Bits of Belief

Bits of Belief is a website concept connecting girls locally and globally so they can create and sell artistic products. BoB is a platform for creative effort, so girls learn about markets for their work. BoB encourages global communication and empathy among today’s youth, building bridges for the future.

“Bits of Belief” will be an online community established to help girls communicate with each other about their creative work.  BoB will help girls find others with complementary talents - such as helping match an artist with a writer - thus helping these young people manifest their talents into actual products for sale.  BoB will encourage girls to create real outcomes with their work such as greeting cards, coffee mugs, t-shirts, and the like.  BoB will partner with online companies that produce these kinds of products so there is a readymade system in place for girls to manifest their creative work into product.  

“Bits of Belief” will create partnerships with schools in order to recruit participants to its networking website.  In addition, BoB will reach out to established creatives in order to create a mentoring program where the mentors assist the girls in finalizing products, and give encouragement along the way.

“Bits of Belief” is intended to create “belief” in self - a little “bit” at a time.  Ultimately, it will be a platform of outreach not just locally but globally, and can create friendships that last for a lifetime.  It encourages girls to use creativity, which is useful in the workforce, for any occupation.  And it will help girls learn that they can believe in themselves.

A girl can have creative talent without having a support system to help her flourish.  She may not have a mentor, or her mentor may not know how to create a platform for her or help her partner with others whose talents complement hers.  She ends up not learning how to take her creative impulses and turn them into marketable products. Without a vision for outcome, she may give up on her urge to create.  The world loses her talent. The creative process is stunted by one more discouraged person.

Our own life experiences tell us that staying creative is important, networking with other creatives can help creative juices flowing, and losing that creative edge can only lessen our lives when it comes to both work and play.  But the following studies also show that fostering this kind of creativity in young people is beneficial, can increase SAT scores and optimism about college, and that we especially need this now, given how schools keep cutting creative programs from their curriculum:

https://www2.goshen.edu/~marvinpb/arted/tc.html

http://time.com/3726098/learni...  (collects studies)

https://education.good.is/arti...

https://www.arts.gov/sites/def...

http://nasaa-arts.org/critical...

See also P. Paulus and B. Nijstad, “Group Creativity: Innovation through Collaboration,” https://books.google.com/books...

Bits of Belief is for high schoolers to create sellable artwork and networking opportunities.  We will partner with schools, mentors, and corporations specializing in selling online artistic product (personalized greeting cards, coffee mugs, t-shirts, etc.). We will propose that corporations sell items at discounts, to encourage participation by the youth’s customer bases.  The youth will benefit directly from selling their products; the corporations will benefit by creating an audience for their products, as well as some profit.  Ultimately BOB will help young people rely on and expand their creativity, creating a belief in it and a habit out of it.

Keep a list of member schools - 100 schools participate in helping their students engage in the website

Agree with schools that at least 10 girls will participate; track uploads - 1,000 girls upload artistic product to the website

track sales via the website - 5,000 products are sold during the pilot program

This solution is unique because it creates an avenue for youth that doesn't normally exist - an avenue to share their art and writing, be encouraged by it, partner with others on it, and sell it.  People typically think of creativity as being a nice addition to traditional occupations.  BoB will show that there is a practical application to creative endeavor, that it can be both celebrated and rewarded, and that it can be useful and integrated into real life, not just used as a side hobby.  "Belief" is key.  BoB works to create that "belief."

Bits of Belief meets Solve's human-centered goals straight on.  BoB will begin by partnering with schools in underserved communities locally in the USA, Canada and Mexico and can expand with additional outreach to schools in other world regions.  While BoB uses a website as its platform, it is in fact a network of people and not bots.  By partnering with schools, we will work to ensure that there are real people engaged in the process. One exciting component of BoB is that young people will learn the business end of art and will gather business skills in the process.

Initially the outreach will come from BoB to schools, mentors and product corporations with an online presence.  Through marketing, we expect schools to ask to participate.  It is expected to dovetail with work the students are doing at school already (i.e., painting, writing, creating), so there should not be significant additional costs. Uploading material to the website may entail obtaining scanners or computers which would be a cost and an access issue if these items are not available.

We will function through financial donations, volunteers, and corporate sponsorship

We will need to address copyright issues

We will need to identify vehicles to spread the word of the program

We will need to design and build the website that will be the platform

We will need to network with schools and sponsor corporations

We will need to identify established creatives interested in mentoring

2112 is an incubator program.  Solve is a perfect match for its mission. 2112 is an active member of the Chicago community and often has workshops to engage creatives.  "Bits of Belief" is generated from one of their workshops.

Red Lime Studios is also designed for startups and conscious entities.  Solve is a perfect match for its mission as well.  RLS conducted the workshop that led to the development of "Bits of Belief."

Beth Bollinger is a lawyer, writer, and producer who has dedicated her life to helping others tell their stories and create.  Again, Solve is a perfect match.

2112 Chicago - Chicago's first incubator focused on the development of business and entrepreneurs in music, film/video and creative technology.

Red Lime Studios - a UX design agency for startups, conscious companies,

universities, nonprofits using an Agile method to solve complicated web issues.

Beth Bollinger - attorney, writer and producer.

None known.