Laura Bowen
Having celebrated VIVA’s 8 year anniversary as a firm, we are proud to reflect on how we view our work, our team, and those we serve. We regularly discuss as a team what brings us together and what unifies our efforts, and at the end of these conversations, we always land on social impact partnerships. With this in mind, we began to think about our firm’s name. But before we go further, let’s take a brief walk back in time.
When Nicole and Christina started VIVA in 2011…
- We both had an infant and a toddler.
- Our first “real office” consisted of a room attached to a warehouse storage unit with such bad electrical wiring that when the floor heater was turned on, the circuit would pop and computers would shut down.
- We led an insight gathering effort throughout Michigan where we traveled in the winter snow using a 1970’s passenger van that we named Bessie.
- Our children learned that the “real name” for cyan blue was VIVA blue.
- We began a new VIVA language with terms such as Vah-VI for bye-bye and would laugh so hard that tears would roll down our cheeks.
More than 8 years later …
- We still say Vah-VI. And, we still laugh so hard that tears roll down our cheeks—sometimes at the craziness of it all, sometimes at each other, sometimes just because.
- Our children still call cyan blue “VIVA blue.”
- Our staff team is stronger than ever, with our fabulous Communications Director Laura Bowen reaching the five year mark at VIVA.
- We have completed three office moves to accommodate our growing size and needs and are now (hopefully) in our “forever home.”
- Team VIVA is proud to call clients across the country our partners in social impact, with a goal of every boy and girl achieving their dreams in a healthy and vibrant community.
With this in mind, we are excited to announce our new name, VIVA Social Impact Partners. We believe it captures the core of what we do and how we approach our work. Whether clients come to us for strategy, communications, or something in between, we are first and foremost their partners.
We invite you to explore our website and give us a call to let us know what amazing things you are working on and how we can partner together.
With gratitude,
Christina and Nicole