Atlanta's visual art professionals have been very busy lately. The Georgia Entertainment Industry Investment Act has already substantially increased the number of commercial and feature production opportunities available to crews and freelancers inside Atlanta and all across the state. Agencies and design firms expand their talent rosters, keeping up with work from existing clients who continue to grow their business, and new clients rising on the tide of the growing economy. Life as a visual communicator in Georgia is pretty good.

But this is not the only reason Atlanta's media professionals have been so busy. While filling their plates on local and incoming commercial work, many of Atlanta's design and marketing firms, photographers, and film and video companies have been taking the time to lend their expertise towards filling the plates of others less fortunate. The media industry has continued to sustain a lively tradition of volunteering its services for the benefit of non-profit organizations.

Many non-profit organizations lack the budget to promote their causes. This severely limits both the amount of funding they can expect to receive in the future and the amount of awareness they can raise toward victory for their cause. When a media specialist donates time, several things happen. A non-profit can expect greater responses, both financially and in the consciousness of the populace they are attempting to inform. Volunteer creatives can gain the satisfaction of working directly with their beneficiaries and knowing that their skills and good will can complement and further the persistent good will of others. This cumulative effort raises the quality of living for many of Atlanta's marginal, suffering or diseased inhabitants. In turn, this raises the quality of living in the city as a whole. Those volunteering their time and skills, in the media industry and elsewhere, know that they are actively and positively shaping Atlanta's future.

As we look forward to a time of renewed prosperity; let us spotlight the work of a few dedicated visual communications professionals who have found a luxury in their labor and "Let the Good Works Roll!"

HUNGER IS INVISIBLE

The Atlanta Community Food Bank (ACFB) has benefited from the efforts of Adrenaline Inc., a local advertising agency whose resume includes such high-profile clients as Nike, Home Depot and Rich's. Founded in 1979, the ACFB has been responsible for housing and distributing food for low-income residents of Atlanta and surrounding northern counties. Adrenaline president Sean Tisdale has spent the past two years on the ACFB's brand task force, the agency responsible for insuring that the organization is a recognized as an experienced and effective force in the alleviation of hunger.

The past two years have been very significant for the Food Bank. In 2004 they took a large step forward by consolidating their spaces into one large, state-of-the-art warehouse and distribution center. The construction of the warehouse came as a result of the Capital Campaign, a successful donation drive that netted $11.1 million dollars. Doug Strickler, Teasdale's business partner, chaired the fundraising campaign. Both Strickler and Teasdale have been serving on the Atlanta's Table advisory board. One of the many organizations blanketed by the Food Bank, Atlanta's Table is responsible for recirculating a sizable portion of the food-service industry's excess prepared food (an average of 25,000 pounds a month). For Atlanta's Table, reducing food waste and filling people's stomachs runs through the same operation.

Adrenaline Inc. handles marketing and advertising for the two events key to providing Atlanta's Table and the ACFB with regular and dependable funding: the Atlanta's Table Supper Club and Share Our Strength's Taste of Atlanta. Both events are designed to raise proceeds by drawing consumers to the city's finest restaurants and chefs. These events provide an effective source of funding and strengthen the relationship between the charity organizations and Atlanta's food service providers, whose cooperation is absolutely necessary to the goals of Atlanta's Table and the Food Bank. Adrenaline has successfully advertised these fundraisers as social events. Their perceptive Taste of Atlanta slogan, "Hunger is Invisible," keeps patrons keenly aware that supporting these events is necessary to nourish those deprived of the most universal necessity.

WOMEN IN FILM

Women in Film/Atlanta (WIFA), a non-profit organization in and of itself, have lent their skills to a few equally admirable organizations recently. In 2003 they produced a public service announcement entitled "Somebody's Daughter" for the Center to End Adolescent Sexual Exploitation (CEASE). A PSA is a valuable tool for any charitable organization and can prove extremely important for an organization such as CEASE, whose goals of stopping child prostitution largely fall under the radar of mainstream media. With the cooperation of the Juvenile Justice Fund, the U.S. Attorney's office, and children who have been victimized by the sex industry, CEASE was the first organization to successfully prosecute child pimps under the federal Racketeering Influence and Corrupt Organization Act. This set a strong precedent for the national effort to bring sexual exploiters of children to justice and created enough momentum for the Juvenile Justice Fund to start an 18-month campaign, beginning in October, to stop child prostitution. WIFA's PSA is the centerpiece of the campaign.

The production of the CEASE PSA was not only an opportunity for WIFA to champion a cause about which they are passionate; it also provided an outlet for creative collaboration among its members. According to Kathleen Kelly, vice-president of WIFA, the idea to do a public service announcement was conceived even before the opportunity presented itself. They knew, she said, that "it would be a great way for the members to do some service work, as well as get some experience producing something together." Because WIFA is an organization composed of volunteers, they had to work outside of their daily schedules in order to produce the PSA. This, combined with the fact that they had not produced a PSA in a number of years, made the work especially challenging to complete. Fortunately, the extra effort paid off in the final product: The United Way found it impressive enough to lend its logo as a sign of support.

Currently, WIFA is in post-production on a PSA for the Georgia Coalition on Domestic Violence. Their commitment to doing non-profit productions is exemplary of the best volunteer work, which is motivated by an empowering eagerness that is both personally significant and socially meaningful.

LITTLE SOULS WITHOUT A VOICE

Emily Capps, the sole force behind the advertising and writing firm Emily Capps & Associates, is in the process of getting her own non-profit group off the ground. The organization is called Artists to the Rescue, and its mission is to set up art-themed events that will raise money for the sheltering of the city's homeless, sick, and injured animals. Thus far the organization has orchestrated two events. Last year's Artists to the Rescue consisted of an art auction that generated three thousand dollars for Doghouse Rescue & Adoption. In early summer, the organization tried something different; they rallied several still photographers and the resources of the Showcase School of Photography to Piedmont Park as part of an effort to raise money by photographing portraits of owners with their pets. Unfortunately, this event, although innovative, was not enticing enough to rally patrons to the park on a rainy day. Rather than becoming discouraged, Capps was simply reminded that not every charity event is a success.

Artists to the Rescue is currently in a state of rapid expansion. Kelly Teasley, co-founder of the Youngblood Gallery, hopped on as co-president and the group is in the process of tending to the legal requirements of becoming an official non-profit. By the time this sees print, they will have hosted their largest and most elaborate event to date, involving an art auction, live music, craft tables and pet portraiture. All of the proceeds will go toward the U.S. Humane Society's efforts to save displaced animals in Hurricane Katrina damaged areas.

If "Hunger is Invisible," then animals are certainly mute. Many non-profit organizations must spend a considerable amount of time learning how to reach the ignored populations they are attempting to help. Because animals cannot be coordinated through the same means as humans, reaching out to animals can be a tremendously exhausting endeavor. This does not discourage Capps, who simply cannot believe those "little souls without a voice" are not worth the effort.

PERSONAL FLOURISHES FOR THE LESS FORTUNATE

While Artists to the Rescue has been working hard to launch and promote its art auctions and pet portraiture events, photographer Jay Fletcher has spent several years contributing portraits to silent auctions benefiting local charities such as The Bridge, Georgia Transplant Foundation, and Noah's Arch. Most recently, Fletcher donated a very special autographed portrait of Atlanta Falcons' star quarterback, Michael Vick, to the first annual Jim Mora Ð Pulte Homes Golf Classic. Fletcher's representative, Chad Bush, spoke candidly, "We had been trying to get Vick in the studio for a while, so I saw an opportunity to get Vick, as well as contribute to a good causeÉ I suggested we photograph Vick in a light that no one had seen before." Augmented with a backlight, this impressive piece fetched $3400 at live auction, a significant portion of the over $370,000 raised by the entire Golf Classic to benefit Special Olympics Georgia. The latter is a renowned non-profit organization that provides competitive opportunities for Georgia athletes with intellectual disabilities.



After securing one contribution in Atlanta, the piece was donated to Boomer Esiason's Foundation for Cystic Fibrosis to be auctioned off again. Fletcher's experience with contributing pieces to silent auctions is a great reminder to visual artists that they do not have to compromise their personal flourishes in order to contribute something to those less fortunate, that charity work can even provide an outlet for the realization of projects unrealizable under other circumstances, and that the distinct value of a work of art cannot be diminished, no matter how many times it is auctioned off.

SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL AND PURE

The Cochran Mill Nature Center serves as a home base for environmental education all across South Fulton County. In 2003, while making preparations for the celebration of its 10th anniversary, the center took on a new volunteer. Michelle Clark, manager of production & marketing at the Hayslett Group, has served as the organization's one-woman design team ever since. Clarke is dedicated to the group because "it shows kids from parts of town something totally unlike where they are from. It shows kids something beautiful and pure, something to be proud of and be a part of." The CMNC provides an alternative to the often confining perspective of urban living. Through this perspective, nature tends to be understood as something "out there," somehow isolated from the rest of us. The Nature Center's proximity to the city exhibits an effort to debunk this myth; like nature, the CMNC is literally in our backyard.

As often as it plays host to field trips, the nature center brings the wonder and practical lessons of nature to South Fulton schools. When not educating children about nature, the center commits its time to local social and environmental projects. As one can imagine, Clark was a welcome surprise to a small organization so strained for time. Maribeth Wansley comments, "Having someone of Michelle's talent, passion and thoroughness volunteer to help make our organization more attractive and visible is a gift and a luxury that we are not used to!"

Clark would not have had the space to prove herself such a vital volunteer were it not for the cooperation of the Hayslett Group, whose CFO, Denise Grove, is currently serving on the board of the CMNC. The two organizations share a synergistic bond: Clarke's promotional work draws and maintains patrons and volunteers to the nature center, while the nature center's selfless and persistent work revitalizes Clarke and the Hayslett Group's commitment to their commercial work. Both parties are extremely excited about the work they see each other doing.

AN HONEST STAB AT SHAPING THE FUTURE

VanDerKloot Film & Television has produced PSAs and videos for such high-profile non-profits as Habitat for Humanity, the United Way, and the Carter Center. The project that founder Bill VanDerKloot has been most enthusiastic about is a short film for the Atlanta Belt Line. The Belt Line Transit Project has been the subject of much study and speculation ever since City Council President Cathy Woolard brought it to the attention of the public in 2001. The project promises to encourage city development and discourage urban sprawl by placing a light public transit rail line across the abandoned rail lines that encircle Atlanta.

The rail line would directly link many of Atlanta's historical neighborhoods and would be accompanied by a continuous line of greenspace that could connect over forty of Atlanta's parks. VanDerKloot understood that this could prove a radical direction for the future of Atlanta; he has commented that "the Belt Line is an idea that could literally transform life in our city's neighborhoods." VanDerKloot's short film incorporates composite imagery of light rail trains traveling along some of the very rails the Belt Line is proposed to be built on. It is a powerful tool for visualizing the ambience and functionality the Belt Line could lend to the city.

Through the production of the Belt Line film, VanDerKloot attempted to share with Atlanta a glimpse into its future. In April of this year, Mayor Shirley Franklin announced the creation of the Beltline Partnership, proving that the city is making great strides towards realizing this ambitious project. The Beltline Tax Allocation District (TAD) is currently being debated within the City Council; this bill would provide critical funds towards launching the construction of the rail loop. This demonstrates that the Belt Line promotional film is no work of science fiction; it is actually a highly communicative and persuasive piece of volunteer production work, an honest stab at shaping the future by providing its audience with a passionate image of the future.

CATCH THEIR EYES AND GRAB THEIR HEARTS

These are only a few examples of the many ways Georgians are benefiting through the combined efforts of visual communications professionals and non-profit organizations.

Many will notice that Hurricane Katrina has remained largely absent from this article. This is largely due to the fact that the vast majority of donation drives benefiting hurricane-damaged areas have occurred at the national level, with significant cooperation from the broadcasting industry. Production crews and photographers from all across the country captured the images that motivated individuals, schools, and businesses to consolidate and spread their wealth towards the numerous victims of the hurricane.

This holiday season, while one is profiting from the momentum of Georgia's expanding visual communication industry, one should not forget the tremendous humanitarian momentum that has proven itself such a powerful force in the wake of unexpected natural catastrophe. This momentum was nothing less than the mobilization of a nation and is nothing more than the limitless drive and ambition that motivates passionate volunteer work. While projects in New Orleans and its neighboring areas diversify and become more specific, and non-profit organizations in Atlanta continue to catch our eye and grab our hearts, visual communications professionals should remember this momentum. They are in the center of it, drawing and shaping a boundless human capacity to give. Let the Good Works Roll!