VERO BEACH — What started as a simple explanation to younger school-aged children about homelessness took on a life of its own.
The idea of educating the public about The Source became as simple as making a basic coloring book fun and informative enough for anyone at any age to understand, said Tony Zorbaugh, executive director of The Source, a homeless resource nonprofit organization.
“The team quickly snapped into place and in a short time, created The Source Coloring Book,” he said.
The issue of homelessness has grown exponentially over the past decade. Taking the basic premise of what homelessness is and carrying it through to the important programs and services offered at The Source was an inspiring and exciting task.
“The whole team at The Source was involved in gathering ideas and input for the graphics,” said Judy Graziosi, marketing manager. “We went through several generations of revisions and edits, pouring our hearts into getting each scene just right.
“One really cool thing is that we actually had a group of young children look at it and give their input which really changed the artistic style.”
Operations Manager Jade Alexander has experience with self-publishing, with several of her books on Amazon.
“Because of that experience, Tony asked me to take a swing at this project and I was all in,” Alexander said. “Since I know the programs and services at The Source like the back of my hand, and I am also a mom, putting my words to Judy’s graphics came easily. Twenty-four pages came together like clockwork … like teamwork.”
Along with Zorbaugh, Jonathan Orozco, development director of The Source, is actively pursuing distribution opportunities and meeting with potential businesses and educators to make this book public.
“We are super excited to launch our first coloring book for children in our community,” Orozco said. “We know this is about educating people about the homeless and through that it is also wonderful exposure for our organization.”
The Source Coloring Book is included in monthly gift bags to homeless children in Indian River and St. Lucie counties from the nonprofit Little Birthday Angels. Coloring books were also handed out to children visiting Outback Steakhouse in Vero Beach during its annual trick-or-treat night.
Coloring books are also available for purchase at Sugar Bones Bake Shop and Café Latte Da in Sebastian as well as Sweet Desires Espresso Bar & Bakery in Vero Beach. The books may be ordered for $3 each through emailing [email protected].
“The popularity of this coloring book is no surprise, and we are extremely enthused that we are able to outreach this idea to communities near and far,” Orozco said. ”We keep printing more and more books as interest increases, and are thrilled that we can share our message in this creative manner.”
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