SeeSaw Studio

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 3, 2006

CONTACTS:
Pat Hoffman, Executive Director, SeeSaw Studio

pat@seesawstudio.org, phoffman6@nc.rr.com

SeeSaw Studio, a training center in Durham enabling disadvantaged teens to develop professional skills in art and design, is awarded a state-of-the art computer laboratory.

DURHAM – At SeeSaw Studio disadvantaged teens, some referred by the court system, have the opportunity to turn their lives around by preparing themselves for careers in the art and design professions. SeeSaw Studio’s new computer laboratory and state-of-the art design software will be inaugurated Monday, October 16 at a ribbon cutting ceremony at 6:00 pm at SeeSaw Studio, 326 W. Geer Street, Durham, NC. Students will display their portfolios and speak to the public about how SeeSaw Studio training has turned their lives around.

SeeSaw Studio’s mission is to teach design, entrepreneurship, and life skills to inner city youth and providing a safe haven and business and educational opportunities.  SeeSaw Studio holds public workshops and an apprenticeship programs for more than 300 pre-teen and teenage youth each year.  These workshops address the lack of opportunities for career training in art and design for low-income youth and the chronically high number of teen dropouts from Durham schools.

SeeSaw Studio is the only design and entrepreneurship program in North Carolina that makes available opportunities and training traditionally not found in public school curricula. The program offers opportunities for young designers to create and sell their own work and empowers them to dream big and take personal responsibility for their success. Young designers receive training and experience in a variety of skills including graphic design, Web design, silk screen-printing, welding, and illustration, as well as portfolio preparation, technical writing, and marketing and sales.  Students practice interview skills where they dress in business attire, fill out applications, solicit references and apply for jobs.

The new computers, printers and design software were donated by a leadership team from The WorldLegacy in Morrisville, NC that chose SeeSaw Studio for their community service project to promote teen empowerment.  WorldLegacy is a coaching company that provides personal effectiveness and leadership workshops for people to live extraordinary lives.