PROJECTS:
We would like to increase our Resources page
to include many local resources. Please SUBMIT information for your community to
info@candleinthewindow.org.
We welcome and and all feedback about how to carry out this
mission better!
NEWS:
July 31, 2009
Candle in the Window
Chooses a Final Design and Honors 2 Winners with $1000 in
Scholarships
After
4 months of college students and others wrestling with the
creative challenge and providing more than 230 submissions,
CandleInTheWindow.org has picked two winners for its
nationwide sign design contest. The victors are Kelsey
Hazzard, a 2009 graduate of the University
of Miami who is entering law school this fall at the
University of Virginia, and Christina Tien Chang, an
entering senior at Rockville High School in Rockville,
Maryland. Both will split the $1000 scholarship prize.
“We were impressed by the simplicity of Kelsey’s concept,”
said Fernando Alessandri, President of CITW. “We were
looking for something that would catalyze people of good
will to identify themselves to pregnant women in desperate
circumstances. Kelsey’s idea for the type of sign was on
the right track so we took it as a great starting point.”
Kelsey Hazzard and
her designs.
“Then for the actual design
work we turned to Christina, whose submission was
exceptional and a finalist. Our final design had to be
attractive and stylish and we knew she could deliver. Once
we gave her the actual words to use she was off and running
with various concepts until we chose the final one,”
continued Alessandri.
Christina
Chang and her original submission.
“I’m really excited about being
chosen for the final design work,” said Chang. “Not only
did this contest appeal to my interest in graphic design
but also brought up memories of my middle school classmate.
She got pregnant and was not given enough support from the
community and eventually disappeared from school. Today, I
regret my past decisions to not reach out to her during a
time when she needed help the most. By working on this
project, I hope I can overshadow my mistakes and promote a
good cause.”
"I'm honored that Candle in the Window chose my sign
concept," said Hazzard. "This project is going
to make pregnancy resources accessible for thousands of
women. I'm thrilled to be part of it."
CITW has taken Hazzard’s and Chang’s work and rewritten the
text to better express its full message. The final sign
reads:
####
May
12, 2009
Candle
Announces Scholarship Contest for Best Poster/Sign Design
that Encourages Needy Pregnant Women to Ask Bearers for
Help
Washington DC – Newly established CandleInTheWindow.org
announces a $1000
scholarship/award for the winning design of a poster or
symbol that tells pregnant women in need that the bearer of
the symbol will help them get the help they need.
“We want to get beyond the buzzwords of “life” and “choice”
and make it clear to millions of pregnant women that
in Everyneighborhood,
USA there are hundreds of people
right around them willing to help them during and after
their pregnancies,” said Fernando Alessandri, President of
CITW. “Whether they need a job, a place to live, medical
help, diapers, blankets, food or any other kind of
pregnancy- and motherhood- related services, our
sign-bearers will help them find it.”
Alessandri said his group was encouraged to found the
organization after their discovery of thousands of crisis
pregnancy centers offering free services across the U.S.
Organizations such as Birthright International and
Optionline.org offer 24-hour phone support as well as
searchable websites that pinpoint the closest support
centers for any given zip code.
Rather than design a poster themselves, Alessandri said the
group decided to open it up to the public as a contest to
encourage students to think about how to draw attention to
the plight of pregnant women looking for assistance at a
crisis point in their lives.
The deadline for submissions is June 15, 2009.
Candleinthewindow.org models its concept after the
Underground Railroad of the 1840s, by which kind-hearted
people willing to help men and women fleeing from slavery
identified themselves as a safe haven by placing a light in
the window of their homes each night.
www.CandleInTheWindow.org was
founded as a private initiative in March 2009.
Correspondence may be directed to
info@candleinthewindow.org, PO Box 61, Davidsonville, MD
21035-0061, or by phone at 443-370-2606.