Group works to form arts fund in Carbon County

Area art aficionados came together to start work on the Carbon County Community Foundation’s Arts Fund on Tuesday.

Fund founder Kathy Fallow invited community members with an artistic interest to her Palmerton home to discuss the philanthropic group. Carbon County Community Foundation’s Executive Director Amber Breiner helped guide their mission.

“What we wanted to do is inspire. This is a brainstorming session, no holds barred, covering what we do see, what would we like to see, and how we can bring the magic of the arts to Carbon County,” Fallow said.

One of the key elements of the “idea meeting” was shaping a vision for the fund by exploring the artistic world of the area, identifying the needs and finding out who to engage.

Attendees agreed to focus on the youth and senior citizens in their area.

“In the past three to five years that I’ve been here, I have noticed that when it comes to the love of the arts, there aren’t enough opportunities for seniors and kids who are just out of high school,” Fallow said. “There is not enough around here to inspire them.”

Sherri Jean Scott, who retired from a position with a broker on Wall Street after 37 years, has invested her time in painting, art classes and numerous charitable activities. Scott said that she believes access to artistic pursuits is pivotal for the young and old alike.

“We need something for our children, and for our adults,” she said. “You have to expose these children to art, or they won’t know what’s out there for them,” Scott said.

Access to programs

Renee Marciante, a music adviser at Jim Thorpe Area School District, emphasized that access to art programs — which she said are underfunded — is limited, at best. The problem, Marciante said, is that these courses can be a valuable pursuit for kids who don’t fit the mold.

“Not every kid is going to be an athlete. Not every kid is going to a scientist. Music can enhance their academic aspirations in ways that people who are not of the arts cannot understand,” she said.

Breiner said that evaluating students’ access to artistic programs within their districts was a good start.

“I feel like the school districts should be our baseline,” Breiner said. “We can see how we are serving our students, find what we feel ought to be there but isn’t there and figure out how to put it there.”

Breiner said that established recipients would be a great place to begin for the charitable fund, as they require less time, energy and money to get off the ground. In addition, matching funding may be available to increase contributions.

“Looking at who is doing what well, and how can we do more of that, it’s more of a safe place for us to start,” she said.

At the other end of the spectrum, the group agreed that supporting and establishing programs that engage the elderly in the arts would be beneficial to the community.

Making connections

Cheryl Roger, photographer, founder of the 501c3 group ARTisaSHIP and owner of The Inn at Birch Wilds, said bringing in seniors could also facilitate a connection to other groups.

“I’m amazed when I meet these older people, the knowledge that they have, the experience that they have, that they can share with the high school seniors. That’s part of our goal, to find these people that are out there and bring them all together, and bring them a location where we can grow from,” Roger said.

“With the elderly, depression is the biggest thing, the isolation. If we gave them an avenue, they would benefit from this.”

Currently, the Arts Fund has about $4,000 in its coffers, though they plan to build upon those resources with fundraisers.

“Right now, I think it’s not too lofty a goal to be at $25,000 by the end of the year,” Breiner said.

Though the group is only in its infancy, Fallow has high hopes.

“I think we have sparked some imagination, and I think we’ll be seeing more. The challenge will be selecting a few to begin with, because there are going to be so many ideas of where we can go and what we can do,” she said.