During the time I was at Children's Hospice South Wests Precious Lives Appeal, I went on a visit with both Ella and Mary.
The first was with Ella, the press officer. We visited a group that had raised over a thousand pounds in a lottery scheme. As a press officer it is Ella's responsibility to investigate what exactly they had done by representing the Charity and speaking with the group. It was interesting to observe her in action and she how she spoke about the charity and her professional role outside of the office. I swiftly noticed her abilty to multitask, taking notes, asking questions and meeting people. It became apparent that organisational skills are very important in her role. Once we had meeted and greeted all the members of the group, making sure to take note of there details, names and any other information that may be useful we returned to the office to begin typing the press release. I was given this task, when I got back to the office. Although I have had experience with this before it was really helpful to draft a copy that would actually be used and get some feedback on how it could be improved.
The second visit that I went on was with Mary, on a community based project. Mary was giving a presentation about the charity, its ethos and what it is hoping to achieve in the future. It was again very interesting to see how she interacts with members of the community that are so influencial at raising money for the hospice. Mary beleives the reasons why the friend groups are so successful is because no one has appraoched them to do it, it's all on a voluntary basis because members of the community want to help support a project that benefits the community.
It was also helpful to interact with the member of the group, so that I could gather what they thought of Marys presentation and about the charity as a whole.
Friday, 21 May 2010
Media Relations
Ella, is the press officer responsible for all the press releases and media relations for the region. I was surprised by her workload for just herself but it was very interesting to observe her working. She has been with the charity for a new of years, after gaining a degree and a masters in Advertising.
I worked with her for the majority of time, watching how she selected stories and chose which angle to use when writing press releases. She also showed me the database, with all of her contacts and lists of publications that she sends to in the region. They were sub devided by media type, and then also by readership and circulation figures. The majority of press releases are sent to newspapers, sometimes magazines although Ella explained that they seem less likely to publish feature articles. The most successful way she said, was if there was an editioril piece or an interview then they are more inclined to feature the Children's Hospice South West Precious Lives Appeal.
It is only for occasional major stories that she contacts BBC Spotlight or ITV West country as television appears to be the most difficult to get coverage. In terms of other media, Radio is working very well for the appeal, they have Pirate FM as their media partner which last for one year and they get unlimited free advertising on the station.
They have recognised the importance of social media also, however its not widely used within the P.R strategy as the facebook group has a limited amount of members, updates are not very frequent and they are not on Twitter.
I worked with her for the majority of time, watching how she selected stories and chose which angle to use when writing press releases. She also showed me the database, with all of her contacts and lists of publications that she sends to in the region. They were sub devided by media type, and then also by readership and circulation figures. The majority of press releases are sent to newspapers, sometimes magazines although Ella explained that they seem less likely to publish feature articles. The most successful way she said, was if there was an editioril piece or an interview then they are more inclined to feature the Children's Hospice South West Precious Lives Appeal.
It is only for occasional major stories that she contacts BBC Spotlight or ITV West country as television appears to be the most difficult to get coverage. In terms of other media, Radio is working very well for the appeal, they have Pirate FM as their media partner which last for one year and they get unlimited free advertising on the station.
They have recognised the importance of social media also, however its not widely used within the P.R strategy as the facebook group has a limited amount of members, updates are not very frequent and they are not on Twitter.
First day-Work experience
My first impressions of a charity that was building a childrens hospice that is costing five million pounds was that there would be lots of people involved in making it happen.To my surprise, I found a team of just three, with modest offices all working busily. Emma is the over all manager within the region which is from Plymouth through Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
When I arrived, I met her and immediately liked her as she offered me a cup of tea. She began to tell me the basic history of the charity; that it was founded by Eddie and Jill as there own two children were life limited, meaning they would never reach adulthood. My knowledge of childhood cancer and genetic diseases is quite slim, however I was surprised to learn that there are 1,200 life limited children in the region and that the closest children's hospice is Helen's House in Oxford. Emma went on to explain that after losing his sons, Eddie felt compelled to help other children and their families which is how the charity began in 1991.
I met the other two staff members, Ella the press officer and Mary the community fundriaser. I didnt really understand the difference between their three seperate roles and exactly what they did. However, after the morning with Emma she explained that her role is focused upon gaining corporate donations which also help to improve their CSR. She also targets very wealthy individuals with personalised communication so that they feel compelled to make a donation also.
After my conversation with Emma, she showed me some of the events that they have organised for the charity, I saw photos and learnt about some of the families that used the facilities of the hospices that are already open, Little Bridge House and Charlton Farm.
After Lunch, I spent the afternoon with Mary and Ella. They both ran through what their roles included. I learnt how Mary's role as a community fundraiser involves meeting many different types of people and actively engaging with the public. She has establish friend groups which range from just a few members to many in larger towns across cornwall that host meetings and events to raise money to donate to the Precious Lives Appeal. One of the largest is the Falmouth group which as raised a quarter of a million pounds for Children's Hospice South West since it began supporting the charity over ten years ago.
At the end of my first day, I felt slightly over loaded with infornation but I also understood a brief history of how and why the charity was founded and what it wanted to achieve with a basic understanding of the communications differing roles.
When I arrived, I met her and immediately liked her as she offered me a cup of tea. She began to tell me the basic history of the charity; that it was founded by Eddie and Jill as there own two children were life limited, meaning they would never reach adulthood. My knowledge of childhood cancer and genetic diseases is quite slim, however I was surprised to learn that there are 1,200 life limited children in the region and that the closest children's hospice is Helen's House in Oxford. Emma went on to explain that after losing his sons, Eddie felt compelled to help other children and their families which is how the charity began in 1991.
I met the other two staff members, Ella the press officer and Mary the community fundriaser. I didnt really understand the difference between their three seperate roles and exactly what they did. However, after the morning with Emma she explained that her role is focused upon gaining corporate donations which also help to improve their CSR. She also targets very wealthy individuals with personalised communication so that they feel compelled to make a donation also.
After my conversation with Emma, she showed me some of the events that they have organised for the charity, I saw photos and learnt about some of the families that used the facilities of the hospices that are already open, Little Bridge House and Charlton Farm.
After Lunch, I spent the afternoon with Mary and Ella. They both ran through what their roles included. I learnt how Mary's role as a community fundraiser involves meeting many different types of people and actively engaging with the public. She has establish friend groups which range from just a few members to many in larger towns across cornwall that host meetings and events to raise money to donate to the Precious Lives Appeal. One of the largest is the Falmouth group which as raised a quarter of a million pounds for Children's Hospice South West since it began supporting the charity over ten years ago.
At the end of my first day, I felt slightly over loaded with infornation but I also understood a brief history of how and why the charity was founded and what it wanted to achieve with a basic understanding of the communications differing roles.
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