Youngstown Foundation Awards Nearly $840K in Grants
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The Youngstown Foundation has awarded $839,866 in new grants, including $180,315 to support the operations and special needs programs led by Students Motivated by the Arts.
“The support of the Youngstown Foundation enables us to continue Smarts programs that are unique in their ability to engage elementary and high school students up to the age of 21 with special needs,” Rebecca Keck, president and founder of Smarts, said in a news release. “There are no other programs in the region that offer classes in music, visual arts, theater and dance with curriculum designed specifically for these students.”
The Smarts Beats program uses hand drums and other percussion instruments to teach foundational skills such as making eye contact, taking turns, listening for instruction and more. Students use drums to respond to comprehension questions from reading materials, practice addition and subtraction and in other learning situations.
Smarts Empowers teaches similar foundational skills through elements of the visual arts, dance and theater. Students have better attendance on Smarts days and learn skills that translate into the classroom and everyday life, the release states.
“Smarts is doing a stellar job offering programming that enhances and expands the efforts of local school districts to offer education in the arts,” said Lynnette H. Forde, president of The Youngstown Foundation. “The Youngstown Foundation has been very pleased to support Smarts and now provides 18 percent of the organization’s budget through our support of their operations and Beats and Empowers programs. We expect that the community and local school districts will join us in sustaining this important resource for students with special needs.”
Additional Grants
The foundation also awarded $100,000 each to the Ursuline Sisters Mission, Akron Children’s Hospital Mahoning Valley and Youngstown Area Goodwill Industries.
The grant to Ursuline Sisters will support work underway to convert the Ursuline Motherhouse in Canfield to assisted living quarters for retired nuns. The grant to Akron Children’s will support an expansion of eye care and eye therapy services at the hospital’s Boardman location. The grant to Goodwill will support administrative costs in the development of new workforce training programs.
The foundation also awarded grants to the following nonprofits:
- Easterseals of Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana Counties: Services and resources for children with disabilities, $60,000.
- Heart Reach Neighborhood Ministries: Super Kids programs, $60,000.
- The Youngstown Playhouse: 5,000 free tickets for underserved children and their families, $60,000.
- Action Inc.: 2,500 $20 food vouchers for needy families, $50,000.
- Ohio Living Home Health and Hospice: Senior activities at the Vivo Center in Youngstown, $50,000.
- Moab House: Bathroom renovations and staff salaries, $25,000.
- The Carter House: Staff salaries for transitional housing, $20,000.
- Youngstown Little Bears: Youth football team expenses, $15,000.
- Humility of Mary Housing: Grocery store gift cards for needy families, $10,000.
- Behind Closed Doors Ministries: Food pantry, workshops and operations, $5,000.
- Youngstown State University: Recovery of McDonald Steel artifacts for historic preservation, $4,551.
Pictured at top: Simon Kenneally , a longtime Smarts teacher, leads a guitar lesson at the community arts school in Youngstown.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
