Russo is senior vice president for corporate affairs and communications for Discovery Communications. The company, whose world headquarters is in Silver Spring, recently held a pro-bono event to develop marketing materials for nonprofits. What was the “Creating Change” event?
“Discovery Impact: Creating Change” is Discovery Communications’ annual pro-bono creative marathon, utilizing the power of our work force to fulfill design, marketing and communications work on behalf of nonprofit organizations. On Wednesday, Discovery strengthened our creative culture and harnessed one of our most important resources — our talented employees — to help organizations that work hard to improve our communities and our world.
How many employees participated in the Creating Change marathon?
It was humbling and inspiring to see more than 200 Discovery employees from our marketing, communications, creative services and production teams participate in this year’s marathon. Discovery also hosted a conference for all of the nonprofits that applied to receive services. … Discovery’s talented experts shared strategies, tips and best practices covering numerous topics, including social media, press strategy, mission statements, public speaking and effective use of video in campaigns.
How were the nonprofits receiving communications and design services chosen?
Nonprofits interested in participating completed online applications detailing the types of support and materials needed for their organizations. Our working group then reviewed each application and selected the organizations whose requests matched our resources. It’s a tough choice to decide among so many worthy causes, but it came down to what we can accomplish in 12 hours with the employee teams assembled.
What impact do you hope Creating Change has?
[When] the employees presented the final projects to nonprofits, [the] impact was felt immediately. We heard things like “You changed our life,” “We could not have imagined a better presentation” and “This would have taken us a year to get done.” … The impact also extends to our employees, who … serve the community and gain new inspiration for their daily work.
— Emily Babay
