Journal Entry 10: Oxfam

While commuting on London's Tube, I came across an advertisement promoting the work of an organization working for social change throughout the world and specifically here in London. I especially became interested when I was walking down New Bond Street and came across a store with the same logo. The organization is called Oxfam and they work in countless countries all over the world in order to provide global help to individuals in order to combat poverty and injustice. Their mission statement is as follows: “Oxfam is an international confederation of 14 organizations working together in 98 countries and with partners and allies around the world to find lasting solutions to poverty and injustice. We work directly with communities and we seek to influence the powerful to ensure that poor people can improve their lives and livelihoods and have a say in decisions that affect them.” There is currently one billion people throughout the world today living in poverty. This organization has taken this serious epidemic currently existing within society today and making tremendous leaps forward in the betterment of countless people’s lives. They have stores set up throughout London in which they sell donated clothes and various items that ultimately go toward their effort. You can shop online on their store and learn even more about the organization. The add I came in contact with originally was:

I personally think this specific advertisement makes less of a very serious issue and I believe the organization can produce a more powerful message to have in London's tube stations. There is no visual pictures to grab one's attention and the paragraph of words can not be quickly read by a commuting Londoner who is on the go. Also the advertisement next to it clearly dominates the attention of a Tube goer and therefore further fails to gain the attention it needs.

The store I then walked past was:

Their website has it all. It describes ever aspect of their work, every country they work in, every social issue they are combating globally, news reports currently affecting their cause and an endless resource of visual media featuring their work and individuals they have helped. Here is a video featuring the story of a woman struggling with poverty in the UK. Their website link is: http://www.oxfam.org/