Sure, we all know how lucky we are to work in the creative industry. We get to spend our days making things, shaping conversations, and influencing culture. We get to have those days where its hard to believe we get PAID to do all this cool stuff. Wouldn’t it be great, to every once in a while do all that cool stuff in service of a good cause impacting people’s lives instead of a company’s bottom line?
Burk Jackson, a Portland based photographer sure thinks so. He founded Creative Cares to match creative professionals with organizations in need—locally, regionally and globally:
Every night, 1,500 Portland families with children go to sleep homeless. What these people need is a graphic designer. Yes, a graphic designer, or a photographer, or even a videographer, anyone to help them tell their story effectively. And while we’re at it, they could probably use a web designer, a copywriter, a strategist, and maybe even a PR guru.
So we realize a videographer won’t exactly help put food on the table, and a web designer won’t build a roof over their heads—at least directly. But people, this is the advertising age, and the amazing souls who run the soup kitchens, staff the homeless shelters and work on the home-builds simply don’t have the time, knowledge or skills to keep up with it all. They’re a little too busy helping those in need.
But you know about all of that Photoshoppy, Facebook-y, Drupal-licious, Final Cut-erific, Twitter-tastic stuff, don’t you? You think you could help these nice folks out? They don’t need much to make a major impact: a few photos of a project, a simple blog, or a basic social media campaign. So we were thinking, since you are awesome at all this creative stuff, that it wouldn’t be that hard for you to knock a project or two out in the name of the Greater Good.
Actually, the hardest thing about any of this would be making the time to do it. But certainly you have a few hours to spare for your 1,500 fellow Portlanders who don’t have a bed to sleep on tonight. Right?
If homelessness isn’t your cup of tea, we have a whole bunch of amazing causes that need your help every day. Organizations like the Children’s Book Bank, Donate Life Northwest, Habitat for Humanity, Friends of the Gorge – all looking for wonderful creative folks just like you.
If you do, get in touch with us at CreativeCares. We’ll connect you with do-gooders like yourself who need your skills. The combination of their philanthropic vision and your creative passion is going to be awesome. We can’t wait to see the all the good you’ll do.
Connect with Creative Cares on their site, Facebook, and Twitter
When it comes to what we want in our jobs, there are a few things we can all agree on. We want to like the people we work with, we want to feel good about the work being done, and most importantly, we want a good work/life balance. In Portland we are lucky that those ideals are commonly held and a big part of why people are here.
