What could you do with 24 hours?

Peyton Rowe, Associate Professor, Virginia Commonwealth University

My presentation will show one possibility plus much more. CreateAthon onCampus, a year-long academic program developed during the 07-08 academic year, is a unique service-learning opportunity. This pioneering program allows students to experience project management and development, a new class structured to expand students’ knowledge about nonprofit communication projects, and a culminating 24-hour creative event. During this year’s event, 43 student volunteers and 18 professional mentors worked around the clock to serve 12 Richmond, Virginia nonprofits, generating 75 projects and 35 printed deliverables worth an estimated value in excess of $130,000. I will give an overview of this year-long pilot program, detailing its development and implementation, outlining future plans to expand the program to other schools, and describing what it’s like to create and present 75 projects in 24 hours.

In 2004, I met Cathy Monetti and Teresa Coles and worked my first CreateAthon (www.createathon.org) – and my life changed. Four years later, my dream of creating an academic version of this groundbreaking program has come true. Through lots of hard work, great students and volunteers, and the support of the School of Mass Communications, CreateAthon onCampus took form.

CreateAthon onCampus embodies everything I believe in and love to do: teach undergraduates, use design to improve and convey important messages, serve organizations that are in need, and allow students to think creatively and collaborate across disciplines while working with real clients.