Vans and Americans for the Arts were honored on June 2 with a Gold Cause Marketing Halo Award in the Best Education Campaign Category at the 14th Annual Cause Marketing Forum Conference in Chicago. A total of 20 awards were given out to programs judged to be the best at doing well by doing good in 2015.

 

The Vans Custom Culture design competition was founded in 2010 with the goal of raising awareness of diminishing arts education budgets across the country and to help students express their #RightToArt. In six years, the competition has grown from 325 to nearly 3,000 schools standing alongside Vans to appeal for their #RightToArt. In 2012, Vans Custom Culture partnered with Americans for the Arts, the nation's leading organization for advancing the arts and art education in America. The Vans Custom Culture design competition aims to show high school students how creativity can be their strongest asset as they grow and that artistic careers are viable.

 

"We congratulate Vans and Americans for the Arts on their efforts to do well by doing good," said Cause Marketing Forum President David Hessekiel. Over one hundred programs were entered in this year’s Cause Marketing Halo Award competition.

 

“Gone are the days when adding a charitable angle to a consumer- or employee-facing initiative was new and novel,” said Hessekiel. “Vans Custom Culture is being recognized for going beyond the basics to offer a unique partnership able to draw attention and engagement.”

 

“I am pleased that Vans Custom Culture has received this distinguished award,” said Robert L. Lynch, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts. “Together with Vans we are helping to bring more attention to the importance of the arts in high school curricula, encouraging high school students to embrace their creativity, and inspiring a new generation of innovative, forward focused youth.”

 

Now in their fourteenth year, the Cause Marketing Halo Awards are North America's highest honor in the field of cause marketing, awarded by the Cause Marketing Forum, a company dedicated to providing business and nonprofit executives with the practical information and connections they need to succeed. Descriptions of all the Cause Marketing Halo Award winners can be found online at www.CauseMarketingForum.com/halo2016.