Branding agency to help raise awareness for need for children’s mental health services
Austin, Texas – May 22, 2006
Cartis Group, an Austin-based branding-driven design agency, has chosen the Austin Child Guidance Center as the recipient of the agency’s second annual grant program. Cartis Group is donating $50,000 in branding and creative services to help the Austin Child Guidance Center raise awareness of the need for better mental health services for children.
One in five children in the Austin community is diagnosed with or at risk for a mental illness — but services are often expensive and difficult to find. Even with local and national initiatives dedicating May as National Mental Health Month, awareness of this problem is minimal. Austin Child Guidance Center helps with this pressing need by improving the mental health of children through early intervention, diagnosis and treatment to help them develop the emotional skills for meeting life’s challenges. As a small nonprofit agency, it is challenged to attain the awareness and name recognition so critical for its ongoing success and the health of the Austin community.
“Cartis Group received more than 50 impressive proposals from nonprofits all over Central Texas,” says Cartis Group Founder and President, Shannon Carter. “We chose Austin Child Guidance Center as this year’s grant recipient because of their passion and commitment, and because we believe this is the best way for our team to make a lasting positive impact in our community. We are excited about partnering with such a dedicated group of professionals to truly make a difference in the lives of thousands of Austinites.”
Working with Executive Director Dr. Donald Zappone and the ACGC staff, Cartis Group will create an awareness campaign to help people understand the depth and breadth of the problem, how Austin Child Guidance Center can help and why it’s important to know about and support the Center.
“We are always confronted with making hard choices about how to find and best leverage the necessary resources for us to fulfill our mission,” says Dr. Zappone. “Cartis Group’s expertise and generosity will make a huge difference for us as demand for our services continues to grow.”
Two runners-up were also named in the grant announcement. Family Connections and Interfaith Care Alliance will receive a consultation with Cartis Group’s strategists and creative team on how to stand out and get noticed for the great work they do.
About Austin Child Guidance Center
Austin Child Guidance Center is a nonprofit organization committed to improving the mental health of children through early intervention, diagnosis and treatment. Austin Child Guidance Center has been helping families in the Austin community build emotionally healthy lives for more than 50 years. A multidisciplinary team of psychologists, social workers, counselors and psychiatrists provide mental health evaluation and treatment services, including individual, family and group counseling.
About Cartis Group
Cartis Group is a branding-driven advertising and design agency specializing in brand strategy and visual communications for print, Web and broadcast media. Its clients are leading companies in consumer, technology and financial services markets, including USAA, Whole Foods Market, SigmaTel and Silicon Laboratories Inc. Cartis Group is focused on driving revenue, building loyalty and inspiring emotion. For more information, visit www.cartisgroup.com.
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Media Alert
Who:
Cartis Group, a branding-driven design agency, and Austin Child Guidance Center, a nonprofit providing mental health services for young people in the Austin community.
What:
Cartis Group announces Austin Child Guidance Center as the winner of its $50,000 creative services grant for branding and awareness-building.
When:
Monday, May 22, 2006
10:45 a.m. sharp CDT
Where:
Austin Child Guidance Center headquarters
810 W. 45th St. – just east of N. Lamar Blvd.
Austin, Texas
Why:
Cartis Group has chosen Austin Child Guidance Center to receive $50,000 in branding and marketing creative services. As one of the nation’s premiere branding and design agencies, Cartis Group receives many requests for pro bono services from deserving nonprofit organizations. To maximize the impact of its donated services for organizations and the community, Cartis Group has instituted a grant program. This is the second year of the program; based on the success of the first year’s grant to the Equal Justice Center, Cartis Group doubled the size of the grant from $25,000 to $50,000 in services. Services will include branding and awareness-building strategies and tactics to help people understand the magnitude of the need for mental health services for children, why Austin Child Guidance Center is important to fill that need and what we can do to help ensure a healthy future for our children.
Visuals:
Using a variation of the “Extreme Home Makeover” concept as a jumping-off point, Cartis Group and Austin Child Guidance Center will team up to build awareness of the tremendous need for mental health services for young people and of ACGC’s important role in helping thousands of children and their families get these services they so desperately need. Visuals include ACGC board members, staff and clients and Cartis Group team members all wearing red t-shirts, and the handoff of the ceremonial hammer symbolizing the work we will be doing together.
Invited Guests:
Austin Mayor Will Wynn
ACGC Executive Director, Dr. Donald J. Zappone, Ph.D.
ACGC Director of Development, Leslie Archambault
ACGC Community Relations Coordinator and Grant Writer, Josie Kluth
Cartis Group Founder and President, Shannon Carter
ACGC board members:
David Zodikoff
Kathy Kramer, Ph.D.
Will Shapiro
Brenda Barrett Healey
Kathryn Kramer, Ph.D.
Beth Marsh
James Maynard, M.D.
Anne Nelson, Ph.D.
Selia Servín-López, Psy.D.
ACGC staff and Cartis Group staff
Contact:
Sara Breuer, Cartis Group
Office – 512-476-2600; Mobile – 512-560-3278
Email – sara.breuer@cartisgroup.com
