The Kravet family has committed to donate $20,000 every year for the next five years, totaling $100,000, to send underserved and underrepresented high school students, enrolled in the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club’s Summer Youth Program, to New York School of Interior Design (NYSID) PreCollege Program.
Beginning in 2021, Kravet Inc. is committing to sending seven students to the NYSID PreCollege Program each summer, totaling 35 students over five years, to experience being an interior designer in design showrooms in New York City.
“Our family is very pleased to be able to give this grant introducing students to our industry,” says Ellen Kravet, Executive Vice President at Kravet Inc. “The Kips Bay pipeline seemed the perfect opportunity to do this. As Chairman of the Board of the New York School of Interior Design, I know there are so many opportunities for our faculty to educate the next generation of interested young adults.”
This new partnership between the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club and NYSID, made possible by the Kravet family, is designed to help young people see themselves in interior design. “The Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club is grateful to the Kravet family for its continued dedication and support.” says Jim Druckman, Board of Trustees, 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 the doors for so many young adults and ultimately foster exceptional new talent for our industry.”
PreCollege students at NYSID spend two-weeks to a month of the summer learning the basic how-to’s of interior design from professional designers who teach in NYSID’s undergraduate or graduate programs. Participating students design for a theoretical client, providing drawings, floor plans, and mood-boards, as well as selecting furniture, fixtures and textiles. Visits to NYC design firms and showrooms are part of the program — offering a taste of life as a designer over the course of the four week program.
“Making a career in interior design accessible to a broader demographic of people is a priority of this College,” says NYSID President David Sprouls. “These scholarships from the Kravet family will change lives, and the field of interior design.”
Explore the latest Kips Bay Showhouse here.
Learn more about Kravet’s commitment to design education here.