WILKES-BARRE - Six area nonprofit organizations received free marketing materials Friday at Rodano's on Public Square after a 24-hour creative blitz called CreateAthon.
Dawe Consulting, CDS Creative and more than 20 volunteers participated in the 11th annual CreateAthon from 10 a.m. Thursday through 10 a.m. Friday in Dawe Consulting Headquarters in the Luzerne Bank building on Public Square.
Creative professionals who volunteered included graphic designers, artists, writers, researchers, print companies and social media specialists.
Meals on Wheels of Northeastern Pennsylvania, Family Service Association of Northeastern Pennsylvania, Avenues Foundation in Pottsville, the Employment Opportunity & Training Center in Scranton, Lourdesmont Youth and Family Services in Scranton and the Anti-Bullying Coalition of Luzerne County benefited from the projects.
The free marketing materials they received included letterhead, newsletters, logo designs, a fund-raising campaign, a special event guide and a video for Meals on Wheels.
Family Service Association of Northeastern Pennsylvania, formerly called Family Service Association of Wyoming Valley, received a logo for its new name. The association now serves Luzerne, Wyoming, Bradford, Sullivan and Tioga counties, said executive director Mike Zimmerman.
"I think it's fantastic," Mr. Zimmerman said of the new logo. "This is their profession. For me to try to come up with a logo, it would probably be a very simplistic twist of what we currently have, whereas these folks are really able to capture the idea and put it into a professional graphic design for us."
John Dawe of Dawe Consulting, who was awake for more than 27 hours, said the nonprofits submitted applications for the free marketing and creative services and were chosen last month.
"This is a creative way for us to invite nonprofits to apply for grants of products," Dawe said. "It's a neat process and the fact that we do it for 24 hours adds to the excitement."
Riggs Partners of Columbia, S.C., formed the first CreateAthon and expanded it into a national program in 2002. Catherine Shafer, founder and president of CDS Creative, brought the program to Northeast Pennsylvania. In 2011, Dawe Consulting joined CDS as a partner. Each year, creative professionals across Northeast Pennsylvania provide more than $500,000 in free services.
Contact the writer: dallabaugh@citizensvoice.com