SMART supporting children’s lit one volunteer at a time

BOB WILLIAMS / THE CHRONICLE. Earlier this summer, SMART Reading volunteers and supporters gathered in droves to celebrate the SMART mural completion in a quiet alleyway near 5th and A streets. The mural was completed by Springfield artist Bayne Gardner, who is well-known for The Simpson murals throughout town, as well as a myriad of other local murals.

SPRINGFIELD —  “There is no friend as loyal as a book,” Ernest Hemingway once wrote. From Beverly Cleary to Eric Carle, Judy Blume to C.S. Lewis, the worlds created, the characters that seem to leap off the pages into the hearts of those who welcome them, is a gift unlike any other, especially for children. 

In 1991, a handful of apprehensive Oregon business leaders forged a plan to help combat Oregon’s abysmal reading proficiency statistics.…

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