We helped the Toronto Neighbourhood Centres recognize that the users of the services offered through their centres were their most effective advocates. These users have a strong bond with their centres and their stories underscore the value of the centres’ programs. The question was: how do we capture these people’s stories in the most poignant way possible? Our solution was to create a poster campaign, where individuals were invited to create their own posters to show the role their Neighbourhood Centre plays in their lives.
The centres facilitated the development of the posters – some with the assistance of local community artists. The results were nothing short of astonishing. The power of the posters and the intensity of feeling they convey made all the goodwill messaging that you normally associate with these kinds of facilities seem hollow. These posters not only worked to energize the public, but also as a key communication tool in lobbying their supporters and funders.
