It’s not often that you get an immediate response to a call for help.
OK, it’s very rare.
But, we’re happy to report that the recent story on our aim to expose the talented teens in the Hubbard Street Band to the college experience got a rapid response.
When the Hubbard High School Band went to play at the Indy 500 race last year and then spent a day working and practising on college campus with the Butler University band, they never thought they’d get hooked on college. It was such an eye-opener that many of them have now set their sights on college after High School.
We thought it would be great if we could get our own Illinois universities on board to try and make this annual college trip a regular event.
To do that, we need to get them to work with us in order to give these talented teens a chance to see college at work.
Who would have thought one night in a college dorm could inspire a large group of teenage band members to consider upping their game and trying for college themselves? We didn’t.
Neither us here at Catalyst Exhibits nor the 52 members of the Hubbard High School Band saw it coming but we are delighted that it did.
The band is one of our favourite projects and we’ve been helping keep them in instruments over the past couple of years? Did you know a new tuba could burn a $5,000 hole in your pocket? Anyway, on their last field trip, which involved a performance that had them marching 4 miles around the Indy 500 track in the baking sun, the members also got spend a day working and practising on campus with the Butler University band. That night they crashed at the dorms.
When it comes to getting around large parts of Cameroon there’s no point waiting for taxis or buses because they don’t really exist. Which is why Area 3 was surprised to discover that the motorbike it provided to get teachers across rough terrain to help teach kids in remote villages was also proving a big hit with the locals.
As a taxi. Read the rest of this entry »
Most of us take being able to read for granted but for many young teenagers, reading is a challenge and some have been left far behind by their school friends.
Teacher, Debbie Vaille in Boulder, Colorado, has been helping them catch up with a unique reading programme, made possible by Catalyst Exhibits’ Area 3 charity work.
If faking how to read was a subject in school, then these kids were scoring straight ’A’s all of the time. Her special class of 12-14-year olds had been faking they could for years but were too embarrassed to be seen reading kids’ books. Read the rest of this entry »
Poverty-stricken Cameroon is a tough place for kids but now, for some at least, education can be literally heard revving its way to their village on a regular basis. Catalyst Exhibits Area 3 charity work took a direct approach to the thorny problem of how to educate a large number of children spread across an inhospitable landscape. The solution: a Galaxy YH 150-5 motorbike.
Biking teachers is not the most common image you’d conjure but, if the children couldn’t make it to the teacher, why not bring the teacher to the children?
The Catalyst designers are embarking on a couple of design projects, and they are pumped! They are getting back to their roots after working on a lot of funding projects, thanks to two nonprofit design missions that recently came through our door.
The first is working with students in Houston Independent School District to develop a project theme that will encourage kids to eat better and be more active. During the next few months, they will be raising awareness through a poster campaign, promoted both in and out of school. Community partners like the YMCA and local businesses will help the effort, and the designers hope to get them to display the posters as well. The theme for the social marketing effort, which the kids helped develop, is “Change the Game!” Currently, the designers are working on action messages with the kids.
The other project is with the American Dietetic Association Foundation. Catalyst designers are in the midst of a campaign to draw attention to the need for nutrition in obesity prevention. They aim to focus on what nutrients kids need, not just the foods and drinks they should avoid. It will also raise awareness of the importance of registered dietitians, as there are more and more non-credentialed individuals providing nutrition recommendations (that in turn change food policies) in locations where kids are… including schools and community centers. These individuals dispense advice without total understanding of the nutrients needed relative to cognition, growth and development — doing more harm than good in the long run.
So that’s what we are working on, and we have a lot coming up in the not so distant future. It’s all about using our talents to help others. As shown by these current projects, design can be used to make a difference in what seem to be a small way… when in all actuality, we are creating the building blocks necessary for healthy future generations!
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Pictured is the local winner of the art contest held by Chatchada Kruakaew’s traveling art program in Thailand’s ar act a songkhla province. Read post here.
His rendering of a planet in strife displays the effects of pollution and waste contrasted with what our planet could look like if positive changes are made.
Pretty insightful for a young child, huh?
One of our favorite do-good companies to date is TOMS Shoes (Shoes for Tomorrow). Started by entrepreneur/traveler Blake Mycoskie in 2006, the company’s goal is simple yet extraordinary: for every pair of shoes bought, a pair of shoes is given to a child in need.
Mycoskie started the brand after noticing Argentinean children without shoes on their feet, oftentimes leading to health problems like podoconiosis, a debilitating disease that plagues those who walk barefoot in silica-rich soil. He noted the popularity of the rope-soled style of footwear and decided design his own, making the “one for one” philosophy a cornerstone of his business. Mycoskie’s canvas shoes, sold for about $50, are now carried in stores across the nation and have been featured in articles in Vogue, Vanity Fair, People and ESPN – just to name a few.
According to tomsshoes.com, TOMS has given away over 150,000 pairs – and plans to give over 300,000 pairs by the end of this year. For children who use walking as their main mode of transportation, the donation of shoes is one step in getting them going in the right direction.
And that plan also helped point us in the right direction by inspiring us to do our part in helping others. Catalyst Exhibits recently donated to Chatchada Kruakaew’s traveling art program in Thailand’s ar act a songkhla province, making it possible for her students to express themselves through painting.
Below are pictures of her students displaying their artwork. We hope you enjoy their creations as much as we do!
There is a great place in Thailand where the weary can rest. This is not a place for just any vacationer; it’s not a five star resort. Instead, this sanctuary of sorts is a special place for wayward aid workers, hard at work rebuilding the chaos that the 2004 Asian Tsunami and other disasters around the world created.
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake created disaster of epic proportions – and Thailand was one of the hardest hit countries. Immediately people from all over the world stepped up to help their fellow man. Innumerable amounts of volunteers did their part in the effort to rebuild homes, buildings, roads and lives. Yet for some, this was not simply a weekend project. Many of the volunteers who dedicated their time and talent still live and work in Asia, and that’s where the idea for this rest home began – this nonprofit workforce from all over the world needed a place to rest while in between its tours of duty; rest in a place that serves as a beachfront vacation home for those who most deserve a vacation.
Adding to the giving spirit that already surrounded these endeavors, a local named Lon offered the volunteers her home. This, coming from a woman who lost her husband and several other family members in the tsunami. The workers, who operate under Reach Global and are led by Dean Overholt, knew they could not accept it without giving something in return, so Dean offered a 15-year contract – and promised to triple the size of the house before giving it back.
Unfortunately this project hit a major speed bump when, as so often happens, funds were depleted. Construction was stalled, and the goal of completing the rest home by Christmas seemed impossible. But impossible it was not – Catalyst Exhibits decided to fund the final phase by paying for the final three months of construction.
Today, this house is sanctuary to the non-profit individuals working for the poor in Asia. But the monthly operating costs will still ensue… and that’s where Catalyst Exhibits stepped in again. Catalyst will also fund the ongoing day-to-day fees as our way of saying thank you to these dedicated, selfless men and women. And we look forward to welcoming our first two families, from Malaysia and Indonesia, December 29. We hope they find the type of rest they so need and merit.
Check out our pictures. These are people like you, working to make a difference in the lives of the less fortunate. So yes, we think they are pretty damn inspirational. And if you want to help but are unable to donate the time, Dean and his team could use sports equipment and vehicles such as motorcycles, mountain bikes and sea kayak, which would be used heavily year-round.
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