The Academy of Art University Builds Tables for Refugees

The kitchen table is a central building block in the home of newly arrived refugee families. Tables provide a space to connect with family members after a long day, for kids to complete their homework, and a place to prepare and eat dinner. It is often difficult for the IRC to find members of the community willing to donate kitchen tables, making its partnership with the Academy of Art University, Project H, and the St. Vincent de Paul Society all the more important both to the IRC and the newly arrived families it serves.

The IRC is entering its second semester of a partnership with Susan Kralovec and the students from her Industrial Design Workshop at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, and Jenine deGuzman from Project H, a local non-profit organization which partners with local agencies to implement life-improving design solutions. This past fall Kralovec’s class visited several newly arrived families to determine their specific needs for a kitchen table and then, using donated materials from the St. Vincent de Paul Society and guidance from Project H, spent months designing, building, and finally delivering fourteen tables to families in the Oakland Area.

The project was a resounding success and the class has been scheduled for the spring semester, this time with more than twice as many students. The IRC is extremely grateful for the continued support of the Academy of Art University, Project H, and the St. Vincent de Paul Society, and is looking forward to the continuation of this mutually beneficial relationship.
 
If you'd like to find out more about any of the IRC's partners in this project you can find them on the web at:

• The Academy of Art University - www.academyart.edu
• Project H - www.projecthdesign.org
• The St. Vincent de Paul Society of San Francisco - www.svdp-sf.org

If you’re interested in donating a kitchen table to the IRC please contact John.Hollis@theIRC.org or call 415-863-3777.