By: Matthew Sjelin

Here are just a few of the many photos that Wes from the gO! team took throughout the 24-hours. There were many special moments captured and we are so excited to share them with you! 

Hello CreateAthon lovers! Wow-- that is the only word that comes to mind when thinking about the 24-hours in Temple. We all put so much time and energy into this 24-hour event and it was not in vein. The event ran so smoothly, which was a relief because everyone was under mounds of stress already. Everyone meshed well with one another, even with 90+ people in the building at one time, everyone seemed to get along and finish what we started. The project team leaders all brought an A game and did a phenomenal job with the work they produced for our nonprofits. Both project team leaders and gO! team members had very different tasks, but both being equally as important to the success of the 24-hour event.

During the event, the project team leaders met with their volunteers before the event commenced where breakfast was shared amongst everyone. After the initial kick off with everyone, the student teams went to their assigned rooms to start conceptualizing what they would do for their nonprofit. This took a few hours and mentors were there to help them in the beginning stages to get the creative juices flowing. Up until the 3 o’clock check-in, teams work on their strategy and what specifically they will do for their nonprofit, which could be changing their brochure, redesigning the logo, or a new social media strategy. After the 3 o’clock check-in, teams went back in their rooms and started  creating logos and bringing concepts to life. By midnight, there is another check-in that shows the teams deliverables in the early stages. After, it was full steam ahead! This is when teams actually begin creating and bringing their work that has been occurring all day to life. This is the hardest and most stressful time because everyone is exhausted and it’s the most crucial phase of the entire process.

Once the final touches are done, teams began to get ready for presentations with our nonprofits, which kicked off at 8:30 that morning. Throughout the night, we all kept saying, “how can we present when we are so exhausted?,” but we did it and our nonprofits were ecstatic with the final results! It was so hard to accomplish all this work in such a short amount of time, but we did it and felt amazing after it was all said and done.

While the student teams were busy working on with their nonprofits, the gO! team was running around facilitating the entire event from top to bottom. Everything from picking up food, coffee, setting up for meals, running the teams check-ins, to taking photos, calling news stations, and running social media. There was a lot on our plates, but everything ran like a well-oiled machine. It was a ton of work, but it was awesome being able to help our teams produce the best work the can!

It was truly inspiring to come into the 24-hour event, with nothing and watch the work come to life and see the passion that the teams had for their nonprofits. Even through all the hard work, everyone managed to laugh and have a fun time along the creative way. I think it is safe to say that even though we all were exhausted afterwards, but we felt accomplished because we all helped make a difference with our nonprofits, who are going to make an even bigger impact in our community. There are honestly no words describe the feeling that we all had after and we are forever grateful to have all been apart of such an amazing experience like CreateAthon.

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