August 2008
ASID Foundation Supports CIDA’s Accreditation Process Review
The trustees of the ASID Foundation recently granted funds to support the Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA)’s project to comprehensively examine the accreditation process and to develop support services offered to programs seeking accreditation. The overall goal of the project is to introduce improvements to accreditation services that will enhance the value of engaging in the process and support a seamless transition to new accreditation standards in fall 2009.
ASID National Interior Design Junior Certificate
The ASID Foundation is partnering with the Interior Design Educators Council (IDEC), the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (AAFCS), and twenty-seven states to develop a national interior design junior certificate for high school students. The certificate of achievement will be awarded to those students who complete interior design courses and pass a national exam prior to completing their secondary education. The purpose of this exam and certificate will be to educate our high school interior design students more accurately about the interior design profession.
Veterans Housing Initiative
The ASID Foundation has recently partnered with non-profit organization Rebuilding Together in an initiative focusing on rehabilitating the houses of low-income active and retired members of the military in need throughout the country.
Through this partnership, the ASID Foundation will help provide safe, sustainable and accessible housing for those who have given so much, yet cannot afford the cost of home maintenance and, in many cases, are physically unable to modify or maintain their homes. We encourage ASID members and chapter leaders to contact Rebuilding Together affiliates in their communities to volunteer for future veterans related home rehab projects. In the coming year there will be many opportunities to volunteer on home repair and modification projects for veterans. For additional information on the Veterans Housing Initiative click here.
REGREEN
The ASID Foundation and the U.S. Green Building Council have partnered on the REGREEN program. This collaborative undertaking involves the development of best practice guidelines and targeted educational resources for sustainable residential improvement projects for residential design professionals, suppliers, contractors and
existing homeowners.
REGREEN guidelines are available at www.regreenprogram.org
The Green House Exhibition
The ASID Foundation served as a major sponsor of the exhibition, The Green House, New Directions in Sustainable Architecture & Design at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. The exhibit, which explores the entire field of sustainable residential design, drew more than 133,000 visitors, the largest in the museum’s history. The installation traveled to the Morris Museum in Morristown, N.J., and the Aurora History Museum in Aurora, Colo. The exhibition will also be featured at the Yale School of Architecture in New Haven, Conn., beginning August 24, 2009.
ASID Foundation Announces Major Gift
Norman & Elaine Polsky Family Supporting Foundation Endorses Expanded Mission and Vision of ASID Foundation
The ASID Foundation, Inc., is pleased to announce a $300,000 grant from the Norman & Elaine Polsky Family Supporting Foundation over the next five years. Together with a match from the ASID Foundation, the gift will grow the contributions of the Polsky fund to more than $1 million by 2010. The gift was announced Friday, March 17, 2006 at "Jubilation: The ASID Foundation Fundraiser," held during INTERIORS 06: The ASID Conference on Design, in Nashville, Tenn.
"The generous gift from the Polsky Foundation, along with an earlier grant from the Angelo Donghia Foundation, will help the ASID Foundation become a self-supporting entity, separate from the American Society of Interior Designers by 2010" said Michael Alin, Hon. FASID, ASID executive director. "However, the ASID Foundation still needs a great deal of support from ASID members, manufacturers, service providers and other members of the design community to provide valuable research and education initiatives."
The grant monies will be provided to the ASID Foundation under the auspices of the Polsky Foundation and the funds will be used to promote using design applications to address society's most critical social and environmental needs-particularly in the area of sustainability. To help educate the public about sustainable considerations in the home, the ASID Foundation has signed on as a lead sponsor of "The Green House: New Directions in Sustainable Architecture and Design" exhibition at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. The exhibition will open on May 20, and will remain at the museum for a full year before traveling to select cities throughout the United States.