SMART begins business partnership effort

SMART in Central Oregon is pleased to announce the launch of our Business Partnership Campaign to engage local businesses in the charge of ensuring that Central Oregon children are empowered for brighter futures through reading.

In 1991, business leaders across Oregon served as the catalyst to get SMART off the ground, creating a program to strengthen Oregon’s future work force. Today, businesses are evermore vital to SMART’s success, and we are grateful for the support of hundreds of SMART Business Partners across the state. Their support – in the form of financial contributions and employee volunteerism – has allowed us to serve more than 152,000 children and give away 2 million books.

Brooks Resources was the first business to sign on with our Business Partnership Campaign.

“We applaud the remarkable impact the SMART team has made in improving the reading skills and enjoyment of books for children for more than 20 years, and that’s why we chose to be a founding sponsor of the SMART program in the Bend-La Pine schools many years ago,” said Barb Hess, administrator for the Brooks Resources Corporation charitable giving program. “Becoming a SMART Business Partner made sense as a great way to show our continued support for SMART and the impact the program is making in our community.”

We would like to thank all of the business who have committed to partnering with SMART in Central Oregon. These include Brooks Resources and Bank of the Cascades in Bend, and Ochoco Lumber and Contact Industries in Prineville.

There are number of sponsorship levels available with a variety of benefits at each level. If you would like to support SMART in providing literacy support to children in our community, please contact Diane Turnbull at 541-355-5601 to discuss sponsorship levels and benefits.

About SMART® (Start Making A Reader Today)

SMART, Start Making A Reader Today, is a statewide nonprofit organization that envisions an Oregon where every child can read and is empowered to succeed. We partner with schools around the state and engage community volunteers to read one-on-one with PreK-3 rd grade children, helping strengthen literacy skills and encourage a love of reading.

Over the past two decades, SMART has steadily grown to become Oregon’s largest volunteer literacy program. Children in the program receive 14 new books throughout the school year to keep and read with their families. Together, with support from communities and schools around the state, SMART is improving the reading capacity of Oregon’s children. Visit www.getSMARToregon.org or call 541-355-5601 to learn more about SMART.