Colleen Laing, UWKC’s grant writer, is on the board of UrbanArtworks!, a Seattle nonprofit that provides pre-employment training and self-confidence to at-risk and court-involved teens through mural painting and other public art projects. “Helping at-risk teens engage in pro-social activities and build job skills is important, and doing that through community beautification is a win-win,” she says. Participants in UrbanArtworks! have much lower recidivism rates than adjudicated youth generally.

UrbanArtworks! was featured on the Today Show on July 1 as part of the Pepsi Refresh Project’s national cause-related marketing effort. Artworks! is competing with three other nonprofits around the country for a $100,000 grant from Pepsi. Vote online for your choice at http://www.today.msnbc.msn.com/id/38027143 by July 6th.