Mission Statement: The mission of the Maine Alliance for Arts Education is to promote and encourage education in all of the arts for all Maine students.

According to data from the 2022 census, the total population of Arundel, Maine is 4,264 individuals with a median age of 41.4 years. Within that number of individuals, only 18.9% are under the age of 18 (9% are between 5-14 years and 2.2% are 15-17). Educationally, only 66.3% of Arundel’s children are enrolled in Kindergarten to 12th grade in Arundel, meaning that most children travel to receive schooling and create relationships with peers. 

The problem within Arundel is a lack of resources for children to interact with peers from the same area, forcing them to find support in bordering locations. There are a total of 3,200 households in Arundel, but only 600 have children. Having such a low population of children means that educational support and opportunities for arts-based or recreational programs is limited. For schooling, Arundel’s government website states that children have the option to attend K-5 in Arundel, middle school in Kennebunk, and high school in either Kennebunk or another local town. Having children jump between towns for school causes them to have a limited chance of creating lasting connections with peers. When looking at public transportation and the number of drivers, 0% use public transportation while 81.6% drive. With low travel rates combined with issues around education access, it can be suggested that there’s little public engagement as those who live in Arundel travel to outside areas like Saco, Biddeford, or Kennebunk for jobs, food, education, etc.

When it comes down to it, only 29.1% have a bachelor’s degree or higher (39.2% have a high school degree), and 66.3% of that are children in Kindergarten to 12th grade. 18.9 % of Arundel’s population is under the age of 18 (7.8% are under 5; 9% are 5-14; 2.2% are 15-17), and only 15.2% of that population is over the age of 16 is in arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation, and food services. So that leaves a gap of opportunities for these kids to be involved in their communities.

Given that 16.2% of the population is 65 years or older, there is a dire need to bring those younger communities into Arundel in order to have a more solidified community. With those younger communities, there is also hope that the 3.2% of the population that is either foreign-born or from an indigenous background will feel more included and comfortable as populations rise. That’s why our project is important to Arundel’s growth as a community. The hope is to bring those younger demographics together. 

At Arts for Impact we know that the lack of Arundel’s youth’s community engagement and education opportunities is not simply due to the town’s geographic location; the absence of arts, entertainment, and recreational opportunities all contribute to a population void of community and educational resources. Our six-week community art program is designed to establish and develop lasting relationships and engagement between town residents, as well as a lasting connection with art. As Arundel has such a low number of citizens under the age of 18, a spread out population, and multiple out-of-town school systems, many of Arundel’s children have minimal to no interaction with one another; this program ensures that those children are not only able to interact but interact through meaningful learning opportunities in their own town.