Send out a “Save the Date” note to all
of your local media outlets, announcing events that
your organization will pursue in the coming year.
Do this at the beginning of the year (or school year)
to get your event onto calendars of future events.
If you don’t already have an existing list of
reporters, editors and producers who cover education,
parenting or families in your area, this is a good
time to create one. Make a list of all the TV and
radio stations (including college and university-affiliated
stations), local newspapers (including weeklies) and
magazines and Web sites. Then call and ask for the
name of the editor, reporter or producer who covers
education, parenting or family issues. Also get telephone,
fax and, if possible, e-mail addresses.
Step Two: Invite Them to Come
Once you have designed your event, you may want to
use the media to encourage people to come. A sample
announcement could be:
Celebrate all that afterschool programs do for
our children and for all of us in (name of community).
On October 11, from 3:00 – 6:00 p.m., (name
of program) invites everyone in the community to Lights
On Afterschool! at (location). We’ll (give a
20 word description of event). Don’t miss out
on this great opportunity to help our children discover
the heroes within themselves. For more information,
call (phone number).
Send your announcement to all local community calendar
editors of media outlets about two weeks before your
event. Attach a short note asking the editor to run
the announcement as often as possible prior to the
event. Be sure to include your phone number in case
there are any questions.
Step Three: Tell Them Why It’s Important.
Develop key messages about your program. These messages
will be integrated into all your press materials and
will be the primary things said by all your spokespersons.
If possible, you should narrow your key messages to
three. In your messages, you want to convey the contributions
your program makes towards improving academic achievement,
helping working families, and keeping kids safe and
what you want the community to think/feel/do about
your program. This last message might involve a call
to action for more community support. Here is an example
of three messages, but feel free to create some that
truly reflect what YOU need to say about your program.
The Bay City Afterschool Program provides a safe,
friendly learning environment for our community’s
kids, helps working parents, and boosts academic
achievement.
Our lights are on every weekday, lighting the
way for Bay City’s children to learn, imagine
and discover the heroes within themselves. And we’re
thrilled to be one of thousands of high quality
programs across the country celebrating Lights On
Afterschool! today.
Bay City Afterschool Program needs everyone in
the community – parents, business leaders,
adult volunteers and elected officials – to
spend some time here demonstrating that you care
about the future of these kids. Whether you can
volunteer only once a year or can come every week,
please call us and see how you can get involved
in keeping the Lights On Afterschool!
Step Four: Appeal to the Press
Plan your event with the press in mind. Some things
to remember:
The media – particularly television reporters
– are looking for good visuals. Make sure
your event has lots of color and action and signs
or banners with your program name prominently placed.
Choose two or three spokespersons. They might
include your program director, a parent or volunteer
who is involved in some way with your program, a
prominent member of the community who is familiar
with your program, and an articulate youngster who
participates in the program. Make sure the spokespersons
have the messages you’ve created and are familiar
with all aspects of the event.
Sign reporters up and identify them with badges
or nametags as they enter your event so everyone
knows who they are. You might also want to assign
volunteers to stay with reporters – to introduce
them to people, explain activities and answer questions.
Step Five: Send a Press Advisory
A few days before your event, write up a press advisory
(see sample) that will serve as an invitation to reporters.
An advisory is very basic – who, what, where
and when. If you have a news service bureau in your
community (Associated Press, United Press International,
Reuter’s), be sure to fax a copy of the advisory
to the “Daybook Editor.” This is a person
who publishes a calendar of newsworthy events for
other reporters to check each day. Mail or fax it
to everyone else on your press list. The day before
your event, call all reporters/editors/producers who
were sent the advisory to make sure they received
it and find out if they (or someone from their media
outlet) can make it to the event. If they are unable
to make it, ask if you can send a news release on
the day of your event. Many news outlets may be willing
to print a press release word for word, but are unable
to send a reporter to an event.
Step Six: Send a News Release
About a week before your event – or as soon
as all the details are nailed down – you should
write a news release (see sample.) The news release
is written like a news story, but has the advantage
of being written from your point of view. It contains
quotes from important people, background on your program
and always contains your top three messages. It should
be no longer than two pages double-spaced. It is essential
that it list a contact person and daytime and evening
numbers. Because the news release will be distributed
at your event in the press kits, it should be written
in the past tense.
Step Seven: Develop a Press Kit
As soon as your news release is written, it’s
time to put together a press kit for distribution
at your event. You won’t need to assemble a
lot of press kits – only as many as the number
of reporters you think will show up. The kits can
be assembled in plain folders with a label from your
program on the cover or, if you want to be creative,
have some of the kids in your program decorate the
covers and write “press kit” prominently
under the drawing. The kit should contain:
The news release
A one-page background sheet on your program
It may also contain:
A wish list from your program
A few letters from parents, volunteers or kids
describing why they are so excited by your program
Notable facts – for example how has your
program grown since its inception or how many kids
are on your waiting list or how many volunteers
does your program have
You do not want the press kit to contain more than
ten pages of paper. Make sure there is contact information
in case the reporter wants to call someone in the
weeks after the event.
Step Eight: Event Management
On the day of your event, set up a “press
sign-in” table. It should be easily recognizable
to reporters and should be at the entrance to the
room or location where your event will take place.
Assign a staff person or volunteer to man the table
throughout the event to assist press people. Have
a sign-in sheet with “name of reporter,”
“media outlet” and “phone number”
written in columns at the top. Each reporter who
signs in should be given a press kit and any verbal
instructions. If something special is happening
in half an hour, make sure to tell him/her that.
Give each reporter a badge or name tag to wear so
everyone at the event can easily identify press
people.
Step Nine: Follow-up
Don’t let the story end after your event. Make
copies of any stories about your event that appear
in print and circulate them to your Board, funders,
parents and volunteers. Assign people to monitor local
TV news shows on your event day and tape any stories
that appear about you. Keep those tapes to show at
any fundraisers, orientations or meetings you have
in the future.
Stay in contact with reporters who attended your
event or produce stories. Contact them later in the
year to see if they’d be interested in doing
an end-of-school-year follow-up on your program. Or
have the kids in your program create a huge thank-you
card to send in the week after the event in appreciation
for a good story. You might even contact the reporter
to see if he or she would host a group of kids from
your program so they can see what it’s like
to work at a TV, radio or newspaper office. Maintaining
that relationship once the event is over will help
you the next time you are looking for some publicity.
Sample “Save the Date”:
LIGHTS ON AFTERSCHOOL!
October 11 is a day of national activity to spotlight
innovative high quality afterschool programs across
the U.S. Here in Bay City, the Lights are On at the
Bay City Afterschool Program. We’ll be celebrating
by inviting parents, community and business leaders,
elected officials and volunteers to rally neighborhood
support for afterschool programs. Men and women who
have participated in our afterschool program for the
past 20 years will share their memories.
So mark your calendars – Thursday, October 11,
3:00 – 6:00 p.m. Details to follow. Call Martha
Willow, at 234-555-6789 if you have questions.
BAY CITY AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM CELEBRATES
NATIONAL LIGHTS ON AFTERSCHOOL! WITH OCTOBER 11 CELEBRATION
October 11 is a day of national activity to spotlight
innovative high quality afterschool programs across
the U.S. Here in Bay City, the Lights are On at the
Bay City Afterschool Program. We’ll be celebrating
by inviting parents, community and business leaders,
elected officials and volunteers to join us for an
afternoon of games, food and reminiscing. Men and
women who have participated in our afterschool program
over the past 20 years will share their memories and
reflect on the impact afterschool had on their lives.
Speakers will include Mayor David Cooper; Evelyn Jamison,
president, Busy Hands Toy Store; and Carter Mendelsohn
who has volunteered over 600 hours with the Bay City
Afterschool Program.
WHAT: Rally Around Bay City Afterschool
WHEN: Thursday, October 12, 3:00
– 6:00 p.m.
Formal program from 4:00 – 4:30 p.m.
WHERE: Bay City Middle School Auditorium
4521 Maple Street
NOTE: If you would like to arrange
in advance to interview any of the speakers listed
above, please call Martha Willow at 234-555-6789.
If you’d like information about the national
Lights On Afterschool! Event, Martha can also provide
that.
BAY CITY AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM CELEBRATES NATIONAL LIGHTS ON AFTERSCHOOL! WITH
OCTOBER 12 CELEBRATION
Bay City…On October 12, Bay City
joined with thousands of communities across the country
in celebrating the availability of high quality afterschool
programs for its young people. At the Bay City Afterschool
Program, located at Bay City Middle School, several
hundred former and current participants in the program,
parents, educators, community and business leaders,
and even Mayor David Cooper joined in the lively celebration.
“The Bay City Afterschool Program represents
everything that is commendable,” said Mayor
Cooper. “Here our community’s children
are safe, happy, challenged and improving their academic
skills. The lights are on here, and we are all grateful.”
Over a dozen of the children currently enrolled in
the program read aloud from essays they had written
on Discovering the Hero Within Myself. Eleven year
old Leah Brown wrote, “At Bay City Afterschool
Program, I can sit quietly and read or I can join
in a soccer game. There is always someone here who
will listen to me when I am sad and someone who will
cheer for me when I have accomplished something.”
During the three-hour celebration called “Lights
On Afterschool!” children performed a ballet
and demonstrated their soccer skills, volunteers were
honored with certificates, and Evelyn Jamison, president
of the Busy Hands Toy Store, donated $500 worth of
puzzles and board games to the program.
“The Bay City Afterschool Program needs everyone
in the community to spend some time here showing our
kids that you care about their future. Whether you
can volunteer only once a year or can come every week,
please call us and see how you can get involved in
keeping the lights on afterschool,” said Raina
Jones, director of the program.
The Bay City Afterschool Program was founded in 1979
by a group of parents and educators who believed that
middle school children deserved a safe and productive
place to go when the school day ended. Currently 164
children are enrolled in the program, and another
47 are on a waiting list. The program is open from
7 a.m. until the school day begins and from the end
of the school day until 6:30 p.m. Fees are based on
ability to pay.
Lights On Afterschool! is a nationwide event to recognize
the critical importance of quality afterschool programs
in the lives of children, their families and their
communities. It is sponsored by JCPenney and the Afterschool
Alliance.
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