PCA&D-York opens its doors Aug. 2 to show off work by this summer’s Agency team

Four York County non-profit agencies were the beneficiaries this summer of the design, marketing, and branding talents of student members of The Agency. An open house and gallery show exhibiting The Agency’s work will be held on York First Friday, Aug. 2. 

“It’s always incredibly rewarding to have the opportunity to utilize our skills as designers and creatives to give back to our local community,” says PCA&D faculty member Ellie Cochran, Instructor of Record at the student-run and student-led Agency initiative. “The Lancaster and York communities are our home, and we hope that the impact of our work this summer helps our non-profit clients to get more volunteers, funding, and other resources to fulfill their respective missions.”

The Agency’s Summer Cohort members included Creative Director Bailey Stechman ‘25, Graphic Design; Assistant Creative Director Logan Byer ‘26, Design Thinking; and Agency members Warren Burke ‘25, Graphic Design; Onix Guadalupe Rivera ‘25, Illustration; and Cole Zajdel ‘25, Illustration. The 2023-2024 PCA&D Career Development Fellows, Alexia Eggleston ‘23 and Jasmyn Stokes ‘23, served as Site Supervisors.

The work they pursued was on behalf of:

Friends & Neighbors of PA: An organization that “applies best practices and innovative solutions to stubborn problems that hurt … communities and prevent opportunities.” They are especially active on the issue of unhoused members of their community. 

Tabby Trappers: A non-profit dedicated to humanely trapping, neutering and spaying, and returning cats to reduce the feline population.

YBA Workforce Now Foundation: A York County resource for information about careers in the construction trades. 

York Fresh Food Farms: An organization that works to improve “access to affordable, healthy, fresh food for everyone in (the) community, especially for families living in poverty and in food desert neighborhoods.”

“These nonprofits were chosen as part of the Give Local York program,” Cochran explained. “York-area non-profits submitted their materials to PCA&D for consideration, and were evaluated based on their needs and how well those needs aligned with our student workforce’s skillset.”

The work done for each non-profit varied, Cochran added, but tended to be mainly focused on storytelling, advertising, and branding. Items produced included tri-fold brochures to help get the word out about clients’ work; keychains, stickers, T-shirts and other takeaways to help brands gain a foothold in the community; and even an updated homepage and contact page redesign for one of the clients’ websites. Another Agency creation: internal materials for the non-profit clients to help them with creative strategy, such as a weekly/monthly, quarterly checklist to help them maintain their marketing funnel and keep their brands in peoples’ minds. 

“It’s always exciting and rewarding to see the student interns’ growth throughout our time together during The Agency,” Cochran said. “There’s a real sense of camaraderie and understanding of responsibility that develops over the weeks. I’m thrilled and honored to be able to give students the opportunity to try out and grow into leadership roles, and can’t wait to see where the students head in the future.”

The Aug. 2 First Friday show opens with a VIP reception at the PCA&D-York headquarters, 133 S. Duke St., York, from 4-5 pm, and then opens to the public from 5-6 pm. All are welcome!