At their final meeting last Wednesday afternoon, members of The Circle, a small but growing collection of women who provide financial support to the educational outreach programs of the Vero Beach Museum of Art, voted to spread their funding out over several initiatives this year. Circle members annually contribute $250 or more to supplement museum programs geared toward children and adults who might otherwise have little or no access to the arts.
Having narrowed the field of finalists to four through a series of site visits and earlier votes, the group opted to fully fund the Arts Integration and Cultural Literacy Program in partnership with Indian River Academy; a new STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) Program giving elementary school teachers the tools to integrate STEAM subjects in their classrooms; and the Fellsmere Adopt-a-School Program in partnership with Fellsmere Elementary School.
The remaining funds are being granted toward the cost of Art for Health’s Sake, a three-part initiative that includes Afternoon at the Museum in partnership with the Alzheimer & Parkinson Assoc.; Artful Engagements in partnership with the Senior Resource Association; and the Intergenerational Art Program in partnership with Teen Challenge and Hibiscus House.
“We have $38,310 in grant money to spend tonight. Even more exciting than that is our new total from when we first started, which is $192,429,” said outgoing chairwoman Susan Smith. “Our membership is at a new high of 127 and we already have new members signed up for next year. We’re moving ahead and our membership is growing.”
As votes were being tallied, Smith recognized Lee Albro and Mackie Duch, long-standing members of the steering committee who were retiring, thanking them for a job well done. She then turned the meeting over to new chairwoman Nancy Edmiston, who thanked Smith for her leadership before introducing the 2016-17 steering committee: Laura Moss, Holly Lentini, Cindy Binder, Becky Torbin, Jan Calfee and Mariam Michael.
“Even though I’ve been visiting the museum since 1990, I really didn’t appreciate the full extent of the museum’s involvement with the community until I became a volunteer here. And most especially until I became a member of The Circle, when I really began to understand the breadth and depth of that involvement with the community,” said Edmiston. “It’s an impressive organization and I’m very proud to be a part of it.”
Edmiston invited VBMA CEO Lucinda Gedeon to speak to the group, crediting her for spearheading that community engagement through her strategy, vision and leadership.
“I have such admiration for each and every one of you and gratitude for your commitment to education, because that’s what this is all about,” said Gedeon. “We have seen this body of women come together to say the community matters; everybody in the community matters. What we’re saying is the arts, culture, all of it make life worth living; it makes life vibrant. The arts are important and you bring that to the world by virtue of your participation. I can’t thank you enough.”
Gedeon also commended the museum’s wonderful staff, boards, volunteers and membership, adding, “It’s been a fabulous, fabulous 12 years.”
