Guests at the Salute to Service gala could see exactly who they were supporting through a graphic wall of 3,000 photos that showed how the American Red Cross impacted people's lives through blood drives, disaster relief, and health and safety training.
The showstopping Lomo Wall, created with the national organization's advertising partner BBDO New York, was used as a decor piece for a V.I.P. reception, but that wasn't its original use. It started when the Red Cross sent kits with journals and cameras to people across the country who had been helped by the organization. It collected the stories and used the analog photos in a Lomography wall—with the organization's signature red cross in the center—that was originally an exhibit in Washington's Union Station in March.
Gala organizers had the idea of bringing it to the event, the annual fund-raiser for the American Red Cross in the National Capital Region, according to Cheryl Kravitz, director of communication.
"That was the place to be," Kravitz said. "We had a step-and-repeat there, but everybody gravitated toward the Lomo Wall. That's because it was real stories, and it got conversations started. Everybody has a Red Cross story."
During the program, the storytelling theme continued with videos from the honorees.
The gala, a 500-person affair May 4 at the Marriott Wardman Park, formerly known as the Fire and Ice Ball, raised $500,000 for its programs. The event was planned internally with gala chairwoman Gigi Schumm, a vice president and general manager at presenting sponsor Symantec.