Boeing Awards Second Grant to SMART

The SMART Foundation is pleased to acknowledge a second grant from The Boeing Company in support of its mission: Music Education For All Children. In October of 2010 Sarah Murr, the Arts and Culture Community Investor for the Boeing Company, provided a Grant of $4500.00 for Chris Clark, the CEO/Founder of the SMART Foundation, to serve as a Fellow on the Leadership Southern California Network for 2011 (LSC2011). Sarah said, “The mission of the Southern California Leadership Network is to develop a productive network of exemplary and diverse leaders in the business, government and community sectors who are capable of addressing the critical challenges facing the Southern California region”.

The Boeing Company believes that an education which includes the arts provides students with skills and abilities to succeed in life and navigate careers in the 21st century.

“Music and Arts education is proven to be a key component in developing creativity, innovation and imagination skills in students” said Clark. “These skills are valued by 21st century companies looking to grow through and beyond the current economic crisis. Music and Arts education is not about building artists as much as it is about putting students on a life path of success and significance.”

Boeing CEO W. James McNerney Jr recently stated, “Ultimately, our ability to compete now and in the future rests on our ability to cultivate a quality workforce. If we can provide an educated, prepared workforce, everything else we desire will follow: economic development, quality jobs with competitive salaries, you name it.”

The LSC2011 grant was the second awarded to SMART from Boeing in 2010. The first, received in the spring included funding to develop new materials for the Champions for Music Education advocacy program. The CFME program helps local music and arts advocate groups by providing materials and social enterprise opportunities that generate sustainable and reoccurring funding for school music and arts programs.