40. Community Need This mission of K12 Gallery & TEJAS (K12) is to inspire people to imagine, learn and create in a unique and encouraging environment. This mission was realized from a community need by Founder, Jerri Stanard to increase art accessibility for all Miami Valley youth and adult residents.

After school, Saturday and Summer art classes have grown to embrace inclusive programming for inner city youth, urban school students, at-risk youth involved with the juvenile court system, prisoners, the home school population and promising low income students with aspirations in art careers. With the addition of TEJAS in 2009, art outreach grew to offer art enrichment for older teens and adults. Based upon K12 tracking, K12 Gallery & TEJAS through its many programs interfaces with 67,000 individuals each year. Our purpose is to nurture a growing interest in the arts that fosters the benefit to promote cognitive growth, social bonding, cross-cultural understanding and economic activity for the community.

The 2nd floor renovation provides a much needed increase in usable area for K12 and will allow increasing the number of students accommodated in the building. K12 is at capacity in art activities in the first floor. Bonds robotics, presently occupying a limited area on the first floor, needs increased space. The area provided by the second floor renovation will allow Bonds to expand its footprint and number of students using that area. The firsts floor area vacated by Bonds will allow expansion of K12 art related activities on the first floor. The growth of usable area provided by the renovation is critical to sustaining future for K12 Gallery & TEJAS, its partners and the communities we serve.