The Publicity Hound’s Blog

Carolyn Cox of Virginia Beach, Virginia asks:

“Optimist International, one of the Big 4 of community services groups, focuses their volunteer efforts on ‘Bringing Out the Best in Kids. Right Here. Right Now.’

“We recently joined the I Keep Safe Coalition in order to help keep kids safe on the Internet. Our first effort is focused on bringing speakers (teens and adults) into the elementary schools with a program to instill a safe Internet ethic in kids BEFORE they create their own page at MySpace.com or enter chat rooms.

“The coalition sent a press release, which got zero response. How can we get the word out to parents and schools that we are here to deliver programs to groups of school age children, within or without the schools?”

Posted In: Magazine Publicity, Newspaper Publicity, Pitching the Media, Press Releases/News Releases, Publicity on the Internet, TV Publicity, The Local Angle
posted On: 7/25/2006: 1:57 am: By Joan
Comments:

3 Responses

Kris Bordessa Says:
July 28th, 2006 at 8:17 pm

As the author of a book that builds creative problem solving and leadership skills, I’ve been exploring the possibility of school visits.

You don’t say where you sent your press release, but you might have luck if you send it directly to the places that would be interested in hosting your presentation. The American Library Association http://www.ala.org/), the American Association of School Librarians (http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslindex.htm) or the National Parent Teacher Organization (http://www.nationalpto.com/) might be of help in spreading the word through their networks or newsletters.

Good luck!

Kris Bordessa, author
Team Challenges: Group Activities to Build Cooperation, Communication and Creativity (Zephyr Press, 2006)
http://www.krisbordessa.com

Katherine Doe Says:
August 1st, 2006 at 7:40 pm

Carolyn-

I work for a small credit union and we are always trying to educate children in our community about money and saving. But we have a hard time letting those in education know that we’re available to speak to their students for free and provide free classroom materials.

We’ve had some good luck by “hitting the streets” and reaching out directly to teachers and administrators.

If you have the time & manpower (not sure if you’re focusing locally), here are a few suggestions that you might find helpful:

—Leave some info flyers & goodies (pens, highlighters, etc.) in the staff lounges of local schools to promote your partnership. Leave your business card & emphasize that you’re available for classroom presentations.

—Call the editor of the local school’s teacher newsletter to explain that you have classroom speakers available and would like to spread the word. Teachers LOVE to have others pitch in for a morning or afternoon and would love to read that in their newsletter.

—Ask to be added to the agenda for the next PTA meeting and attend armed with info!

—If you can book a presentation, take interesting pictures of the kids (get names of those in photos) and submit them to the local community paper. They love getting pictures of kids (and not having to do the work to get them!) so coupled with a release, this might be a great way to get the ball rolling.

—Contact YMCAs/after school programs about providing a presentation for kids and their parents.

Joan Says:
August 1st, 2006 at 9:20 pm

Website development companies are always looking for ways to promote themselves.

Why not team up with several of them, or several dozen, and provide a list of “How to Keep Kids Safe on the Internet.” They can pass the tips along to their own clients as a value-added service, or the media.

Also, start writing press releases about this topic and post them online, so journalists and consumers can find them. Sign up for my free 89-day course on “89 Ways to Write Powerful Press Releases” at http://www.PublicityHound.com/pressreleasetips/art.htm

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