecca L. Keck.
When it was suspended for lack of funding last Dec. 3, Smarts was serving 325 students on the campus of Youngstown State University, 92% of them from six school systems, Keck said, as she ticked off Youngstown, 51%, Boardman, 20%, Austintown, 19%, followed by Campbell, Canfield and Warren. Seventy percent of the students served come from households with low- to moderate incomes.
The auditorium in the Jewish Community Center had the air of a pep rally as Faniro introduced the many people who refused to let Smarts die and laid out the goals of the nonprofit organization.
Afterward, Becky Keck, executive director of Smarts, told of how 50 seats were set up the auditorium but more and more supporters informed her they wanted to attend. So another 30 were set up and some still had to stand. Roughly 120 or so came to welcome the news as they applauded, cheered and whistled as benefactors were introduced or mentioned.
While no site has been chosen to house Smarts, Keck continues to look for one within Youngstown that can accommodate the organization and allow students to engage in the activities Smarts offers.
In the interim, the Ohio One Corp. is providing Keck with office space in suite 415 of City Center One, an in-kind contribution from Richard and Kathy Mills. The Mills’ generosity is part of the $51,000 in in-kind gifts Smarts has received since the first of the year.
Others providing in-kind services are The Legal Creative, Compco Industries, Ad Dimension and Jet Creative Productions.
Artist Chris Yambar led the effort to design the new logo for Smarts, introduced yesterday as some 50 supporters removed their jackets to display their T-shirts bearing an orange and brown rectangle with white letters superimposed.
Smarts presented its new website, www.smartsartschool.org, developed by Bill Rusu of Jet Creative with Sarra Mohn’s help. Those who visit the site can learn about Smarts and make contributions. The organization has raised more than $18,000 in cash since the first of the year.
An annual operating budget of $150,000 to equal Smarts’ earlier efforts -- 32 hours of programming over a six-day week -- is the minimum needed, Keck said afterward.
Donations to date have averaged $500, Keck said, and the first person to make a contribution last winter was Erma Mahadeviah, whom Faniro presented to cheers and loud applause. Faniro himself concluded the press event by handing Keck a check for $250 -- “I want to be the first to help,” he told the executive director -- and promised afterward to a reporter he will contribute more.
Faniro has been a major backer of the Oh Wow! Roger & Gloria Jones Children’s Center for Science and Technology downtown, serving on its board.
Fundraising is crucial to carry on and carry out Smarts’ mission. Keck said, and she and the Smarts Circle (advisory board) will plan a capital campaign to be announced in the near future.
With the help of counsel, The Legal Creative, donating its time, Smarts is working to secure 501(c)3 status as a nonprofit. In the meantime, the Fine Arts Council of Trumbull County, FACT, is acting as Smarts’ agent in accepting contribution both monetary and in-kind. This allows donors to receive tax credits with no administrative fee.
Keck continues discussions with YSU for the physical assets that Smarts left behind on the campus.
While the need for contributions and the legal requirements were mentioned Tuesday, the remarks by Patrick Kale, a Smarts student four years and an eighth grader at Boardman Center Middle School, resonated with the audience. Kale related how participating in Smarts “helped me become more confident” and become comfortable performing his music as he sat on a stage with his rock band and later tackle acting on stage before an audience.
Copyright 2014 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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