As Thanksgiving ascends on us all this week, we at Creative Arcade are fortunate to do work in a profession we love and to do it in an environment that nurtures that love. The desire to be curious is a requirement when joining our team. This curiosity is what drives us to be creative and not settle for status quo. Our curiosity extends beyond the walls of CA and one of the reasons we get involved with so many things outside of our job. The things we are involved with often have great meaning to us on a personal level. Like most people, when we believe in something personally, we will yell from the rooftops to make sure everyone hears about it.
Everyone that has the means to do so can make monetary donations to something the believe in. Creative Arcaders make donations like this, but the nature of our business allows us to give back in other ways that are sometimes even more impactful. Over the years, we have found many organizations, charities, small business, etc. that are doing amazing things, but aren’t able to communicate to the world properly. To help them, we’ve done everything from doing design work (logos, websites, advertising, posters, donation forms, etc. etc. etc.) to simply giving them advice on how to use the correct channels of communication to market themselves. Unlike making a monetary donation, donating time and expertise is not something we can use as a tax benefit. That’s ok though, that’s not why we are doing it. We do it so we can give back to something we find important.
We are thankful that our giving doesn’t stop there. We have worked with students from the University of Minnesota Duluth, Bemidji State University, St. Scholastica and many others. This work has included being on advisory boards, participating in panel discussions, giving students tours of our office, career advice, mentorships, and reviewing/critiquing too many portfolios to count! All of these things are very time consuming, but we see it as a way to help grow and improve our industry.
Another way we give back often seems like the most time consuming and sometimes the most difficult. Coaching youth sports is a lot of fun if it weren’t for the parents, other coaches, board members, facilities, equipment, schedules and half of the kids! Just kidding … kind of.
The reason for writing this blog is not to toot our own horn and it’s not to say that many other companies aren’t making the same commitments Creative Arcade is. The reason is to highlight a few of these amazing companies, organizations and people that we love helping and are thankful for.
Yeti Tour
We are thankful for the Yeti Tour
The Yeti Tour is an annual snowmobiling fundraiser that donates all proceeds to the March of Dimes. To date they have raised over $140,000 dollars to help give every mother and baby a fighting chance!
We have worked with the Yeti Tour since its inception in 2011 and participated in the committee that named the charity. After the name was decided we designed the logo. Each year we design a poster, raffle ticket, sweatshirt, t-shirt, hat, stickers, vinyl sled wrap, etc, to promote the event.
This client is very special to us, because come on, who doesn’t love helping babies!
Duluth Area Special and Sled Hockey
Robots
This has been one of the greatest activities and well-run organizations that we have ever been a part of. Promoting STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) related disciplines by pulling together a team of students to plan and build a functioning robot in 6 weeks to perform a specific task is unbelievable. It is one of the fastest growing school activities in the state of Minnesota and now has more teams than hockey teams.
From fabrication, programming to marketing, fundraising and competing. Kids learn so many intangible life skills as part of the robotics team. Skills that will last a lifetime and prepares them for post-secondary educations and even earns them special scholarships. Creative Arcade has been part of the team at Hermantown since its inception and continues to support them and others in the area through our group of schools called “The Hub”.
All things Hermantown
We love the communities that we live and work in. Partner, Jeff Ruprecht, lives in the City of Hermantown which is just outside of Duluth, Minnesota. Over the past few years, many community wide initiatives have required volunteering time and talents to help move forward. From helping design materials to pass a new school referendum, helping elect community leaders and providing design to educate voters on a sales tax change that will fund a wellness center in town. Giving back with time and talent goes a long way.
Woodland Hockey
In addition to the late nights of flooding and maintenance volunteered as a parent, CA has helped with brochures, flyers, banners, programs, shirts, yard signs and other misc. projects. The work we’ve done hasn’t been ground breaking by any means, but it does help the organization with fundraising and helps them communicate with the families and community.
Polar Bear Plunge
We are thankful for the Polar Bear Plunge.
The Polar Bear Plunge is a fun way for Creative Arcaders, our friends and family to get together to raise money for a great cause. The Polar Bear Plunge is a fundraiser for the Special Olympics of Minnesota. It involves fundraising for a couple of months and is capped off by plunging into Lake Superior …. in February. If you’ve ever swam in Lake Superior, you know that it can be numb your whole body in July, so think about what it feels like in February. On second thought, don’t think about it. Instead, join our team for the next plunge!
The list could go on and on.
We’re extremely proud of the giving culture that goes on inside and outside the walls of the Creative Arcade office. The list above is some of the work we are currently involved with. I’m sure there are some I’ve missed and felt like the list could go on forever if I included everything from the past.
