Equity Starts with Early Access to Design Education
The Kravet Family Makes Pre-College Possible for Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club Kids
The Kravet family has committed to donate $100,000 over the next five years in order to send underserved and underrepresented high school students, enrolled in the Kips Bay Summer Youth Employment Program, to NYSID's Pre-College Program.
Children living in underserved communities rarely hear of interior design as a career for themselves and have few role models of designers in their childhoods. This new partnership between Kips Bay and NYSID, made possible by Kravet Inc., is designed to help young people see themselves in interior design. “Our family is very pleased to be able to give this grant that introduces students to our industry,” says Ellen Kravet, who is both chair of the New York School of Interior Design’s Board, and executive vice president and co-owner of Kravet Inc. “The Kips Bay pipeline seemed the perfect opportunity to do this. There are so many opportunities for NYSID’s faculty to educate the next generation of interested young adults.”
Says James Druckman, who is both president of Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club and also a trustee of NYSID, “This meaningful donation creates a greater connection between The Club and an industry that is committed to supporting it. NYSID remains the premier institution for design education in the country. In recent years, the school has focused on broadening its programs and diversity, making interior design careers more accessible. The partnership between Kravet and NYSID will open doors for so many young adults and ultimately foster exceptional new talent for our industry.”
Pre-College students at NYSID spend two weeks to a month of the summer learning the basics of interior design from professional designers who teach in our undergraduate or graduate programs. Participating students design for a theoretical client, providing drawings, plans, and mood boards, as well as selecting furniture, fixtures, and textiles. They visit design firms and showrooms. It’s a taste of life as a designer.
This generous scholarship donation from the Kravet family will make it possible for a total of 35 students, seven every year for five years, to attend NYSID's Pre-College I and II programs (for a total of four weeks). Says NYSID President David Sprouls, "Making a career in interior design accessible to a broader demographic of people is a priority of this College. These scholarships from the Kravet family will change lives, and the field of interior design."
NYSID has started a Pre-College Fund to help expose underrepresented teenagers to design career options early in their lives. If you’re interested in supporting the Pre-College fund, reach out to Joy Cooper, NYSID’s director of development, at Giving@NYSID.edu.