Dear SeeSaw Family:

 

After months of thoughtful and difficult consideration, SeeSaw Studio will be ending its independent status as a 501 ( c ) 3 nonprofit organization at the end of 2011.  The good news is that the legacy of our work as an arts education charity for teens will continue independently with workshops through SpiritHouse, a local grassroots nonprofit that provides a creative voice for youth in Durham.  After 13 years, we feel our mission is better served propagating the reach of SeeSaw's legacy to the community in this way.  This will allow us to open-source our knowledge to all of Durham, and give others the opportunity to build their own models of what we have achieved. This also means that once we raise the funds to close out our final debts, our organization can donate our remaining equipment to SpiritHouse.  We have an excellent Board who really had to make a hard decision, but it was best in order to be able to transition the legacy of our mission while also closing out the studio’s debt appropriately and with as little impact on our current beneficiaries as possible.

 

I am so honored to have served our parents and teens as Director for the last four years.  I have been lucky enough to be a part of providing tremendous experiences for our teens, witness the growth of their self-esteem, and celebrate their public accolades and accomplishments beyond what anyone thought they could achieve. The studio has been honored to serve the youth of Durham since its inception in 1999.  Durham has been blessed to have benefitted from the dream of our amazing founder, Dr. Steven Wainwright, and his insight to fill an unmet need has inspired so many to take a positive turn in their lives.  This includes the students and families in our program, mentors who fostered their talent, and leaders who financially supported this small bright light in downtown Durham for the last 13 years.  Like true social change agents, we have fostered an incredible idea that will live on and be led by others; we are pleased to see new versions of our model already beginning throughout our area.  Dr. King once said that great leaders outlast themselves; I believe and trust that our real legacy lies in the current and future accomplishments of the youth we have served.

  

On a personal note, I would like to also thank the folks that I contacted individually for all of your warm regards and emails.  I am grateful for having had this experience, and I look forward to seeing our youth grow through our SeeSaw Studio Alumni Network,  which will continue to be in place as long as they continue to support each other; to me, that is the best legacy anyone can ask for.

 

Yours in service,

 

Michelle Gonzales-Green

Executive Director Emeritus

SeeSaw Studio

      

PLEASE JOIN OUR CAMPAIGN TO COMPLETE SEESAW STUDIO'S LEGACY TO OUR COMMUNITY