Members of the non-profit sector are invited to register for a series of Community Media Workshops hosted by the post-graduate Public Relations students at Loyalist College, from March 16th to 19th. The complimentary workshops are an opportunity for those working within small agencies to discover ways of achieving success with limited resources. Participants will learn effective evaluation tools for their fundraising and campaign initiatives, where to find grants and how to get them, and how to use blogging, Twitter and Wikis to enhance their operations.
“I attended all of the workshops last year and they were very valuable to me,” said Rebecca Foreman, Coordinator of Fund Development and Public Relations for VON Hastings, Northumberland and Prince Edward. “My background isn’t actually marketing or public relations. I’m a graduate of the Social Service Worker program at Loyalist. When I started working in my field I became interested in fund development and public relations, so while I‘ve stayed in the non-profit sector I’ve changed my career path. The best thing about learning from the students is that their information is current and they have the enthusiasm that makes it interesting.”
Carol Snell, Media Relations Consultant, Hastings and Prince Edward Counties Health Unit, also plans to return this year. “The students were very familiar with blogging technology and were effective in explaining it. It was a good introduction to the subject for me, saving me the time of researching it myself. The students also provided a lot of context about how they use blogging which is important for me to know as a communicator. The highlight for me last year was to have a new subject de-mystified and made easy to incorporate into my activities.”
“I am excited about this year’s seminars,” said Toni Kirby, Executive Assistant, Community Living Quinte West. “This format is ideal for us as we are a small agency and don’t have the resources to send people away to conferences and seminars. This short and sweet format means you’re not overloaded with a lot of information that is hard to assimilate. There were several staff from Community Living Quinte West who attended last year and five of us are returning this year.”
Stacey Hawkins is one of the Public Relations students organizing the workshops. “Social media is probably the most progressive and fastest-growing communications tool we have learned about and I am very excited to share what I have learned with members of the community. While the fundamental public relations principles and techniques still apply, an understanding of social media and the implementation of that technology into a well-developed communications plan will no doubt give participants an edge in their business endeavours.”
For more information regarding the media workshops call Kerry Ramsay, Professor and Coordinator, Post-Graduate Public Relations Program at (613) 969-1913, ext. 2127 or e-mail kramsay@loyalistc.on.ca.
Media Contact: Marilyn Warren, Communications, Loyalist College, (613) 969-1913, ext. 2332; e-mail: mwarren@loyalistc.on.ca or Kerry Ramsay, ext. 2127