Flavio Andrade had a vision. One where brown and black people thrived as empowered leaders, capable of breaking down barriers, embracing their cultural heritage and driving change across society.
In 2022, he took a step toward realizing that dream by founding the nonprofit Brown and Black Foundation. Its key goals: creating powerful programs for at-risk youth and events that brought marginalized communities together.
Now, two summers later, B&BF has founded a successful 12-week at-risk youth delinquency prevention program and is preparing to launch introductory courses in construction, welding, and automotive tech.
From the start, Andrade realized that to get his organization’s message to the widest possible audience, he’d have to create a website. But he had no experience in website building and zero budget for the project. Determined to find a way, he reached out to Jericho Road Pasadena for volunteer help.
JRP introduced him to two experts: David Bradley, a multifaceted communicator with web skills that ranged from data analysis to project management, and Joseph Kim, a skilled web designer. With no existing site to refer to, David began to give Andrade and his team the visuals and copy that would enable him to build one from scratch.
“My three key aims for the B&BF site were to create online visibility, reach a bigger audience, and set up a reliable linked donation site,” he says. Once Andrade’s team delivered the images, Bradley called on his seasoned expertise to create an overall flow via the placement of text and images. He also taught the group basic training on how to update the site and looked at acquiring the skills they’d need to revise it in the future.
Kim used his skills to translate Andrade’s vision into a cohesive user experience that aligned with B&BF’s values and audience. “Flavio and I worked closely through several rounds of feedback and iteration to ensure the site would effectively communicate his mission,” the designer says.
Andrade says he couldn’t have asked for better communication, quality and assurance that his vision would be met. “Having a website has made it easy to direct other organizations, donors, and communities to our services.”
Bradley shared the team’s enthusiasm for the project. “Helping a company to help others is a great feeling,” he says. “I am all for it.”
Thanks to volunteer Linda Taubenreuther for writing JRP social media posts!