These visually stunning posters were designed to show what already makes America great.

Carlos Foglia
02.23.17

Spoiler alert: America is already great.

In response to the tactics used by the current party in power, many groups and organizations have assembled to fight the "alternative fact" that America isn't great already.

One of those groups is the Creative Action Network, founded by Max Slavkin and Aaron Perry-Zucker, and their message is simple and powerful:

"Creative Action Network is a global community of artists and designers, making art with purpose. We run crowdsourced campaigns around causes. Anyone and everyone is welcome to contribute their own original, visual, meaningful work. We then develop those designs into print, apparel, and other products, and sell them here in our online store and through our retail partners, supporting artists and causes with every purchase."

One of their current campaigns is "What Makes America Great." It perfectly encapsulates, visually, what we're all thinking.

We spoke to Slavkin, a former Upworthy employee, about Creative Action Network's plan to release 100 posters by 100 artists over the first 100 days of the Trump presidency, while raising money for DreamCorps, a social justice accelerator created by former (Obama) White House advisor Van Jones.

The benefit, as Slavkin explains, is two-fold, "On a more tactical level, we hope to raise some money for DreamCorps, and on a deeper level, we truly hope to shift a lot of people's mindset from fear and anxiety to one of more hope and celebration."

Amazing artists have taken part in this campaign, including Juana Medina, who is illustrating the latest project by the current U.S. Poet Laureate.

DreamCorps is ecstatic to be part of this.

A statement from Jeremy Hays, chief engagement officer for DreamCorps, said in part: "Art is the soul of the movement. Art and artists help us connect our heads with our hearts in order to see with new perspective our struggles, possibilities, and strength. We are proud to participate in this campaign and to share this art with the thousands of people who make up America’s #LoveArmy."

Over 3,000 organizations have mobilized since inauguration, and they're doing incredible work. Creative Action Network is proof there is a place for compassion, hope, and celebration.

This is a movement full of art, fundraising, activism, and most importantly, a celebration of what already makes America great.

For more information, visit the Creative Action Network.

empathy for all culture inspiration art kindness humanity activism activists posters
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He was a homeless veteran. Karis Village offered him not just a home, but a community.

"To me, this building was just a gift."

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Brian Olesen never imagined he would end up homeless.

The former U.S. Air Force medic had led a full and active life, complete with a long career in the medical field, a 20-year marriage, and a love of anything aquatic. But after hip surgery and chronic back pain left him disabled in 2013, he lost his ability to work. Due to changes in eligibility requirements, he couldn't qualify for federal veteran housing programs. His back issues were difficult to prove medically, so he didn't qualify for disability. Though he'd worked his whole life, having no income for five years took its toll. He got evicted from a couple of apartments and found himself living on the streets.

But in 2018, two things completely turned Olesen's life around. He was able to both qualify for disability and to move into an affordable housing community in Miami's Goulds neighborhood called Karis Village.

When people think of affordable housing, they don't usually picture a place like Karis Village. The 88-unit development is brand new, and built with an attention to design that is not always expected for developments that serve as home to people on limited incomes. The apartments have tile floors, marble countertops, and all new appliances and furniture, and the grounds are beautiful and well-kept, with a playground and common areas for residents to gather.

Brian Olesen in his kitchen at Karis VillageCapital One

Karis Village isn't just a housing development; it's a home and a community. Half of the units are set aside for veterans who have experienced homelessness, like Olesen. The other half are largely occupied by single-parent families.

"To me, this building was just a gift," says Olesen. "All of the different parties that got together to put this building together… making half the building available to veterans. We've got no place to go."

Addressing veteran homelessness was one of the goals of Karis Village, which was built through a partnership that included Carrfour Supportive Housing — a mission-driven, not-for-profit affordable housing organization in southern Florida — and Capital One's Community Finance team. More than just an affordable place to live, the community has full-time staff on hand to help coordinate services—from addiction recovery programs to transportation options to job search and placement. Also included are peer counselors who provide emotional and psychological support for residents.

Karis Village, an affordable housing community in Miami, Florida.Capital One

Carrfour President and CEO Stephanie Berman says the core function of the services team on site is to build a supportive community.

"Often when you think of folks leaving homelessness and coming into housing, you think of shelters or some kind of traditional housing," she says. "You don't really think about a community, and that's really what we build and what we operate. What we're really striving to create is community. We find that our families thrive when you create a sense of community."

The intention to create a supportive community at Karis Village was a priority from the get go. Fabian Ramirez, a Capital Officer on Capital One's Community Finance team, says the bank did a listening tour in southern Florida to explore community development and affordable housing options in the area and to hear what was most needed. After deciding to partner with Carrfour, the bank provided not only an $8 million construction loan and a $25 million low income housing tax credit (LIHTC) investment to help build Karis Village, but it also kicked in a $250,000 social purpose grant to help fund the social support services that would be put in place for residents.

"It's not just all about providing the brick and mortar," says Ramirez. "It's about being able to contribute to the sustainability of the development and of the lives of the people who move into the building."


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Olesen says he and his fellow residents benefit greatly from the network of support services offered in the building. He says a counselor comes to meet with him once a month, sometimes right in his apartment. He also gets help maintaining a connection with the Veteran Affairs office. Other services include social workers and counselors for drug addiction and alcoholism.

Olesen loves being around other veterans, and he says hearing the sound of children playing keeps the community lively. He says anywhere else he could afford to live on disability wouldn't be nearly as nice and would likely involve shared kitchens and bathrooms and neighborhoods you wouldn't want to go out in at night.

If it weren't for Karis Village, Olesen says he doesn't know where he would be today: "I had nowhere to go and this is a safe, beautiful place to spend my retirement."

"I don't think they could have done a much better job of putting this place together and supplying us with what we need," he says. "I have so much appreciation for the ability to have a place to live. And then you add to that that it's beautiful and completely furnished and you didn't need to bring anything—I don't know what more you could ask for."

Karis Village and another development for veterans built the same year enabled the neighborhood of Goulds to meet the requirements set forth by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to declare an end to veteran homelessness in the area.

Ending veteran homelessness altogether is a complex task, but communities like Karis Village show how it can be done—and done well. When government agencies, non-profit organizations, and corporate funding programs come together to solve big problems, big solutions can be built and maintained.

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