EUREKA! Design Challenge
Outreach Strategization • Social Design • Presentation
What is
A 48-hour design challenge where participants work alongside a community organization that has a challenge that could benefit from our help with a fresh approach. In a 48 hour time frame, teams collaborate with stakeholders of the community organization to propose solutions following the project prompt.
I worked with designers Kennedy Intihar and Michelle Fu to:
- Learn about the Red Cross in Rochester and the DAT/HFC,
- Interview DAT members,
- Understand demographic populations in Rochester, and
- Determine the goal, research, and plan of action for our proposal.
Research
About the programs
American Red Cross
Organization built to prevent & alleviate suffering through the mobilization of volunteers.
Disaster Action Team (DAT)
Volunteer team within the Red Cross committed to support and assist those impacted by a home fire or other local disaster.
Home Fire Campaign (HFC)
Volunteer team within the Red Cross that install smoke detectors in homes for free (saved over 50 homes in 2022).
Understanding the Demographic
The Red Cross would like more volunteers within certain area codes. There are certain area codes with a lot of disaster calls and a low number of volunteers. We collected data from unitedstateszipcodes.org and compared them to the demographic of DAT members. Here's what we learned:
Population from zip codes 14607-14621
• 41.9% African American
• Lowest avg. annual income: $20,796
• Avg. age: 33
• Up to 33.3% do not have a GED
DAT Members
Mostly white, 60+ year old, retired volunteers.
Q&A with DAT Coordinator
With this research, we knew our core objective was to communicate the value of volunteering for the DAT/HFC to this demographic.
Our Proposal
Our proposal would be to collaborate with organizations in Rochester that have BIPOC communities. We proposed to collaborate with 2 organizations in Rochester that have goals that match the qualities that DAT volunteers have and are trained for. In collaboration with these organizations, we will host a DAT training session for participants to gain experience practicing these skills. This gives participants the option to continue training with DAT to become a volunteer & they'll already have the training program partially fulfilled.
How will we communicate the value of volunteering for the DAT & HFC?
In pitching the value of being a volunteer for the Red Cross, we decided to utilize the Golden Circle Strategy developed by Simon Sinek. This presentation style emphasizes this program’s importance to a prospective volunteer or a current member of the Red Cross/Urban League/United Way leadership program.
Conclusion
Our proposal was chosen for implementation by the Red Cross!
Takeaways: I believe we were successful because our research and understanding led us to the most straightforward solution. Because of the data we collected and the questions we asked, it was clear to see that there was a large BIPOC community in the targeted area codes. We debated on trying to target a different or multiple demographics, but determined focusing on the largest demographic would help us hone in on our proposal strategy. I owe a lot of credit to my two teammates. I didn't know Michelle or Kennedy beforehand and we ended up being down a person compared to everyone else, but that goes to show the resilience of us as a team.
Special thanks to Lorrie Frear, the EUREKA planning team, Natalie Robinson, the Momentum 3 team, Bernie Bowie & the Red Cross organization for this opportunity! It was a lot of fun.
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