HCA gets Appalachian grant for Digital Arts for Youth

Kevin Lynch, The Daily Record
·3 min read
Cathie Lynch (right), one of the visual arts instructors at Holmes Center for the Art,s talks with Mark Gazdik and Steve Schneiter of Ohio Star Theater during an open house at the center, which received a grant of nearly $20,-000.
Cathie Lynch (right), one of the visual arts instructors at Holmes Center for the Art,s talks with Mark Gazdik and Steve Schneiter of Ohio Star Theater during an open house at the center, which received a grant of nearly $20,-000.

BERLIN  — Holmes Center for the Arts (HCA) received a $19,305 grant from the I’m a Child of Appalachia Fund through the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio to be used to support the Digital Arts for Youth (HCA DAY) project.

The funds will be used to purchase 10 Apple iPad Pros, 10 Apple pencils, five Apple Magic Keyboards and programming for the products.

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Creating relevant programming

“With this equipment HCA will be able to provide exciting and relevant programming for area youth, adding digital arts training to HCA’s after school and homeschool programming for teens and providing digital arts programming for Amish teens through a new partnership with Buckeye Career Center,” said HCA Community Outreach Director Cathie Lynch.

Going forward, the equipment will be used as part of STEAM programs for young people, for film classes, clay animation, stop motion classes and for sound engineer training.

Meeting the mission Holmes Arts Center

The mission of HCA is to provide educational and performing opportunities in the arts for people of all economic and social backgrounds within a wholesome, family-oriented atmosphere and to enrich the community through artistic experiences. Being able to provide enriching experiences to area youth with state-of-the-art equipment will go a long way toward helping HCA achieve the goals.

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“There is so much excitement among the youth in our community about the addition of Digital Arts Programming at Holmes Center for the Arts” Lynch said.

In applying for the grant, she interviewed and polled many teens and pre-teens for ideas of what they were looking for in a digital arts program.

“Their input was invaluable” Lynch said. “I can’t wait to see what they are able to create with this equipment. Their excitement is contagious, I look forward to learning more about digital arts myself.”

About the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio

The Foundation for Appalachian Ohio (FAO) is a regional community foundation serving the 32 counties of Appalachian Ohio.

There are 20 projects addressing the social, economic, educational and health challenges faced by young people in Appalachian Ohio that are receiving more than $350,000 through the Investing in Youth Resiliency program, funded by the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio (FAO) in partnership with the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation of Nelsonville.

“At FAO, we have long known there is no greater investment we could make than in the young people of our region,” FAO President and CEO Cara Dingus Brook said in a release. “This philosophy is why we created the ‘I’m a Child of Appalachia®’ campaign 15 years ago, and it’s why we continue to emphasize opportunities for youth today through programs like Investing in Youth Resiliency.”

Public and nonprofit organizations in the 32 Appalachian Ohio counties were eligible to apply for grants for projects focused on building resiliency for youth, from preschool age through age 18. Priority was given to organizations focused on young people who experience risk factors that jeopardize their ability to thrive and achieve.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Holmes arts center digital programs get booster from Appalachian grant