Thursday, 10 March 2011

Communication is a Virus: Part 1 - Charities

Initial Research

I began by looking at examples of what graphic design is already out there for charities.

Mail shot diary - A man who has collected a years worth of mail shots story  Another collection - Similar story  Mail shot article - Proves well made mail shots can work
Examples of mail shots/charity donation bags  Lindsey Whittle - D&AD Winner

  
Selection of leaflets advertising charities collected from around college

Websites
I looked at websites of well known UK charities that we could persuade people to get involved with rather than just giving money.
Get involved with:

Research after crit

The psychology of helping others

Why does helping others feel good? What are the reasons we help others? American Psychological Association

"Over the years, pshychologists have identified five primary motivations for volunteering, believing people who volunteer to have an agenda:
  • Values. Volunteering to satisfy personal values or humanitarian concerns. For some people this can have a religious component.
  • Community concern. Volunteering to help a particular community, such as a neighborhood or ethnic group, to which you feel attached.
  • Esteem enhancement. Volunteering to feel better about yourself or escape other pressures.
  • Understanding. Volunteering to gain a better understanding of other people, cultures or places.
  • Personal development. Volunteering to challenge yourself, meet new people and make new friends, or further your career.
Interestingly, the researchers have also found that people who have more seemingly "selfish" motivations--esteem enhancement, personal development and understanding--are more likely to stick with a volunteering organization longer than people with more "other focused" motivations, such as values.

This research could help organizations that rely on volunteers. For example, if the organizations can figure out their volunteers' primary motives for volunteering, then they could tailor ads and other recruitment strategies to address those motivations--and they could try to steer the volunteers to activities most likely to satisfy them.

Do people do altruistic things--including volunteering--because they are truly altruistic and selfless, or because they themselves receive some sort of benefit from every altruistic-seeming act?"

Blood Donation

96% of us rely on just 4% to give blood which saves lives. Giving blood is really easy and doesnt take much time at all. It takes about an hour in total to give blood. There are 24 blood donation centres across the UK with a huge number of mobile blood donor units stopping for sessions at your local supermarket car park.

Organ Donation
Another way of helping is donating your organs, you can register online and can donate your organs if you were to pass away, your organs could help save anothers life when your gone. Organs such as your heart and kidneys to even your eyeballs can be donated. Many of us would be happy to accept an organ but only 26% of us are willing to donate our organs to save lives.

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