Wellness Startup to Take Over Campus’ Famed Lawn for a Series of Fun, Free Events Designed to Introduce Mindfulness Via Activities for the Whole Family

(Durham, NC) – April 10, 2019 – American Tobacco is partnering with American Underground-based wellness startup, Growga, to launch a series of free, family events on the campus’ famed and beloved amphitheater lawn this spring.

The series will launch as part of Growga’s mindfulness-focused campaign for all Triangle families to celebrate a ‘Mindful May.’ Growga’s teachers will lead families through fun activities designed to not only bring them closer together but also reinforce key mindfulness tactics that will help both kids and parents work through the stresses of an increasingly hectic daily life.

Parents who register will also receive exclusive daily content such as free meditations, kids mindfulness activities, and interviews with mindfulness experts. They will also receive an invitation to a closed Facebook group which will provide additional tools to help them along their month-long (and beyond) mindfulness journey.

Launching on April 13 as part of the Durham 150 Celebration, Growga will offer the following classes at American Tobacco Campus:

• April 13 – Durham 150 Celebration – In partnership with Aetna, Growga will showcase mindfulness techniques through engaging activities.
• May 4 – 5:30 pm – Star Wars Yoga and Jedi Mindfulness – Will coincide with Star Wars Day at the Bulls
• May 7 – 11 a.m. – Google I/O Extended Breakout Session @ American Underground – Mindfulness for Coders (Separate registration here)
• May 18 – 10:30 am – Growga Family Fun: Celebrating the International Day of Families through Partner Yoga, Community, and Mindfulness
• June 15 – 10:30 am – Growga Family Fun: Expeditions – Growga will take families on an imaginative journey around the world and practice fun movement and pretend play.

All classes will be free and donations accepted for Growga Gives, a philanthropic arm of the business designed to fund scholarships for children and schools unable to pay for Growga classes.

“As part of Mindful May at American Tobacco, we want to invite all families from the community to join us at a destination they know and love to take part in fun, technology-free, silly, and, ultimately, valuable activities that are going to help them reset some of the anxiety that is keeping them from truly thriving,” says Emily Behr, owner and founder, Growga. “Growga’s mission is to reverse the staggering statistics facing kids and adults today: one in five people will have an anxiety disorder by the time they are 18 and the median age for these diagnoses is now six-years-old.”

Launched in late 2017, Growga has grown from one class Emily taught at her neighborhood community center to more than 60 monthly classes taught by 13 teachers across Chatham, Durham, Wake and Alamance counties with more territories coming online soon.

“As American Tobacco focuses on the types of new businesses and entrepreneurs we wish to partner with on campus, we recognize that companies like Growga and startup leaders like Emily are the type that are going to truly differentiate us and continue to make us one of the most renowned destinations in the country,” says Michael Goodmon, senior vice president, Capitol Broadcasting Company. “And, personally, as the father of four young kids, I worry constantly about the unprecedented stresses our kids face today. Going outside to hit a ball or chase your friends around has been replaced with screentime and kids having their own online calendars. We need more Growgas to show not only our kids but all of us, that we need to change or else the problems we face personally and as a community are only going to get worse.”

Growga’s offerings include mindfulness classes for parents and kids from birth to high school, as well as corporate training to support mindfulness in the workplace.

Adds Emily, “At Growga, we want everyone, adults and kids alike, to realize that a more mindful existence is getting back to a less busy, less stressed way of living and enjoying life. It isn’t sitting in an expensive studio, practicing meditation for hours on end with high-priced gurus. Mindfulness is about turning off the distractions for a little bit of time on a consistent basis to realize your true intentions, desires, and goals. At Growga, we try to accomplish that by mixing in well-researched and established techniques into fun activities like play, music, art, movement, and drama.”

Growga teaches classes across Durham, Orange, Chatham, Alamance and Wake Counties at locations including: Community Power Yoga, Yoga Garden PBO, Downtown Yoga & Barre, Sprout Farm, and within organizations such as the YMCA of the Triangle (youth programs), Partnership for Youth Opportunity, and schools across the area.

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New program will use former Art Institute space in Tobacco campus

Durham Technical Community College has signed a lease for a commercial kitchen space at the American Tobacco Campus in downtown Durham to house the College’s new Culinary Arts degree program.
 
The program is scheduled to begin Fall 2019. The lease for the Tobacco campus space is projected to start in early June. The space was formerly occupied by the Art Institute of Raleigh-Durham.
 
“Durham is nationally recognized for its food and restaurants, and the demand for trained culinary professionals is strong. We are committed to meeting employer demands in a number of areas, and we understand the value of having a culinary program in Durham to prepare students for these excellent opportunities,” said Durham Tech President Bill Ingram.

 
Being able to house this program in the heart of downtown Durham, the hub of our outstanding food scene has the potential to lead to numerous partnerships and will place our students at the center of Durham’s vibrant culinary scene.”
 
There are more than 1,000 food and beverage operations in Durham and Orange counties, according to Discover Durham, Visit Chapel Hill, and Visit Hillsborough.
 
Students who successfully complete the new Durham Tech program will earn an Associate in Applied Science in Culinary Arts.
 
The program will offer a short-term stackable credential certificate in restaurant management. The Restaurant Management certificate may allow students to become nationally certified by the National Restaurant Association in the following topic areas: ServSafe Food Safety, Controlling Foodservice Costs, Purchasing, Hospitality Human Resources Management and Supervision, and Hospitality and Restaurant Management.
 
Classes in the Culinary Arts program will cover culinary skills, menu design, baking, catering cuisine, cost control, food safety, and more.
 
“We will educate and empower the students for excellence with the needed knowledge and principles of the culinary world but also to develop them to become managers,” said Altarius Moody, Director of Culinary and Hospitality Management. “Students will learn all aspects of the kitchen from execution to production, determining strengths while learning to mitigate weaknesses before hitting the job market.”
 
Durham Tech currently offers culinary Continuing Education classes.
 
“We’ve been working for months with Durham Tech to develop not only a use for this unique space but a program that will facilitate the creation of a whole new generation of world-class chefs based right here in Durham,” says Michael Goodmon, senior vice president of Capitol Broadcasting Company. “Durham Tech is one of the best and brightest community assets we have in the Bull City, and we’re thrilled to be welcoming their students and instructors to campus.”
 
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Stephanie Turner: Durham Tech Marketing and Media Relations Coordinator
919-536-7246, ext. 5202; turners@durhamtech.edu

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