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(ARA) - Learning doesn’t just happen inside
a classroom. For The Art Institutes, learning
is also creating opportunities for students and
faculty to take their talents and skills outside
the classroom, into the community, to help others.
This year, The Art Institutes will hold its second
national “webraising” event, with schools
throughout North America participating. Based
on the Amish concept of a barnraising where neighbors
gather together and build a barn in one day, webraisings
build websites for nonprofit organizations in
one 24-hour period.
Webraising is just one of dozens of volunteer
efforts that some 5,000 students from The Art
Institutes take part in each year, contributing
more than a quarter million hours toward improving
the communities in which they live and attend
school.
For a webraising event, students and faculty
of the Multimedia and Web Design departments of
The Art Institutes work closely with nonprofit
organizations several weeks in advance, conducting
research, learning about the organization and
the population it serves, and the purpose of its
Website. They then work for a period of 8 to 10
hours to meet the launch deadline date.
"Webraisings are a unique opportunity for
Multimedia and Web Design students to put their
skills to work creating a critical marketing and
communication tool for these non-profit organizations
that they otherwise might not have the resources
to create for themselves,” says Dr. Ameeta
Jadav. She is coordinating the current effort
underway.
In fact, many students who have participated
in webraising events have continued to be involved
with the organization as volunteers and Web site
managers.
For Art Institute of Atlanta student Robert Horton,
the experience of helping to raise a Web site
for a local arts organization was overwhelmingly
positive. “I liked the whole experience working
with my team members and the organization representative,”
says Horton. “My participation means a lot
to me; it says that I'm a part of something that's
productive."
“While the goals of the event are to develop
a strong partnership among students, schools and
their communities, and provide our students with
professional hands-on experience, perhaps most
importantly, we hope to instill in them a life-long
commitment to volunteerism,” adds Dr. Jaday.
For more information on careers in Multimedia
and Web Design and The Art Institutes, visit www.artinstitutes.edu/nz.
Courtesy of ARA Content
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