Threads That Teach
Nonprofit Organization Management - , ,
Threads That Teach Employees
Threads That Teach Details
Threads Teach is a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to serving New York City Public Schools with a free, hands-on, fundraising program in which students create and sell apparel to supplement government budget cuts in arts education. Our public school program places college students in middle school classrooms across New York City where they are able to teach lessons in visual arts, fashion design, marketing, money management, retail sales, and entrepreneurship. From these lessons, young students also work on soft skills such as teamwork, problem solving, creative thinking, critical thinking, goal-setting, and time management. The goal of our program is not only to help strengthen arts education in our city, but also to provide young minds with skills that they can use to help build up their local economy and community.With only three semesters of work under our belt, Threads That Teach has been able to help 2 New York City public schools raise over $2,000 for their arts education programs. The program takes anywhere from 8 to 12 weeks to complete, depending on the needs of that particular school. Volunteer educators (students from surrounding colleges) work with students grades 6 to 8 to develop a theme and design, which is then sent out to a printing company for production. While the apparel printing is in production, students learn the business skills they need to market and sell their product. Once the apparel is delivered, a marketing campaign will already be in place and students can immediately begin selling both in their school and around their community. In the past, students have designed t-shirts around the theme of Community to replace their school's dress code polo shirts, tote bags promoting the Go Green initiative, and cinch backpacks celebrating the Power of Music.
