He may be living four provinces away, but Emile Scheffel isn’t going to let the distance silence his voice on drastic cuts in arts funding in B.C.

A political science student who was active in the arts while growing up in Kamloops, Scheffel has set up a Facebook site to rally support for the arts in the run-up to Tuesday’s provincial budget.

After a couple of weeks, about 3,000 people have responded to his BC Hearts the Arts appeal, asking the provincial government to restore arts funding to 2008/2009 levels.

“I'm optimistic that we'll keep growing right through to budget day in early March,” Scheffel said from Ottawa, where he’s studying at Carleton University.“People are just waking up to the fact that through social media they can have this aggregate impact.”

The B.C. arts sector has been actively lobbying against radical cuts in funding since the province eliminated gaming funding last summer. The cut meant the loss of $20 million annually, more than the budget of the B.C Arts Council, a parent body that disperses remaining arts funding.

Senior Kamloops arts organizations have so far weathered the cuts but are bracing for what may lie ahead. Scheffel feels it is important to take the lobby beyond partisan debate, and he sees an obvious avenue to follow.

“It’s great people have been vocal about the issue,” Scheffel said. “I think it’s a little less effective when they focus on attacking government.”

In November, a bipartisan standing committee on finance and government recommended that the budget should restore provincial funding

“Failing that — and there are rumours that there could be up to a 90 per cent cut — they’ve asked the government to hold off on further cuts.”

BC Hearts the Arts asks the public to email their concerns to Premier Gordon Campbell, Finance Minister Colin Hansen and MLA Kevin Krueger, minister of tourism, culture and the arts. Former Liberal MLAs Christy Clark, Lorne Mayencourt and Tim Stevenson, as well as Surrey Mayor Diane Watts, have joined the group through their Facebook accounts.

Building public support for the cause has been difficult due to the predominant demands of health and education funding, Scheffel acknowledged.

“It’s definitely a challenge to try to get attention, especially with the cuts the school board is facing.”

Yet the arts are vital to the province’s lifeblood, he maintains.

A South Kamloops grad, Scheffel sang in the UCC Chorus and performed in the KSO musicals Oliver and Anne of Green Gables among other activities.