Transforming Lives
Lives are being transformed through grassroots efforts pioneered by “Seed to Oaks,” a non-profit organization that mobilizes effective social justice programs.
Originally a ministry of Sojurn Community Church in Louisville, “Seed to Oaks” empowers organizations and churches to establish a relationship with their neighbors through service programs tailored to their community’s particular needs. With a new website developed by Hatfield Media, “Seed to Oaks” hopes to reach even more partners who share their vision.
Ivey says he realized early on that local churches and leaders of faith are in the perfect positions to create lasting change in our neighborhoods, and that businesses and civic agencies are more determined than ever to support effective social initiatives.
COMMUNITY COLLABORATION
“Our organization is unique in that we are bringing about real and lasting community change through a collaboration between local churches, businesses and civic agencies, filling the space between the three,” Ivey said.
The organization offers programs that target critical community needs, like job scarcity, health, and education. “Neighborhood 360 Assessment” evaluates your community’s values, demographics, history, and strategic opportunities to gain insight into how to mobilize your neighborhood effectively. “Whole Health” helps local churches and health professionals collaborate to address health needs within your community.
“Job One,” a job placement program that can be operated out of a church or non-profit organization, helps develop skills in people do not have the resources to pursue an education. The program focuses on in-demand jobs needing fulfillment, benefiting both local businesses and locals. Seed to Oaks also offers “Oaks Learning,” a two-week summer prep course for grade-school children operated out of churches in collaboration with certified educators and church volunteers.
ACTION FOR SOCIAL GOOD
“There’s a lot of entrepreneurial people behind these programs,” said Christina Kuo, Project Manager at Hatfield Media. “Community members take action for social good with the resources they have. Servanthood changes with the need, so it’s dynamic and versatile. Their heart is in building up a community and serving it holistically.”
As the organization grew beyond Louisville, Ivey saw a need for a new “Seed to Oaks” website.
“We were rapidly expanding, and our old site no longer reflected where we were going,” he said. “Before launching a new site, we decided to work with our friends at Raygun Workshop, a branding agency in Indianapolis, to refine our message to accurately reflect who we are. We also updated our logo. We then connected with Drake Hatfield, also a good friend of ours, to build out the new website.”
WEB DESIGN WITH A FOCUS ON USER EXPERIENCE
Hatfield Media Hatfield Media utilized the branding and personas developed by Raygun Workshop to develop a website with an emphasis on functionality clarity. Kuo credits the ingenuity of Hatfield Media’s development team for their ability to create a responsive designs which serve as an intuitive and natural navigation flow across all devices.
“The site is easy to navigate,” Kuo said. “There’s just the right amount of call to action, and the content is as inspirational as the team behind it.”
Kuo also said it was wonderful to work with Ivey and the Seed to Oaks team, calling them “a professional network of people who can make things happen.”
“When I first met Nathan Ivey, he drew the organization’s whole business model out for me,” she said. “He’s got a game plan, and he knows it works, but he’s also a truly humble person.”
Ivey hopes that with this new website, “Seed to Oaks” continues to restore communities and create even more service opportunities.
“I believe that our website is a key means of communicating our vision and helping us identify partners who want to join us to help make it happen,” Ivey said. “Every one of us wants to make a meaningful contribution to our community and every one of us wants to see our gifts and expertise lead to real and lasting change. I hope that when a viewer comes to our website, they can imagine afresh how they can leverage their influence to create a movement of social good in our city.”
Hatfield Media desires to partner with companies who share like-minded goals. “Seed to Oaks values align with Hatfield Media’s,” Kuo said. “We try to make their vision a reality. We definitely enjoy being part of important work for society and making a difference in the community.”
