#createathon oncampus

I sat in on the presentation for nonprofit learning point, a nonprofit that provides nonprofit and leadership development for the community.

The group, led by Elliot Roth, went above and beyond, emphasizing their goal to create a message that could really get out there and make local nonprofits aware of this resource that is so conveniently available to them. They identified a target audience and solutions which in part included a folder with inserts for promotional materials and a brochure. I'll be able to share some examples here soon, but I can tell you now; it looked very clean, professional and clear. It was awesome.

The team identified the resources nonprofit learning solutions provides very clearly, and offered detailed advice for the nonprofit as they move forward and grow. They provided some deliverables above and beyond all of that, and identified word of mouth as one effective solution for awareness of this resource.

And in that moment of truth, after the insanity of these past 24 hours, the client responded with.. *drumroll please*..

"You guys are incredible. Just incredible." And she expressed gratitude for all of the work.

It was honestly moving to just be in the room for that. I'm pretty sure there were tears.

What followed were plenty of hugs, smiles, selfies and senses of relief and well deserved pride.

And as an added note, though the true award of CreateAthon is the satisfaction and joy that comes from turning in your work to a happy client, selfie game award of the year goes to Tommy McPhail. Seriously. His selfie game was consistently on point, and the client loved how the group incorporated the selfies into their presentation to give it a personal touch. #wellearned #impressed

Congratulations on a job well done!

CreateAthon Cribs

I’ve said for a while that CreateAthon is one of those one of a kind experiences that’s hard to describe, and hard to understand if you’re unfamiliar with the experience. But if you really want to know what it’s like, read on.

Jack Meisinger, a VCU almun who volunteered in 2010, shared his CreateAthon volunteer story with me.

He hadn’t expected to get involved in CreateAthon, or anything like it.

“My friend was a team leader that year, and dragged me in last minute,” he said. “I’d heard it talked about, but I was sorta anti extra programs. I felt that they limited me. I never did them in high school. I was never very participatory.”

But CreateAthon changed his mind.

“I’m glad I did it. It was awesome,” Jack said. “I remember lots of caffeine, and that the brain storming was in a much shorter time span than I’ve previously experienced. You move through a lot topics really quickly.”

“The team was diverse; Art majors, Mass Comm majors, people in between,” he continued. “You make friends really fast because you’re brainstorming a ton with all these people from different backgrounds. We went out to eat, and there was a cool team atmosphere. You were making friends at the same time, and enjoying hanging out.”

Though he had a fun time, as the time went on, it seemed like they would never find something they could present to their client and be proud of.

“We really didn’t have anything at 11 at night. It was crunch time, and we had no idea where we were going.”

Everyone who has done CreateAthon, however, says it all works out in the end, including the people who have been to every CreateAthon event here and have seen it all. So sure enough, Jack’s story remained hopeful.

“We came up with something we loved. We had a nonprofit that helped with the Special Olympics so we made a cape so the kids who competed would have a shirt with a cape printed on the back to empower them.”

After that, everything was perfect.

Just kidding. This is CreateAthon we’re talking about, after all. Teams are given 24 hours, and it doesn’t come without obstacles.

“Someone tripped over a wire and knocked out all of our computers,” he said, and laughed. “We lost all our data and had to redo everything. But when the client got there in the morning, it was ready to go. We had it.”

“They were very pleased,” he said, smiling at this point. “It was awesome. They were very appreciative. We had to crank out that much work for free for someone who appreciated something we loved as well.”

After Jack graduated, he continued the legacy.

“I worked in graphic design for a year,” he said. “I worked for nonprofits.”

Frenzy. Creative. Growing. Momentous. Extraordinary. These are the five words CreateAthon onCampus team leader alum Alana Robinson uses to describe her CreateAthon experience.

Team leaders enroll in a class each spring semester dedicated entirely to preparing for CreateAthon. Their team is assigned a client, who they work with directly in the months leading up to the event. Alana worked with Unique Perception Services last year. And in just 24 hours, her team created a brand identity, including a logo, business card, letterhead, shirt design and website. On top of that, they provided the client with a strategy guide and social media plan.

“It was very challenging in the best way,” she said. “Being creative on cue, and powering through ideas in a short but long period of time was something.”

So what made it all worth it?

“I loved being surrounded by creative folks all excited about the same cause I was,” she said. “Even though we were all in smaller teams, having a big team to chat with, bounce ideas off of, or even just de-stress with was one of the most entertaining pieces of the event.”

The collaboration with other creative and talented students in high doses was special to her, and is a very special part of CreateAthon. But the most rewarding part of her experience was the big reveal when, after 24 hours of hard work, she was able to present the results to the client.

“When we showed our client everything, she broke out into tears. That is one of the most rewarding experiences of my college career,” Alana said. “Seeing everything we had worked for and created visually come to life was an amazing accomplishment, and knowing we got it right was the icing on the cake.”

When it was all said and done, she was free from the frenzy of blood, sweat, tears and caffeine. But when asked if she would do it all again? 

“OHHHH YEAH.”

It was a sunny Saturday afternoon in October at Tricycle Gardens, a nonprofit that grows food locally and makes it available to the community. They were moving their entire site to a new location, which required hard working volunteers to shovel dirt, lift buckets and sand bags and carefully handle plants in the transition to their new home. 

I volunteered that day, and found myself surrounded by enthusiastic volunteers from the Tumblr office wearing “Corporate Hands On Day” shirts.

“We were looking to volunteer as a group,” said Lianna Woods from Tumblr, smiling with a shovel in hand. 

The project coordinator, Jamie Segreves, matched people with the right project for their organization. 

It was inspiring to see a corporate office taking time off from work to come together to do something hands on for the community.

“It was hard to stop routine, as Tumblr is always busy and a smooth running machine. But taking a few hours away to work differently was nice. When you go back to your normal job, it’s new again,” said Lianna. 

This outlook is reminiscent of CreateAthon’s belief that if there’s a will, there’s a way for an office or group of students to do something productive for the community with their skills. It’s thrilling, and revitalizes the office spirit as well as the community.

“Somewhat selfishly, I like getting to hang out to do something productive,” Lianna said. “Everyone was in a good mood. It was a great bonding experience for us. We were helping people and improving the city.”

On volunteering with a group of people rather than alone, she said, “You feel like a big impact is going to happen, and it’s very visible. It was really hands on, and there was a sense of community in that.”

She said it was nice seeing more of the city. She drove by Tricycle Gardens all the time previous to volunteering with them. “We create community on Tumblr. That’s what’s most important,” she said. “Users creatively share and find people who support them and are similar.

“The more you learn about the city, the more you want to help,” she added. “There are small nonprofits you’d never hear about, without big advertising budgets.”

What Tumblr found the time in their schedules to do was inspiring to those of us at CreateAthon. CreateAthon recognizes nonprofits and assists them where their advertising budgets restrain them from getting out here and making a name for themselves. It was awesome to see small nonprofits recognized by bigger corporations. As we help these nonprofits grab attention in the community, more organizations such as Tumblr and people looking to help will know where to go, and the more help these nonprofits will get.

“Scheduling is the hardest part, but I want to do more in the future,” said Lianna. “It’s nice to get out into the community and to be a part of the city you live in.”

At just 19 years old, Mike Rodriguez jumped into CreateAthon at VCU headfirst as a team leader. 

"I chose to come to VCU because the work was so hands on in the School of Mass Comm," he said. "CreateAthon seemed very hands on."

“It was one of the hardest project based things I’ve done,” said Mike, who is involved in his fair share of projects. He struggled to find words to describe the experience, but when asked if he would do it again?

“Yes!” he blurted out. “Absolutely, I’m doing it again!” 

Brutal work that students can’t wait to do again is essentially the CreateAthon experience.

What made it so worth it? 

"It was chaos. A battlefield. Everyone's room was a mess by the end of the event," he said. "Everyone's in the same situation. It might not all be for the same client, but everyone's staying up 24 hours. We connect through that. In the morning, we'd all been through so much in such a short period of time."

He laughs whenever he remembers his experience. He described the whole energy of the night as full on creative chaos filled with Harlem shake videos, costumes, lots of free food and energy drinks from sponsors, improv acting, yoga classes and entertainment. The much needed breaks were all just a part of the creative process.

It didn't stop at hard work and fun. CreateAthon helped spark Mike's future.

“It definitely helped me grow within my (competitive) major," he said. "Before, I was worried I couldn’t produce the same level of work as other people, and CreateAthon made advertising seem more realistic to me. I did the work for a real client."

After this hands on experience, Mike said he knows now that he can handle anything. He's stayed true to that since CreateAthon, working at Ink Magazine and The Commonwealth Times, VCU's independent newspaper, founding the 817 Agency and making plans to do CreateAthon again in March 2014.