Interstate Resource Conservation and Development
3020 East First Avenue
Milan, Illinois 61264
Phone 309-764-1486 Extension 4/Fax 309-764-1830
Project S.M.A.R.T. Bus
In 2001, Interstate RC&D and a group of local
volunteers, spear-headed by
Charles Curry, RC&D Council Member, had a vision of reducing illiteracy
and helping educate young people through a traveling bus called
S.M.A.R.T., which stands for Sharp Minds Are Reading Thoroughly. The
SMART Bus promotes child and adult learning and education in our 5-county
RC&D area through the use of reading material, informational
presentations, and programs. The bus travels to rural and urban
communities promoting literacy by presenting programs on a variety of
environmental and conservation topics. The bus is stacked with many
books and other resources. Each child or adult can select a book and
other items to keep and take with them. The bus
travels from May through September and visits boy and girl scouts
camps, library summer reading programs, church bible schools, park
district programs, schools, county fairs, disability camps, farmers
market, housing authorities, day care centers, community celebrations
and VIVA Quad Cities.
Many organizations and businesses helped make this project a success. Former Lieutenant Governor Corrine Wood, the Illinois Association of RC&D Areas (IARC&D), the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), the Moline Foundation, Wells Fargo Bank of Geneseo, and the Doris and Victor Day Foundation all awarded funding for the project. In 2005, we have received donations from Country Bank of Aledo, Gold Star FS, Wal-Mart, State of Illinois, Target, Port Byron State Bank and community members. Since 2001, volunteers have donated more than 1500 hours to this project while handing out over 15,550 books to the children in our 5-county area.
Interstate RC&D has received many awards for this project. S.M.A.R.T. Bus received a National Earth Team Award, a Regional Earth Team Award and best RC&D Project in 2001. Charles Curry, Council Member, received the Daughters of American Revolution Award in 2003. These awards were made possible through the dedication and commitment of all of the volunteers and the diverse outreach effort of the program.
As we finish our 2005 season we are sad because our original SMART Bus will be leaving us and heading to Perkinston, Mississippi to join the Mississippi Coastal Plains RC&D. For more information about this visit the Operation Pack the Bus button or click here.
