Insights | Yes& | Performance-Driven Marketing Agency | Washington DC

Building Community: Yes&'s Partnership with Carpenter's Shelter

Written by Yes& | Feb 18, 2022 9:37:18 PM

It's the people that make the place. The community you feel proud to be a part of and the place you call home. Since 1982, Carpenter’s Shelter has evolved from a small group of concerned citizens into a leader in finding solutions that end and prevent homelessness in our very own community in Alexandria, VA.

The Shelter is dedicated to supporting people experiencing and at risk of homelessness to achieve sustainable independence through shelter and housing placement, guidance, education, and advocacy.


Yes& has partnered with Carpenter’s Shelter over the years, providing pro bono work to help them with two main marketing initiatives: their End-of-the-Year Mailer and Annual Report. The End-of-the-Year Mailer is one of the Shelter’s biggest drivers for end-of-the-year donations and is traditionally sent to various donors and stakeholders to inform them of the Shelter’s accomplishments over the past year. In 2021, our team designed a look and feel for the marketing collateral inspired by a customized illustration of a whimsical town based on Alexandria. We created social media graphics to drive awareness of the Shelter and its End-of-the-Year Mailer as well as cardboard cutouts of different characters to display on-site in the Shelter’s windows. Along with the End-of-the-Year Mailer and Annual Report, we also had the opportunity to help create a new logo and collateral for a campaign to raise money for the Shelter’s new facility.

While it is exciting to see any campaign come to life, our close partnership with the organization drives our team to go above and beyond. Our pro bono work with Carpenter’s Shelter is more than elevating their brand, but it is about supporting an organization doing amazing work in our very own community. As part of our agency’s Day of Giving, on January 14, 2022, our social action committee and additional team members volunteered at the Shelter to shop, prepare, and serve lunch to more than 20 of the Shelter’s residents. Volunteering at Carpenter’s Shelter allowed us to get hands-on experience with the client to see the work we have helped them accomplish in real-time and ultimately build better relationships overall.

Seeing a billboard with a company’s new logo you just rebranded is a great feeling. Seeing a newly designed website that just launched after months of hard work is a feeling of pride. Seeing your work contribute to society in a meaningful and impactful way, now that is a rewarding feeling. We are proud of the work we have done alongside Carpenter’s Shelter through the years, and we are excited to continue this partnership to help them in their work to build a better future for our shared community.