Feed on
Posts
Comments

Part Two: Shopping with a conscience: non-profits empower African workers

May 17th, 2011 by Emily Rodriguez

A hat available through Krochet Kids.

Note: This is the second in a series dedicated to non-profit organizations that empower workers in rural and third-world countries through work sponsorship and selling goods.

In the next few weeks I will be highlighting companies and organizations founded by young Americans who witnessed first hand the devastating impact of the ongoing, catastrophic wars traveling throughout East Africa. Each company has found unique ways to empower the powerless by providing them with self-sustaining skills rather than handouts.

Krochet Kids International

Krochet Kids is a Northern Uganda-based organization that produces knit caps, scarves, and cases handmade by local women. By providing fair and consistent income to alleviate poverty immediately and capacity-building training to address future needs, the program is currently working to lift 87 women and their families out of poverty. Krochet Kids provides the highest quality of training and mentorship through personal budgeting, savings, loaning and business management topics. Their goal is to equip the women of Northern Uganda with the financial assets and knowledge to enter into the local economy and thereby end their dependence on humanitarian aid. Krochet Kids products range from $21-31 each and are available for purchase at Nordstrom department stores, Active Ride Shop and online. Each product contains a tag with the written name of its creator, whom you can check in with online and send a thank you card.

Share on Facebook

Tags:

Posted in Non Profit | No Comments »

Davis & Associates Staff Support ‘Plan Bay Area’ – Highlights from the San Mateo Public Workshop

May 10th, 2011 by Jessica L. Moskowitz

By the year 2040, the population of the Bay Area (all nine counties and 101 towns and cities) is expected to grow to more than 9 million. As such, ensuring sustainable growth among our communities has become a priority. In fact, Senate Bill 375 (Steinberg 2008) requires California’s 18 metropolitan regions to incorporate a Sustainable Communities Strategy into their federally mandated regional transportation plans. It is also generally recognized that this must happen collaboratively.

Recently, the Davis & Associates Communications team was selected to assist with public outreach around an integrated land-use/transportation plan for the region being spearheaded by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG). This effort, called ‘Plan Bay Area,’ is being promoted as one of our region’s most comprehensive planning efforts to date. With the help of the Bay Area’s other two regional government agencies, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) and the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), Plan Bay Area will be adopted in 2013 and eventually determine the future blueprint of the region. The initiative falls under the umbrella of ‘One Bay Area’ – a consortium of these four agencies that seeks to promote collaborative, sustainable planning.

With all major infrastructure and planning efforts, public input is vital to success. This spring, as part of Plan Bay Area, a number of public workshops are being held across the region to allow community members an opportunity to way in on complex planning strategies that ultimately will enhance our region’s economy, environment and social equity by shaping communities to have easy access to transit, jobs, schools, shopping, parks and services.

On Wednesday, April 17, 2011, more than 100 local residents of San Mateo County came out to a Plan Bay Area workshop at the San Mateo public library. Cosponsored by Envision Bay Area (an informational campaign explaining the impact of land-use decisions on every day life), the workshop both educated the public about Plan Bay Area and helped residents grapple with tradeoffs. Community members used wireless voting keypads to share real-time opinions about the future of their communities. Guided by MetroQuest, a computer software that simulates urban planning scenarios (inspired by SimCity but using real data and models), participants had an opportunity to consider various scenarios and complex planning concepts. In small groups, community members later participated in a number of activities meant to assess their priorities and concerns with respect to quality of life.

To learn more about Plan Bay Area and register for an upcoming workshop, visit http://www.onebayarea.org/spotlight.htm.

You can also connect with One Bay Area on Facebook and Twitter at www.facebook.com/OneBayArea or www.twitter.com/OneBayArea.

Share on Facebook

Tags: , , , , , ,

Posted in Environment, Government Outreach, Infrastructure, Outreach, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Part One: Shopping with a conscience: non-profits empower African workers

May 2nd, 2011 by Emily Rodriguez

Jewelry available through 31 Bits.

 

Note: This is the first in a series dedicated to non-profit organizations that empower workers in rural and third-world countries through work sponsorship and selling goods.

We have all heard the proverb, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” Many organizations are doing just that for impoverished, exploited and displaced women in Africa; they are not just giving them humanitarian aid, they are giving them a new life.

In the next few weeks I will be highlighting companies and organizations founded by young Americans who witnessed first hand the devastating impact of the ongoing, catastrophic wars traveling throughout East Africa. Each company has found unique ways to empower the powerless by providing them with self-sustaining skills rather than handouts.

31 Bits

31 Bits uses fashion and design to empower the women of Gulu, Uganda to rise above poverty. The organization currently works with 63 women who create handmade jewelry using 100 percent recycled paper and other local materials; 31 Bits purchases jewelry from each woman on a monthly basis and sells the designs in the international market. All profits are used to continue purchasing jewelry, as well as provide the women with numerous development programs including: English lessons, finance training, AIDS and health education, community groups and vocational training. As they gain these skills, the women are better equipped to develop a career and attain social equity on a local level. 31 Bits products are priced from $10-54 and are sold nationwide and online. 31 Bits also teamed up with Reef to create a line of sandals incorporating the paper jewelry. “Ugandals” are available in stores and online.

 

Share on Facebook

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Social media spirit: how social media gave new life to the USF Spirit Squad

Apr 15th, 2011 by Emily Rodriguez

In May 2009, I became the head coach of the University of San Francisco’s Spirit Squad, the University’s official combined cheer and dance team. For a coach, May through September is a very crucial time for recruitment and advertising for our fall auditions. It was during that time that I created a Facebook Fan page for the team to post information regarding upcoming meetings, audition requirements and updates.

I hoped that girls would find us by searching on Facebook, which they did; however only 17 girls came to audition – a very small number in contrast to the prior year’s 43. On the audition applications I asked how the applicant had heard about the team; when 97 percent cited that they found us on Facebook, this really opened my eyes for the first time to how powerful social media could be.

During the 2009-2010 season, I created a team YouTube account with 10 videos of past routines and paid much more attention to updating our Facebook page and interacting with Facebook members. As a result, 34 girls attended our Fall 2010 auditions, doubling the size of the applicants from the year prior. Girls who auditioned cited that they learned of the squad from our Facebook and YouTube accounts in overwhelming numbers once again.

It was after the success of the Fall 2010 media campaign that I began to wonder just how much interest I could generate with several social media sites. Today I operate the team’s Facebook page (which boasts over 1,061 “likes” and over 84,000 page hits), YouTube account (with 6,736 unique views), website (2,047 views in the past two months) and, most recently, our Twitter account.

Now when someone conducts a search for the team, they can choose from their preferred social media outlet to find out more about the squad. The individual sites convey the same general message through different means, while offering visitors a chance to quickly access the complimenting social media sites.

On our website, fans can find in-depth information regarding the team, auditions and contact information. Today, visitors can learn more about the team’s style by choosing from over 90 videos on our YouTube account, while sites like Facebook and Twitter can keep our fans informed of the latest Spirit Squad news and upcoming events.

Thanks at least in part to these outlets, the girls have become public figures within the university and the local community, and have even been recognized at the national level. Using these different social media outlets, I have successfully created a brand that the public can associate with the team and that ignites curiosity about the team and promotes participation.

This has undoubtedly been the squad’s most successful year to date and I am looking forward to an even more spectacular year in our 2011-2012 season. So thank you, social media – we could not have done it without you!

Share on Facebook

Tags: , , , , , ,

Posted in Social Media | No Comments »

SAFE completes 10-week community-building module in Bayview

Apr 12th, 2011 by Millie Tolleson

Though the city of San Francisco sits on a peninsula just seven miles across, it’s easy to stay in our own neighborhoods and never experience what other communities have to offer. However, each Thursday for the past 10 weeks, I traveled to a part of the city that was brand new to me and that most San Franciscans don’t make a point to journey to – the Alice Griffith Public Housing Development in Bayview.

Sitting almost literally in the shadow of Candlestick Park, Alice Griffith is a subsidized housing development where public safety is a major concern. Despite being plagued by regular break-ins and robberies, murders and drug-related incidents – not to mention a dismal lack of attention from the San Francisco Housing Authority to the physical needs of the homes – I met an inspiring group of residents who want and work for meaningful change in their community.

Module participants celebrate their achievements!

Through a partnership with our client, San Francisco SAFE (Safety Awareness for Everyone), our team implemented a public safety and community-building module created originally for use in public housing developments. Over the 10-week module, our curriculum focused on the concepts of community policing, restorative justice and community organizing, and ways to organize to improve the quality of life in their community.

Throughout the course of the module, I had the pleasure of working with 10 real community heroes who have an undaunted urge to witness safety improvements in their neighborhood. Our participants already foster positivity in the neighborhood by managing a community garden, mentoring the incarcerated, leading children’s field trips and teaching local children skills like bicycle repair.

But they recognize there is more to be done. The divisions in their community will not disappear overnight, but they are willing to work to create positive change through small acts that will eventually lead to a safer, more prosperous community.

At the close of the module, the participants finalized an action plan to hold a safety block party in their community. They recognize that through block parties, open mic nights and other social events, they can facilitate the residents simply getting to know one another – which is hailed as one of the first and most crucial steps to creating a safer community.

The participants continue to meet on a weekly basis as a working group to plan for the block party and foster long-term change in their community. It was my pleasure to get to know and work with these individuals over the past few months and I look forward to following their future accomplishments.

Share on Facebook

Tags: , ,

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Compulsive doodlers, rejoice! Study finds doodling may improve memory

Mar 31st, 2011 by Chris Pizzo

Not my best work - but when is doodling ever your best work?

My name is Chris Pizzo, and I am a compulsive doodler. Phew. Feels good to finally say it.

If you are like me, you can’t make it 10 minutes into a meeting without turning your notepad into a mosaic of random shapes and scribbles. My meeting time doodling preference is, and always has been, my name in giant block letters.  This has been my doodling go-to for well over a decade now, and it has served me well – even though I am not fully sure why, or how, this all started.

In my fairly short professional career – six years to be exact – I have always felt a certain stigma attached to this “addiction.” Whether or not this was actually the case, each meeting felt as though my superiors were taking note of my doodling, chalking it up to a lack of interest and/or professionalism.

Imagine my surprise and relief when I stumbled across a Time Magazine article from 2009 titled, “Study: Doodling Helps You Pay Attention.” Well, at least that’s what I think it is titled because all I saw initially was, “You are not alone, Chris.”

The article features a study in which 40 participants listened to a mundane 2.5 minutes tape recording. As part of the study, 20 participants were asked to shade in small squares and circles on a piece of paper as they listened, while 20 simply sat quietly and listened to the recording.

Following the listening session, the participants were asked to recall parts of the recording. The results of the quiz were clear – the doodlers recalled 7.5 pieces of information on average, while the non-doodlers remembered just 5.8 piece of information.

After reading the article, I got to thinking. Even though I spent a majority of each meeting working on my next masterpiece, I have always walked away with a strong grasp what happened and what was expected from me. Of course, the guilt I carried always masked this truth.

So, my fellow doodlers – keep on doodling!  Let’s put the past stigmas behind us, turn a new page… and scribble all over it!

Share on Facebook

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Technology Creep: Where Do We Draw the Line?

Mar 17th, 2011 by Jessica L. Moskowitz

While the concept of “Crackberry” syndrome and the overwhelming nature of exponentially advancing personal technology is nothing new, I’ve recently begun to worry that we’ve stopped considering the long-term effects of it on our interpersonal relationships. Last month, our CEO surprised us with an all-expense paid teambuilding activity outside of the office to thank us for our recent hard work. We decided to spend the afternoon bowling at the Yerba Buena Bowling Center. One of my colleagues snapped a photo of the group, while we were meant to be relaxing and spending quality time together. The photo captured us with our heads down, engrossed in our mobile phones, thumbs moving at rapid speed, not speaking to one another. We all chuckled at the photo that day, but I’ve since grown increasingly bothered by this.

This photo got me thinking about how even our advertising slogans these days cater to this insatiable need to be constantly “connected” and rely on technology as an extension of our being. In fact, I recently saw a commercial for the new Windows 7 Cloud that had a rather alarming slogan, which has garnered some negative attention on the web. In the ad, a family attempts to pose for a group photo, but someone is always looking the wrong way, thus ruining the shot. The solution? To the Cloud! The new Windows 7 allows mom to doctor the photo until it’s perfect for “sharing without ridicule.” The commercial ends with the tagline, “Windows 7 gives me the family nature never could.”

Another ad that comes to mind is the latest AT&T commercial spotlighting the Motorola Atrix 4G, which is being marketed as a hybrid mobile phone/computer. This product’s tagline is equally bothersome. After demonstrating that this phone/computer is the one gadget you need to do it all, the commercial ends with the phrase, “In the network, your life fits in your phone.”

With our close proximity to Silicon Valley, we at Davis & Associates Communications are certainly no strangers to new technology and the latest trends in communication tools. Sure roughly 91 percent of our nation’s citizens use mobile phones and 70 percent of all Californians have access to and use high-speed broadband Internet. But do consumers really want their life in their phone? And do they really desire to Photoshop their family photos before they share with them with the “real” world? In our business we spend a significant amount of time ensuring the public, no matter how they are able to communicate, have the ability to receive critical information and have their voices heard. So you can imagine our dismay by this increase in what we see as a disconnection from reality and humanness. If all this great technology is meant to make life and business easier, why aren’t we learning from the past and engaging this technology in a healthier manner?

Watch the Motorola Atrix and Windows 7 commercials on YouTube below.

 

 

Share on Facebook

Posted in Technology, Uncategorized | No Comments »

San Francisco leading the pack in reducing waste

Mar 10th, 2011 by Tina Garcia

Note: This is the second part in a series on the elimination of waste in San Francisco.


The City of San Francisco is committed not only to reducing waste, but to eliminating it all together by the year 2020. To achieve this, the City enacted the Mandatory Recycling and Composting Ordinance in 2009. The ordinance requires all residents of San Francisco to separate their refuse into recyclables, compostables and waste. All property owners are required to maintain and pay for adequate refuse services for their tenants. Until 2011, landlords and property owners were off the hook for fines – but now, fines of $500 can be imposed on those not providing the required bins.

A comprehensive study conducted by the Department of the Environment found that 36 percent of what San Francisco sends to landfills is compostable, primarily food scraps, and 31 percent is recyclable, most of which is paper. In response, the City has partnered with the resource recovery company, Recology, to help realize its goals of zero waste to landfills or incineration by 2020.

The good news? SF residents seem to be getting the hang of it. In 2010, 600 tons of composted materials were picked up from residences each day – up from 300 tons in 2009.

Furthermore, there are a number of free resources available to assist those looking to recycle and compost further. SF Environment, Sunset Scavenger, and Golden Gate Recycling & Disposal provide free consultation, container labels, signage, educational materials, tenant outreach, and other assistance to help make recycling and composting a success in any building and any event. For more information about these and other services, call Recology at (415) 330-1300. For help setting up zero waste events, call (415) 355-3700.

The City continues in its efforts to reduce waste and close the loop, emphasizing in its campaign the importance of passing on the black bin in favor of the blue or the green.

Does your landlord meet the requirements of the ordinance by providing bins of all colors?

Share on Facebook

Tags:

Posted in Composting, Environment, Government Outreach | No Comments »

New relationship options on Facebook: what’s the real value?

Mar 2nd, 2011 by Millie Tolleson

Recently, Facebook unveiled a couple more options for users when choosing a “relationship status” for their profile.

No, we didn’t finally get the oddly appropriate “in therapy because of” or “experiencing emotional turmoil due to” – but users can now commemorate their status in a civil union or a domestic partnership, in addition to the existing categories like “single,” “married” or the ever popular “in an open relationship.”

While these two new categories don’t only apply to members of the gay community, they have been highlighted by LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) organizations as particularly applicable to this population.

Michael Cole-Schwartz, a spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign, praised the move and Facebook’s efforts “to be inclusive of the LGBT community” and allow LGBT people “to adequately describe their relationship” on the site.

Bravo to Facebook for finally recognizing a major sect of the American population whose relationships are often overlooked and uncategorized. Better late than never. As GLAAD President Jarrett Barrios said, the move “sends a clear message in support of gay and lesbian couples” and acknowledges the full breadth of real relationships Facebook users are engaged in.

However, I can’t help but wince a little at the need for the “civil union” category at all. The new categories are just a sad reminder of how far we still have to go to reach genuine equality for all of our citizens.

I don’t want to overlook the implications that I’m sure are very real for members of the gay community who will now be able proudly display their status in a civil union or domestic partnership – but then again, how proud do we really think gay folks are of being in a civil union? They’d probably like to be married like everyone else is allowed to be.

Many gay folks have likely already opted for “married” option on the site anyway. Go ahead and take advantage of the fact that Facebook, the government and ignorant folks around the country can’t stop you from linking yourself in marriage to anyone of any gender.

I have higher hopes for the impact this public acknowledgement by a larger-than-life, global social media giant like Facebook can have socially and politically in our society. The Facebook community is, without a doubt, a colorful, unique and oddly misfit bunch – and I can only hope that the inclusion of these relationship categories is a stepping stone on the path to acceptance of all relationships.

The work doesn’t end here, Facebook. Next up: how about some new options in the gender category? The fact of the matter is that a real portion of the population just doesn’t qualify themselves as distinctly male or female, and their unique status deserves the same acknowledgement on Facebook.

Share on Facebook

Tags: ,

Posted in Social Media | No Comments »

Davis & Associates promotes financial aid awareness at Black College Expo in Oakland

Mar 1st, 2011 by Jessica L. Moskowitz

The Black College Expo returned to Oakland for an eighth year last Saturday, February 26, welcoming thousands of students and their families to learn about higher education opportunities. The Black College Expo is a program of the National College Resources Foundation (NCRF), a non-profit organization serving underrepresented youth. The NCRF’s mission is to curtail the high school dropout rate (currently at 30.1 percent nationally, according to EPE Research Center 2008) and to increase the college graduation rate among underrepresented and underserved groups.

On behalf of the California Community Colleges’ “I Can Afford College” financial aid awareness initiative, Davis & Associates Communications team members Tiffany Refuerzo and Jessica Moskowitz spent the day engaging with hundreds of students and their parents, as well as industry professionals, highlighting the mission of the statewide campaign and the availability of financial aid to attend community college in the state.

During the 2007-08 school year, an estimated 500,000 community college students in California were eligible for aid, but did not apply. With the March 2 Cal Grant application deadline upon us, our attendance made an enormous impact in educating local prospective and current students about how to apply for and receive free money to go to school in the form of state and federal grants and scholarships. We educated attendees on the resources available to help guide them through the process and keep them on top of key deadlines and opportunities to maximize the amount of aid they receive. We also reminded attendees of the value of a community college education as a stepping stone to future success.

To view more photos from the event, you can view our Black College Expo photo album on Facebook. For more information about the “I Can Afford College” initiative and to learn ways you can help get the word out, visit http://www.icanaffordcollege.org/getinvolved.

Share on Facebook

Posted in Education, Government Outreach, Uncategorized | No Comments »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »