Vote to Help Fund Studio H, a New Design/Build High School Program

Supporters can propel Project H's grant application by voting for them at refresheverything.com/studioh.

Staff -- Interior Design, 2/5/2010 12:00:00 AM

Studio H will get by with a little help from their friends—the A&D community.

Project H Design, a humanitarian design nonprofit founded by Emily Pilloton, is in the running for a $50,000 Pepsi Refresh grant to launch Studio H, a high school design and vocation program in Bertie County, the poorest county in North Carolina. In order to receive the grant, Pilloton is seeking support from the design industry to lock in more votes and make the goal a reality.

Studio H will be a one-year curriculum teaching design thinking and "shop class with purpose," collectively building one community project per year. The $50,000 grant would fund the first year's project by providing bus shelters for the school bus system and a new shop space for the students. Pilloton and project architect Matthew Miller are moving to North Carolina this summer and getting certified as high school teachers to run Studio H. Their previous work with the Bertie County School District has included the construction of their Learning Landscape math playgrounds, new computer labs, and a county-wide graphic campaign for free broadband internet.

Supporters can propel Project H's grant application by voting for them at refresheverything.com/studioh. The top 10 projects in the category will win awards, and voters can cast vote once per day until the competition’s close on February 28.

For more info about the organization’s plans for Studio H, see the video below and visit www.projecthdesign.org/projects/studioh.html.