The Marble Collection Inc. Announces its Spark the Arts Campaign

The Marble Collection Inc. [TMC] is an educational nonprofit organization that cultivates and celebrates the creative accomplishments of Massachusetts youth by publishing the only statewide print and digital magazine of the arts for and by Massachusetts secondary students. TMC’s Student-Mentoring Workshop [SMW] provides students with one-to-one tutoring services to critique and edit their work before publication, wherein teens learn to share their voice, refine their talent and gain the skills and knowledge needed to succeed. It has been demonstrated that art, in all its forms, contributes to youth development. Yet budget cuts are eliminating creative classes in schools across the state, negatively impacting students’ academic achievement as well as their career and college preparedness.

TMC is pleased to announce the launch of its newest campaign, Spark the Arts. Spark the Arts is an arts advocacy campaign designed to promote awareness about TMC’s free programs and services through video, creativity and social action. TMC is enlisting all Massachusetts secondary students, grades 8 through 12, to join the campaign, bear the torch of creativity and take the pledge to become an Arts Advocate. Arts Advocates will be responsible for expanding awareness of the organization among their peers and community by writing advocacy emails, hanging flyers, creating a social media presence, and providing word-of-mouth publicity. By participating with Spark the Arts, students are able to network with like-minded peers, gain leadership experience, and build their resumes and college applications. “I would like to take the initiative to advocate for The Marble Collection. I would like to connect with the English and Art teachers in my school and also with my fellow students to encourage them to submit to the magazine,” says Holly Gallant, a senior at Harwich High School.

TMC invites all Massachusetts students, grades 8 through 12, to think creatively to develop a visual representation for TMC’s Spark the Arts awareness campaign. The winning original design will be featured on the Spark the Arts tee-shirt, in The Marble Collection: Massachusetts High School Magazine of the Arts Winter 2013 edition, and in participating high schools across the state. The design should inspire, fire-up and ignite people to action. But most important, it should give supporters a way to show their dedication to The Marble Collection. Submitters can paint, draw or design. The deadline for submissions is Friday, November 30th.

For additional information on The Marble Collection, Inc. and the Spark the Arts campaign please visit: http://www.themarblecollection.org/spark-the-arts/action-kit