Winter Event Spotlight: CDRC-Boston’s 1st Volunteer Project Showcase
by Karen Spence, CDRC-Boston Office Manager

I began working at CDRC-Boston this past December as the Office Manager. Although I fully supported the value of CDRC-Boston's mission from the start, it wasn't until I participated in our first Project Showcase this past January that I had that value confirmed firsthand. "Seeing is believing," they say, and what I witnessed that evening between the clients and their volunteer designers was like perfect engineering; everything fell into place. I saw, but especially felt, the clients' genuine gratitude for the service they received, and the volunteers' satisfaction in seeing their fine work appreciated and realized.

The Winter 2009 Project Showcase included client- and volunteer-staffed table displays plus oral presentations by the clients and volunteer teams. The presentations demonstrated the vast array of services CDRC-Boston affords community organizations, as diverse as interior renovations to the Margaret Fuller Neighborhood House and digital visualizations for Union Square Main Street's zoning change proposal in partnership with the City of Somerville’s Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development.

There were a number of remarkable aspects of each project presentation on which I could focus, but one in particular that stood out for its uniqueness was the "Litercise Storywalk" exhibit that will bring to life author Irene Smalls’s book Jonathan and His Mommy at the Boston Public Library. Perry Dean Rogers architect Todd Shafer described the team’s concept for the exhibit through slides and board displays showing lively graphics of a child's building blocks next to a city block, some footprints in a sidewalk, a series of text in both Spanish and English, and an image showing magnetic words just waiting to be strewn together into sentences, hinting at the interactivity of the project. Ms. Smalls’s idea to produce this exhibit was inspired by current research that shows a strong link between physical fitness and a child's ability to learn. The well-thought-out presentation of high-quality design work that Todd and his team put together underscored my own personal values: that great ideas deserve to be realized using the best talent and tools available regardless of a client’s ability to afford professional services.

Until that evening, I could not have fully comprehended the enormous value of pro bono design services if I had not witnessed it myself, especially the nuances you can't pick up on paper. If you are curious about the significance of pro bono design and community engagement, and would like to learn more, I highly recommend you attend future Project Showcases so you too can witness the extraordinary value and results firsthand.