Art Institutes Students Band Together to Create Web Sites Across North America Web

Reminiscent of an old-fashioned “barnraising,” students from Art Institutes schools across the country are reserving Saturday, April 19, for a special “Web Raising” of the online presence they have created for non-profit organizations in their communities.

Now in its ninth year, this annual event travels across time zones as students, under the direction of faculty members at Art Institutes schools located in major cities across the U.S., put the finishing touches on web sites for clients. Participating Art Institutes school locations include: The Art Institute of Atlanta, The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, The Art Institute of Las Vegas, The Art Institutes International Minnesota, The Art Institute of Portland, Miami International University of Art & Design and The New England Institute of Art.

“This event is the culmination of months of hard work by our talented students,” says Hal Griffith, Vice President of Academic Affairs for The Art Institutes. “Each year we adopt organizations who want and need web sites. Our students meet with the organizations and take them on as pro bono clients, creating the design and navigation for their web sites.” Then, on one day, “the participating Art Institutes schools invite the organizations in to share the excitement, as the work becomes a reality and the sites are ‘raised’ and made functional.”

“This is a wonderful way for The Art Institutes to give back to the community and at the same time create a real-world experience for our students,” says John Mazzoni, President, The Art Institutes. ”It’s a win-win.”

To learn more about The Art Institutes, visit http://www.artinstitutes.edu/pr.aspx?ID=wr001.

The Art Institutes (http://www.artinstitutes.edu) is a system of over 40 education institutions located throughout North America, that provide an important source of design, media arts, fashion and culinary arts professionals.