By Christine McLaren
“Homeless Copywriter seeks hot meal.”
When Geoff Vreeken first wrote those words in the subject line of an email, it was not a plea for a steaming bowl of soup, it was an effort to impress potential employers with his wit. The recession had just hit and Vreeken had been fired. Around 20 percent of the staff were saved, the rest were tossed to sea, joining thousands of other out of work creative professionals scrambling for dry land.
He could have felt sorry for himself. He could have given up and switched careers. But instead, Vreeken found a way to make himself so sought after that he was turning down jobs, by helping the homeless.
It’s a surprisingly common story. In creative industries, recessionsforce professionals to innovate. Beside the benefit of giving their time and talent to a good cause, creative types doing pro bono work for charitable organizations get more creative freedom than many paid jobs would allow.
Vreeken hadn’t paid much attention to the recession until assignments slowly stopped coming across his desk. Before he knew what was happening, he didn’t even have a desk to sit at.
“It’s kind of like getting dumped,” says Vreeken. And if the recession were a failed relationship, Vreeken rebounded hard, throwing himself at every job he could imagine in his field. After several months and dozens of resumes, he had still heard nothing. His savings were gone, unpaid student loan payments started piling up and bills were starting to come in the mail with “Please return immediately” printed on the top. No one was hiring.
If he was going to get noticed, Vreeken realized, he would have to do something extraordinary. He decided to create a fake ad campaign, advertising himself posing on the street as a homeless copywriter. Showcasing his creativity, and his willingness to push the envelope, it just might impress cash-strapped employers enough to bring him on board.
Find a Local Cause You Believe In
Vreeken was no stranger to homelessness. His apartment near Vancouver’s famously grim Downtown Eastside sat next to Covenant House Vancouver, an organization that provides shelter and assistance to homeless youth. Late one night, he was sitting in bed lamenting his growing line of credit and brainstorming for his campaign when it hit him, just outside his door the homeless population had grown by almost 400 per cent in just six years. Homeless kids don’t have ad agencies. Instead of revamping his portfolio by making a fake ad campaign, why not make a real one for someone who really needed it?
Deena Tokaryk, a marketing and communications specialist, had the same experience when she was laid off in a round of funding cuts from the BC Treaty Commission. When she was approached by the leading project manager of Home for the Games, an Olympic home rental service whose profits are donated to organizations helping homelessness, she saw an opportunity to donate her time to a cause she believed in.
“As much as I’m getting input and suggestions from other people, I’m leading all of this, and I’m making the decisions,” says Tokaryk. “There are no limits, except my time and energy.” This situation has given her more confidence and more responsibility than she’s ever had in a paid position.
Heidi Ehlers, founder of Black Bag, one of the country’s top recruiting agencies for creative talent, says that pro bono work for charities is a common outlet for creatives wanting to keep their skills taut and up their profile.
“One of the most difficult things a creative person goes through when they’re not working is that feeling of getting stagnant. I think in order for a creative person to feel really fulfilled, they need to be creating,” Ehlers said.
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Category: Work
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Well done, Geoff! Great working with you.