Youngstown Foundation Approves $840K in Grants

Awards Support 15 Local Nonprofits, Including Students Motivated by the Arts

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio  – The Youngstown Foundation today announced $839,866 in new grants, including $180,315 to support the operations and special needs programs led by Students Motivated by the Arts (SMARTS) in Youngstown.

“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,” said Rebecca L. Keck, president & founder of SMARTS. “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.

“Teaching students with these unique abilities enables our community teaching artists to become better at their work with all students. Without SMARTS these students most often would not have access to arts education.”

The SMARTS Beats program uses hand drums and other percussion instruments to teach foundational skills like 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 theatre. Students have better attendance on SMARTS days and learn skills that translate into the classroom and everyday life.

“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 Youngstown Foundation grants

Also announced were grants of $100,000 each to the Ursuline Sisters Mission, Akron Children’s Hospital Mahoning Valley and Youngstown Area Goodwill Industries.

The Ursuline Sisters grant supports work under way to convert the Ursuline Motherhouse in Canfield to assisted living quarters for retired nuns.

The grant to Akron Children’s supports an expansion of eye care and eye therapy services at the hospital’s Boardman location.

The Goodwill grant supports administrative costs in the development of new workforce training programs.

Eleven other local nonprofits received these Youngstown Foundation grant awards:

• 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
• 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

About the Youngstown Foundation

Since 1918, the Youngstown Foundation has devoted its resources to ensuring the quality of life and sustaining a vital and prosperous community in the Mahoning Valley. The Youngstown Foundation has grown from $33,000 in assets at its origins to over $150 million today and has distributed over $100 million back into the community through grants to support nonprofit organizations. The foundation remains poised to address the most pressing issues and support actions and ingenuity to ensure that our community continues to grow and thrive, with no one left behind. Further information is available at www.youngstownfoundation.org.