After five years of annual HERO[series] design projects, [HAS HEART] has been able to refine the Veteran and artist collaboration process into a streamlined, efficient two-day design process — making it easily repeatable over and over again in order to impact more Veterans, engage more creatives, and reach more civilians.
The question: How does a small, volunteer, self-funded non-profit organization reach more Americans?
Our answer: “Why don’t we just take it to them ourselves?”
So we are.
For the next 18+ months, [HAS HEART] Co-Founder/Creative Director, Tyler Way and our Communications Director (and his wife) Kendra Clapp (and their cat Noel) will be living and working on the road, traveling from state-to-state to partner one Veteran with one artist in all fifty states with the mission to share each Veteran’s story through the mediums of art, design, and fashion.
Once the 18-month journey is complete, the 50 designs and their messages will be compiled and published into a coffee table book, curated into a traveling art museum exhibit, and produced into a collection of American-made consumer products whose proceeds will benefit the Veterans who co-designed them.
But we can’t do this alone.
So we will be continually partnering with other organizations, foundations, local businesses, corporations, and national brands who share our passion in supporting Veterans through a creative outlet such as this.
We’ve also enabled everyday citizens to support this mission. You can donate to the project, including being able dedicate your support in someone’s name and/or contributing to your desired state project fund.
You can also create a fundraising page of your own that will tie into our overall “50 States: Veterans + Artists United” campaign. This option is a great way for social groups, organizations, and companies to pool your support together as one.
Of course, there are many other ways to support [HAS HEART]…
Would you be interested in participating in a state project as a Veteran, designer, photographer, or videographer?
Does your local or regional business want to sponsor your home state project? How about the large corporation you work for?