Thank
you to everyone who joined us on May 2nd for SMART Goes to College, our 4th
annual fundraiser and celebration of SMART Scholar achievements. The evening
was filled with inspirational stories and anecdotes from SMART staff, board,
and school administrators, as we celebrated the impact of SMART, not only on the
youth we serve, but on our community, and on our independent partner schools. We
heard from Dennis, SMART’s featured student speaker and a senior at Lick-Wilmerding
High School, who announced that he will be attending the Southern California
Institute of Architecture in fall on a merit scholarship.
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| Dennis, SMART's featured speaker at SMART Goes to College |
Dennis
explained that he grew up sharing a 200 sq/ft SRO (Single Resident Occupancy)
unit with his parents and his young sister, and at an early age, was
overwhelmed with a desire to redesign his world. He went on to say, “I kept
drawing in my youth unsure of how to become an architect. My first golden
ticket came in the form of SMART. To be an architect, I had to get a proper
education. I had to get the BEST education. SMART offered me a placement into a
private school that was the best fit for me, and supported me through with
tutoring, mentoring, and after-school programs.”
Thank
you to Dennis, and to everyone who celebrated with us! In addition to the
wonderful accomplishments of our Scholars, SMART is also celebrating the
generosity of our community! The fundraiser was a great success, bringing in
more than $210,000 in support of SMART programming and Scholar sponsorships. To
our donors, volunteers, partner schools, Scholars and families, thank you for
your partnership in this very important work.
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