Save Our Stories

826 Valencia is a nonprofit in San Francisco dedicated to supporting under-resourced students with their creative writing skills. But they opened a second location and badly needed new volunteers.

We sent out an S.O.S. (Save Our Stories) by placing students’ half-written stories all around the city, asking people to help finish them. Those who found the messages in bottles got to see what it’s like — and how easy it is — to be a tutor and make a real difference in the community.  

We even sent out the S.O.S on Craigslist in the Lost & Found section. From the clue in the bottle, finders were pushed to the microsite where they were encouraged to complete the story and learn about volunteering opportunities.