Spy Hop receives funding from the CDC Foundation

Salt Lake City, Utah – In order to create youth-driven digital media content with the end goal of alleviating some of the skepticism Utahn’s feel around the COVID-19 and influenza vaccines, Spy Hop, a nonprofit digital media arts center for youths located in the heart of Salt Lake City, is being funded by the CDC Foundation

The project will use the power of the arts to engage audiences of all ages.

“We are honored to be selected as a recipient for this funding as the voices and perspectives of young people are critical to help promote vaccine confidence in our communities,” said Kasandra Verbrugghen, executive director of Spy Hop. “Our young people use their creativity and artistic voices to communicate information in unique, authentic, and powerful ways. It is inspiring that the CDC Foundation is recognizing the power of the arts as an important tool to protect our communities from COVID-19.”

In order to carry out its Vax2theMax 2.0 project, Spy Hop is currently working in collaboration with the Salt Lake County Health Department. The project is set to appoint 40 Spy Hop students enrolled in the Spring Apprenticeship Program to generate creative works that target their peers and encourage vaccine confidence.

“We are excited to bring the arts and science together in a really powerful way with these partnerships,” said Judy Monroe, MD, president, and CEO of the CDC Foundation. “Through their chosen art forms, these organizations will be able to create accessible and inspiring work that communicates essential health information about the safety and importance of vaccination in protecting communities from COVID-19 and influenza.”