A youth development program located in New York City, Guardians of the City, encourages schoolchildren to become involved in their community by combining social issues with public art. The goal of the project is “to empower children to take ownership of their community and raise awareness for positive change.” (Check out our previous post about the program here.) [...]
Q&A with Liz Belfer and Lea Faminiano: Designing Superheroes for Cities
by Andy Prisbylla on May 7, 2012 in Design, Visual Arts
Capital Canvases for a Cause: Graphic Illustrator Supports YoungLives
by Claire Sevigny on April 30, 2012 in Design, Graphic Design
Capital Canvases for a Cause is a monthly event in Washington, D.C., organized by Long & Foster on Capitol Hill, that supports local artists and community-based organizations with wine, hors d’oeuvres and networking. Art sales are split evenly between the featured artists and the nonprofit. The latest Capital Canvases event featured the artist known as [...]
Eco Art + Design Depot: Celebrating “Creative Reuse” on Earth Day
by Claire Sevigny on April 25, 2012 in Design, Visual Arts
In celebration of Earth Day on Sunday, April 22, 2012, Benevolent Media and SCRAP DC presented an afternoon of eco-conscious art and design, featuring a pop-up marketplace of local vendors and interactive workshops led by teaching artists dedicated to inspiring “creative reuse” and environmentally sustainable behavior. This event was scheduled as part of The Water Street Project, a multidisciplinary [...]
Guardians of the City: Kid-Powered Street Art for Good
by Erica Schlaikjer on April 4, 2012 in Design, Visual Arts
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a Guardian of the City! A public art project in New York City calls on schoolchildren to design imaginary superheroes to “protect” their communities. The project was created as part of a thesis project by two MFA students, Liz Belfer and Lea Faminiano, at Parsons The New School for [...]
Jobs of the Week: Communicate for the Kids!
by Erica Schlaikjer on March 13, 2012 in Design, Storytelling
The U.S. Fund for UNICEF, which works for the survival of children around the world through fundraising, education and advocacy, is hiring several communications and marketing roles: Senior Officer, Social Media, to serve as the community manager for UNICEF USA social media properties; Deputy to the Senior VP of Marketing & Communications, to develop, implement and lead brand-building strategies [...]
The Benevolent Guide to South by Southwest (#SXSW)
by Erica Schlaikjer on March 12, 2012 in Design, Social Media, Storytelling
The annual South by Southwest (“SXSW”) festival kicked off in Austin, Tex. on Friday, March 9. We perused the online schedule to look for sessions that have to do with storytelling or design for social and environmental good. If you’re in town and interested in blogging about one of the events, contact Editor-in-Chief Erica Schlaikjer: erica [...]
International Women’s Day: Making Herstory!
by Erica Schlaikjer on March 9, 2012 in Design, Storytelling
In honor of International Women’s Day, we bring you a round-up of conversations, projects, profiles and news of women and girls who are shaking up the world of benevolent media. Good timing: Apply by midnight tonight for the chance to win $20,000 to fund your news startup, thanks to the Women Entrepreneurs in the [...]
Capital Canvases for a Cause: “Dream Windows” for Loving Me Girls’ Conference
by Claire Sevigny on February 28, 2012 in Design, Storytelling, Visual Arts
Capital Canvases for a Cause is a monthly event in Washington, D.C., organized by Long & Foster on Capitol Hill, that supports local artists and community-based organizations with wine, hors d’oeuvres and networking. Art sales are split evenly between the featured artists and the nonprofit. The monthly “Capital Canvases” event, held on Friday, February [...]
Q&A with Phil Hutinet: Illuminating Historic Anacostia
by Erica Schlaikjer on February 14, 2012 in Design, Visual Arts
Arch Development Corporation, a not-for-profit community-based organization, put out a call for entries to implement “temporiums” and performances, as well as short videos, to revitalize storefronts and empty lots in Anacostia, a historic neighborhood in the southeast quadrant of Washington, D.C. The 3- to 6-month projects will be launched at the one-day LUMEN8Anacostia festival on April [...]
Games for Girls: Social or Sexist?
by Hemi Kim on February 2, 2012 in Design, Game Design, Storytelling
Of all demographics, women over age 30 consistently show more interest in mobile gaming than any others. Of course, there are some companies that specifically target younger users. Crowdstar, the fourth largest social gaming company in the world, focuses on the “younger female demographic,” according to its CEO Peter Relan. One of its latest [...]
Q&A with Patrick Timony: From Library Stacks to Coding Hacks
by Hemi Kim on February 1, 2012 in Design, Storytelling, Technology
Gone are the days when librarians merely helped customers find books among the stacks. Nowadays, some of these information professionals specialize in helping to build tools that meet the needs of their community, including the “print-disabled,” or people who are unable to read print material, whether due to blindness, dyslexia or another disability. Patrick Timony [...]
Artist Duo Champions Message of Change at “Capital Canvases”
by Claire Sevigny on January 24, 2012 in Design, Visual Arts
Capital Canvases for a Cause is a monthly event in Washington, D.C., organized by Long & Foster on Capitol Hill, that supports local artists and community-based organizations with wine, hors d’oeuvres and networking. Art sales are split evenly between the featured artists and the nonprofit. Last Friday, the art-focused happy hour continued bringing notoriety to [...]
Jobs of the Week: Design for Social Impact in India
by Erica Schlaikjer on January 12, 2012 in Design, Storytelling
In July 2012, Design Impact will place its second cohort of “Fellows” at select Indian organizations to work on a design project that improves access to basic needs for resource-poor communities. Projects include designing nutrition-rich meals in Pune slums, teaching paper crafts and life skills to street children, and improving indoor air-quality for users of cooking [...]
Jobs of the Week: Words are the Currency of Thought
by Erica Schlaikjer on January 3, 2012 in Design, Storytelling
You know what they say: Put your money where your mouth is. Or, in this case, help generate money from where other people’s mouths are, as the Business Development Associate for StoryCorps, the independent nonprofit that gives Americans the chance to record, share and preserve their everyday stories. You’ll be responsible for the organization’s earned income [...]
GOOD by Design Showcases Spirit of Generosity
by Erica Schlaikjer on December 14, 2011 in Design, Graphic Design, Web Design
Highlights from the 2011 Benevolent Media Festival: On Sunday, November 6, The BOSS Group, in partnership with The Art Institute of Washington, hosted a charity design day to benefit D.C.-area nonprofits in need of marketing, design and communications support. Even before the holiday spirit set in, The BOSS Group was giving the gift of [...]







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