Public Relations

Have you ever heard about a community event or project after it was completed and thought, "I wish I had known about this earlier. I would have helped out." You want to make sure that no one can say this about your project, so you will want to publicize early and often.

You'll need to make sure that this project is talked about all over town: across the dinner table, at the hair salon, in pulpits and on the news. The more people talk about it, the more they'll show up to meetings and fundraisers. The more they get involved, the more they'll realize that they have a stake in safe neighborhoods and healthy children. And that's how real change begins!

In this section, we'll cover the following topics:

• Pre-planning
• Team Management
• PR: Basics
• Your Media Events
• Build Day and Beyond

Public Relations Tasks

• Creating all posters, flyers and public service announcements asking for support, resources and volunteers.
• Helping to publicize playspace meetings and fundraising events.
• Designing a printed program for the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
• Making sure that sponsors are recognized properly in programs, banners and the media.
• Contacting and giving regular project updates to local television stations, newspapers, radio stations and other media.
• Organizing "photo ops" and generating story ideas to encourage media to cover several different aspects of the project.
• Organizing a media event (with high-profile community members) for the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
• Spreading project information through community outreach activities.