Marc Ecko, Sweat Equity Enterprises
Sweat Equity Enterprises (SEE) builds professional collaborations that help youths discover their creative voice and career potential.
In 2004, SEE was born from the belief that creative, pre-professional learning opportunities can be an incredible source of power for under-served youth.
SEE believes that youth and industry can partner more effectively to stimulate education reform. Every CEO, marketing executive, and ‘cool hunter’ knows that urban youth possess the creative sophistication and market insight that forecast future market trends. Business leaders claim that creativity is their most valuable asset in industry today and economists show that the creative sector is growing faster than Wall Street. Furthermore, youths are fascinated with products, fashion and media. So why not use those objects as entry points for professional learning? Why do these young people, who have the most desired commodity, remain outside of our educational system and at the bottom of our economy?
SEE is a project-based youth development learning program that takes place in a professional environment. Participants gain intensive design, technology and entrepreneurship training as they develop original graphic, product, or apparel designs from concept to prototype in partnership with a company. Past projects include bags and outerwear for Marc Ecko Enterprises, graphic design for New York Cares and Abada Capoeira, shoes for Skechers, watches for Callanen/Timex, package design for Dr. Miracles Hair Care Products, skateboards for Zoo York, cars for Nissan, and electronics for RadioShack.
Tools: An interactive ‘workbook’ is created for each project that begins with the overall history and anatomy of that particular product, and ends with an ‘in-flight checklist’ of what the student must include in their professional ‘tech pack’ that can be emailed to a manufacturing facility to produce the prototype. Before launching a project, each group of students participates in a six-week intensive boot camp where they learn basic art and design skills (drawing, perspective, color theory, 2-D design) as well as Adobe Photoshop & Illustrator. The program is led by educators, college students and professional design volunteers.
What makes SEE different?
As demonstrated above, SEE is different because it’s multidimensional – no one else connects youth and industry in this variety of ways. SEE is not just an internship, it allows students to apply their creativity to real, large-scale marketing and manufacturing processes and interact with the wide variety of professionals who are involved.
For youth:
SEE is much more than a creative outlet or business training for youth. SEE’s combination of design and entrepreneurship learning, grounded in educational research and proven by evaluators, invests in the creative potential of young people, helping them to discover their own possibilities as income-generators and world-class thinkers. The final outcome is either conceptual or a one-of-a-kind hand-made piece created by youths using real industry tools and processes.
In SEE, youth work closely with a number of diverse professionals in a variety of roles, which helps them to identify their own interests and provides mentors, as they learn how all these roles fit together to drive industry.
Working as creative professionals, SEE youth know that their work adds value to corporate partners. The companies are not just doing them a favor by allowing them to be an intern – instead they know that adults take them seriously, and they feel proud and respected for their accomplishments.
For companies:
SEE gives companies more than just a cause-marketing opportunity, providing market research, fresh creative ideas and trend forecasting as well.
By partnering with SEE, companies can have a deep, personal impact on young people by doing what they normally do everyday, and it's not a burden.
Marc Ecko, Sweat Equity Enterprises
