PRESS RELEASE


June 2009

The White House and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) have requested AIGA members’ help in promoting public service opportunities in their communities during the ‘United We Serve’ initiative, a summer of community involvement culminating in a National Day of Service and Remembrance on September 11, 2009.

On behalf of the Obama administration, the NEA has asked members of AIGA, the professional association for design, to visually promote local opportunities for community service and then create a visual record of the results.

“Designers should be involved as citizens and as designers. Each designer has the ability to move others by making stories visible and capturing the community experience,” said AIGA Executive director Richard Grefé.

AIGA members could get involved through one of the following:

Find community service projects in their area on Serve.gov, then work with the project organizers to visually promote the event, program or call for service. This could take the form of a poster, brochure, website or any other type of visual communication encouraging others to get involved.

Record and share the results by uploading photos to Flickr using the tag designserves. Share photos of their work being used to promote a local opportunity (e.g. poster on a bulletin board or a brochure on a registration table) or photos of people in action completing service projects (e.g., volunteers building a playground or planting a garden).

Send a PDF of their design to AIGA for inclusion in a slideshow this fall on www.aiga.org. Include 1) credits for those involved with the design, 2) the name of the organization or group performing the service, if applicable, and 3) the title of the community service project.

‘United We Serve’ is a nationwide service initiative that will help meet growing social needs resulting from the economic downturn. With the knowledge that ordinary people can achieve extraordinary things when given the proper tools, President Obama is asking Americans to come together to help lay a new foundation for growth. This initiative aims to both expand the impact of existing organizations by engaging new volunteers in their work and encourage volunteers to develop their own do-it-yourself projects.

‘United We Serve’ is an initial 81 days of service, but will grow into a sustained, collaborative and focused effort to promote service as a way of life for all Americans.


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