Overview
Creative Art Works, a NYC arts-based youth development nonprofit, is offering a unique CSR opportunity for a company or companies in the gaming, animation, or other creative industries to sponsor our highly successful Character Design Program, launching its fifth season next Spring 2025.
About the Program
Each year, the Character Design program provides more than 150 students at NYC Career and Techincal Education (CTE) high schools with a paid “workplace challenge” in partial fullfilment of their “work-based learning” requirements. Over the course of 15 weeks, interns are challenged to work in small teams to create a story pitch involving original characters with backstories, personality traits, and strengths and weaknesses. Visiting professionals provide deep dives into various aspects of the industry.
The program culminates with an online celebration that includes awards for the best story pitches and other design and creative youth development superlatives. All pitches are celebrated in a dedicated web magazine on creativeartworks.org.
“Axl” by 2023 Best Character Design Winner
Rayna Lin
To explore sponsorship opportunities…
Contact Executive Director Karen Jolicoeur at (646) 424-0392 or write to karen@creativeartworks.org.
“We feel so honored to be part of the incredible work that Creative Art Works is performing in NYC. It’s great to see FunPlus take the industry’s stance on expanding diversity seriously, and it’s vital that we all continue to do so. It is so inspiring to see these interns unleash their creative potential and who knows, perhaps even discover a calling for a career in game design in the future!”
Why Sponsor?
This is an excellent opportunity for your company to engage your team by making a tangible difference in the lives of under-resourced youth.
You will be providing access for NYC young adults to learn about the creative sector and adjacent career opportunities.
By providing opportunities for visiting professionals to lead workshops on subjects they feel passionate about, you will be developing the next generation of industry professionals while helping to promote diversity in the workplace.
Your entire company is invited to participate in the culminating event.
In addition to providing content for your own communications platform, CAW can amplify your reach through our social media channels (FB, IG, LinkedIn), our monthly newsletter (4,000+ subscribers), and an online magazine about the program hosted on the CAW website.
CAW’s Manager of Marketing & Communications will coordinate with your communications team to maximize reach.
What Interns Have Said
“When the professionals visited, I really liked the inspiration they gave me. It really made me think I can achieve what I want in the future. It was valuable because I was able to learn a lot from people with experience and gain confidence in my own skills.”
“Lucas & Bobo” by the 2024 Best Character Design winning team, Betty L., Catherine C., Lonii D., & Verna C.
“Miha” by 2022 Best Character Design Winner Jade Rosendo
“The biggest thing I learned from the program was the ability to tell a character’s story with just their appearance. The way a character looks reveals so much about them – where they live, where they work, and what they like to do. I realized the importance of visual communication and I wanted to expand on that the more I learned.”
“Something I learned was teamwork and cooperation, and that can be taken to a future job, extracurricular, or internship opportunity, because it allowed me to learn to work with others even through disagreements.”
2025 Best Character Design Winners