Women's Resource Center

WRC provides free, confidential, 24/7 services for survivors of domestic and sexual violence, including safety planning, crisis intervention, legal advocacy, safe housing, counseling, and prevention education. Its mission is to eliminate domestic violence and sexual abuse through advocacy, education, and systemic change while empowering survivors with comprehensive services.

The 2022–2023 Annual Impact Report was created to communicate the depth of WRC’s work across Lackawanna and Susquehanna counties, highlight program outcomes, recognize leadership and community support, and show donors, partners, and stakeholders how WRC serves as a safe place for survivors and families. The report opens with the message “We are your safe place” and carries that tone throughout the publication.

The creative direction centered on making a serious and sensitive subject feel approachable, compassionate, and hopeful without minimizing the urgency of WRC’s work. Because the organization supports survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, teen dating violence, human trafficking, and stalking, the messaging needed to balance safety, dignity, trauma-informed care, and community accountability. The Executive Director’s message describes WRC as a multi-faceted social change agency providing crisis response, counseling and advocacy, safe housing, transitional housing, economic justice, prevention programs, and civil legal assistance.

The report was structured to guide readers through both the human and operational impact of the organization. It begins with leadership messages, then moves into program overviews, safe housing, counseling, crisis response, legal advocacy, Susquehanna County updates, prevention education, medical advocacy, the pet program, financials, fundraising events, staff, board leadership, community partners, and contact information. This creates a full picture of WRC’s role as both a direct-service provider and a community-based social change organization.

The design uses a bright blue color palette connected to WRC’s logo and “safe place” identity.

• Blue creates a sense of calm, trust, and accessibility, which is important for an organization serving people in crisis.
• Black and white photography, white space, and hand-drawn graphic accents soften the report and make it feel more personal and human
• The handwritten-style typography used for section headings adds warmth and approachability
• Clean body text supports readability across longer program narratives and data-heavy sections

The visual system also uses illustrated arrows, underline strokes, starburst elements, circular image crops, and informal hand-drawn accents. These design choices help the report feel less institutional and more survivor-centered, while still maintaining credibility for donors, funders, board members, and community partners.

The report’s messaging was built around three priorities:

Center safety and trust.
The report repeatedly reinforces WRC as a safe, confidential resource for survivors. This aligns with the organization’s public-facing message that WRC provides safety, compassion, and resources to all survivors, including men, LGBTQ+ individuals, and anyone impacted by domestic or sexual violence.

Show comprehensive impact.
The report demonstrates the breadth of WRC’s services, including counseling, pet programs, safe housing, medical advocacy, teen and adult education, community resources, emergency crisis response, and legal support. It also includes specific service outcomes, such as more than 8,939 crisis hotline calls, emergency safe housing for 100 adults and 94 children, and 22,412 nights of safe shelter through the Safe Nights program.

Balance data with humanity.
The annual report pairs statistics with participant quotes, program stories, staff leadership, event highlights, and community partner recognition. For example, the report includes a participant quote about WRC helping preserve a family’s ability to keep their cat during a housing transition, which connects the organization’s support to a specific, human outcome.

•  Annual impact report

• Executive leadership message layout

• Board president message layout

• Program overview and service descriptions

• Safe housing and crisis response impact messaging

• Justice Center program feature

• Susquehanna County office update

• Teen and young adult education feature

• Medical advocacy and pet program feature

• Financial summary design

• Fundraising event highlights

• Staff, board, association, and community partner recognition pages

• Donor- and stakeholder-facing impact narrative

• Visual layout, image placement, and report design

The final report gave WRC a polished, mission-centered publication that made its annual impact clear, accessible, and emotionally resonant. By combining leadership reflections, survivor-centered messaging, program outcomes, financial information, fundraising highlights, and community recognition, the report helped communicate WRC’s role as a trusted safe place and comprehensive resource for survivors.

The result was an annual report that did more than summarize a year of activity. It translated WRC’s services into a story of safety, healing, advocacy, education, and systemic change—helping donors, partners, staff, board members, and community stakeholders see the full scope and value of the organization’s work.