Sharefest’s blog has moved to our new website.
Visit our new blog HERE.
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// a post by Kevin Dobruck
After months of hard work, the makeover is complete and our new logo is revealed here for the first time. The bold new look is a significant departure from our previous branding and brings our overall look forward into the 21st century.
As you might recall from earlier posts (read here and here) our goal with this process was to illuminate the following Sharefest brand attributes: creativity, collaboration, comprehensiveness, volunteerism and care for our community. Here’s how these characteristics translate into the new logo.
First off, let’s consider the main component of the logo, the “S.” Notice how it’s not a traditional character. It’s actually built from two smaller “links.” The thinking here is that Sharefest brings different parts of our community—businesses, churches, cities, neighbors, friends, families—together to create something new. Note that each ‘link’ remains independent. We don’t lose our identity when we work together, we share our talents, time and resources to create a bright new community that is inclusive and welcoming. The solid ring around the logo implies an ongoing commitment and cohesiveness, while the hard edges on the links reflect a sense of purpose and resolve.
Did you notice the heroic nature of the logo? It’s intentional. This new insignia could easily be envisioned on the chest of the latest superhero leaping off the pages of the most popular graphic novel. This icon denotes strength and is a nod (or wink) to our selfless volunteers who are heroes in their own right.
Sharefest is also known for our passion, so we selected a color scheme that reflects that. We chose red, the most passionate of colors to reinforce our care and concern for the communities we serve.
Along with the new logo comes a new tagline, “Creative Collaboration for Positive Change.” This slogan speaks to who we are and our vision for our community. It will keep us focused on being the best at what we do and helping others attain greatness.
This vibrant new logo will now be seen on all Sharefest communications, t-shirts and signage. The first place it can be seen is on our brand new, easy-to-use website. Take a look at www.sharefestinc.org and check out and subscribe to our new blog.
So, what do you think? We’d love to hear from you. Please leave your comments below.
P.S. Don’t forget to mark your calendars for our 8th Annual Workday on Saturday, May 14th.
hope and commitment: our YDA spring launch
Posted: January 19, 2011 by Chad Mayer in Youth Development Academy// a post by Anwar Shariff, Program Director
Two words come to mind as we launch our Spring semester programming at the ShareFest Youth Development Academy this week – hope and commitment.
Hope is the reason ShareFest exists at Avalon Continuation School. We believe in the students there. We believe that they deserve a diverse curriculum despite budget cuts. We also believe in their ability to achieve, despite their circumstances. Our hope is that through our supportive services, they learn to believe in their own potential. For one’s will to succeed it must come from within. They will have to run the race, we are merely their coaches.
I am hopeful that our line up of classes for 2011 will be just as, or even more, successful than in 2010. As a result of ShareFest’s programming last year, the number of graduating seniors reached its highest ever and we hope to continue in that same vein of excellence this year.
More than just hopeful for it, we’re actually committed to it.
Commitment is a concept that the students at Avalon Continuation School have become very familiar with. It’s something they’ve pledged, some privately, some publically, until they reached their goal of graduating. The stories told to us by Principal Awtry, which are about how committed the students were to their goals of graduating, are what led us to Avalon to begin with. Now that ShareFest has become such a huge supporter, the efforts of everyone involved have increased. It has become an upward spiral of achievement and belief, originating from the students themselves.
I am confident that we are on to something good and we are always looking for opportunities to serve better. If you are interested in volunteering your time or efforts to the programming at our Youth Development Academy here is a schedule and description of the support we’ll be offering to the students this year. If you want to make an immediate, positive impact on students, please contact me – anwar@sharefestinc.org.
// Monday: CAHSEE Prep: English
On Mondays, we’ll be tutoring the students of Avalon High School in English to prepare then for the California High School Exit Exam./
// Tuesday: Teen Life
This is a skills preparation course that will introduce students to necessary life skills that will begin to help them deal with some of the issues they may be facing as teenagers. Some of the skills learned will be important to the areas of personal management, communication, and responsible decision making.
// Wednesday: CAHSEE Prep: Math
On Wednesdays, we’ll be tutoring the students of Avalon High School in basic math to prepare then for the California High School Exit Exam.
// Thursday: Lifetime Fitness
Cal State University Dominguez Hills has specifically designed a course to fit the needs of the students at Avalon High School and it will be offered free of any fees. This course (for which they will earn 3 units of transferable college credit), will teach students how to develop a lifetime of physical activity and eating habits that foster better health.
// Friday: Art Education
The ShareFest Art Education program is designed to educate youth about relevant life skills, and give them an opportunity to create awareness around the importance of those skills through different mediums of art. Students will use a variety of mediums to convey thought-provoking messages that will culminate in two murals that will coincide with our Annual Workday and an original art showcase at Banning’s Landing at the end of the semester.
ShareFest is now taking beautification project applications from schools, cities and non-profit groups in the South Bay and LA Harbor areas. Please have the leadership of the organization submit the project application to us by February 4, 2011 so we can find a volunteer organization to adopt your project. Projects will be completed during the 8th Annual ShareFest Workday on Saturday, May 14, 2011. Below are some directions on how to use our online web application for the Workday to process a project submission, and a list of the top three frequently asked questions about ShareFest’s upcoming WORKDAY on May 14th, 2010. These questions/answers are particularly helpful for the person that will be making your project submission. If you have any further questions, please leave a comment below or email us.
Getting started is easy, just click HERE or on the image button below and you will be taken through a simple 4-step process.
// DIRECTIONS
STEP 1 – Register yourself -
In order to register your project with ShareFest we need you to create a personal login providing us with your email and first and last name. Additional contact info is also helpful, but not mandatory. Hit “Continue” once you fill in the required information.
STEP 2 – Register Your Organization -
Next, please register your organization with ShareFest by providing us with your organization type (school, city, non-profit), name, description and location. Hit “Continue” once you fill in the required information.
STEP 3 – Create Your Project -
Now it’s time to create your project. You can be creative and name your project. Please provide a brief overview of the needs that your project will address if completed by ShareFest. Also indicate your start and stop dates and provide us with your project site information. An example of the site owner would be the school district you belong to if your project is at a school site. Inputting your site description is also helpful to the volunteer organization that will be considering adopting your project. You want to indicate how meaningful it is for you to receive a project from a ShareFest Volunteer Organization. Hit “Continue” once you fill in the required information.
STEP 4 – Outline your project with “Project Activities” -
This next step is where you begin to outline the scope of your project. Your ShareFest Project will have a parent relationship with many project activities that fall under it. Many volunteer organizations like to see the variety of tasks that compose your overall project broken into pieces. Note: you may only get some of your Project Activities adopted. There also might be two different Volunteer Organizations doing different project activities as well
Congratulations, you have successfully submitted your project to ShareFest.Unfortunately, not every project gets adopted by a Partnering ShareFest Volunteer Organization. If your project does get adopted, you will be notified either by email or a phone call from a Project Manager. Should you have any questions or want additional information, please contact us at info@sharefestinc.org.
Halfway down on your screen you will see your Project Activities listed. You can always edit them or add another activity. If you would like to outline your project further, you can add special instructions and materials needed for each project activity. Please also consider uploading before, during and after pictures of your projects on this page! This helps document the work that needs to be done and will show volunteer organizations the tangible needs at your site as well as before and after shots that will show the great work that has been accomplished.
You’ll notice a Project Menu on the left hand side of the screen where you can Invite other Team Leaders, see a list of volunteers that sign up for this project once it’s adopted or add volunteers that you are able to recruit.
// FAQs
#1 Q: If I registered a project last year and it didn’t get adopted then do I have to re-register it?
A: Yes, we have changed some of our features with this application and need your information
#2 Q: Who pays for the materials and other costs associated with the Workday?
A: ShareFest encourages volunteer organizations to self-fund these projects. If your organization has funds available, please indicate this in the special instructions section of this application. ShareFest also has unique ways to raise money for projects so please email us at info@sharefestinc.org to learn more.
#3 Q: What happens if my project doesn’t get adopted?
A: We will do our best to try and get your project adopted during our Annual Workday. Sometimes Volunteer Organizations desire to take on projects outside of our Workday and projects that don’t get adopted during our Workday get completed at another time.
Again, if you have any further questions, please leave a comment below or email us.
Thank you for making a great year possible for so many…
Posted: December 31, 2010 by Chad Mayer in ShareFest General
As 2010 comes to a close, we would like to take the opportunity to update you on the unbelievable year we had before we move forward on the New Year. Many of you helped us to achieve more than we could ever dream of, so we want to pause for a moment and let you know how grateful we are for your support.
Having the right people onboard is crucial to every organization. We were thrilled to bring on two new board members: Stu Larking and Scott Speranza. We also were able to hire Anwar Shariff as our new Program Director in January. // read more // and more
In February of this year we brought on a consultancy company, Ideation. Their involvement was crucial for us to grow as an organization and we are thankful for all of their help.
We completed one of the most ambitious projects ShareFest has taken on in a single year. What would have cost LA Unified School District $400,000 to build, ShareFest completed for $16,000 through the efforts of our generous volunteers. This plaza is now a symbol of what can happen when a community comes together. // read more
On May 2nd, over 5,000 volunteers were mobilized to complete 335 projects in just 8 hours. Our Workday saved cities and schools over $1,000,000. // read more
Over 160 middle school students were empowered to become the leaders of tomorrow at our Summer Youth Development Academy, and also over 120 high school students in our Year-Round Youth Development Academy at Avalon Continuation School. // read more
“This has probably been the most difficult year we have ever faced … however, due to ShareFest’s work, our school – comprised of 100 precent ‘at-risk kids – has thrived! Thanks to ShareFest we’ve had our largest graduating class and our highest percentage of proficiency on the California High School Exit Exams” – Regina Awtry, Principal, Avalon High School // read more // and more //and more
On Thursday, December 16th ShareFest, Toyota and Fries Ave. Elementary School partnered together to distribute over 100 gifts to students at Fries Ave. Elementary School.
We worked with a group of Peninsula High School students to establish a ShareFest Club in which they will educate, connect, and mobilize Peninsula HS and its students to look beyond their school and see the opportunities to help other fellow students in underserved communities. Look for great things to happen through this group in the new year.
Partnerships encourage a series of characteristics – trust, teamwork and a regard for someone else. There is no way we could accomplish all that we do without our partners and sponsors. Words cannot express how thankful we are to be working with so many caring organizations.
Toyota was kind enough to donate a 2011 Prius for us to raffle off in 2011. ShareFest is the first new organization that they have given to in over 3 years. // more details
We lost two amazing people from the ShareFest Family this year from cancer. To honor Mary Ann’s contribution to her community for many years to come, we announced that ShareFest is donating $2500 toward the creation of a park in Mary Ann’s honor that will be located in Harbor Gateway. To honor Jeff’s contribution to the community, and his commitment to his family, we announced that ShareFest is donating a total of $2500 toward scholarships for Jeff’s daughters, Kayla and Natalie.
Since ShareFest began we have mobilized over 30,000 volunteers who have provided over $6 million in work for our cities and schools during our annual Workdays. ShareFest has been able to serve and mentor over 600 underserved youth through our Youth Development Academy to become future leaders in our communities. None of this would have been possible without your support.
Thank you all!
