Media

Publicity is an extremely important part of National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week.  In fact, the outcome of your week will depend largely on your ability to publicize it.  A good use of media will ensure that members of the community are expecting the Awareness Week and are beginning to think about hunger and homelessness.  In order to get the word out and involve the community as much as possible, you need to alert your local media early on.  It is important to notify both campus and community media sources.  Let them know about the events of the Awareness Week.  Urge them to publish/run/air stories from homeless people and social service agencies, editorials and information concerning hunger and homelessness and the Awareness Week as well.  Radio stations are also an effective way to get your message across.

One week before National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, step up the publicity to make sure that Awareness Week is on everyone’s mind.  During the Awareness Week, continue to work full force with the media to gather as many participants as possible for the events.  Please see the sample news release we have included as a guide.

It is helpful to be creative in advertising your activities.  Some suggestions are bookmarks, door hangers, posters, or even t-shirts.  The graphics department at a local school may be willing to help you create flyers and posters for the events and fact sheets with information about hunger and homelessness.

Distribute your information (fact sheets and overview of the Awareness Week’s events) to community organizations.  Email can be a great reminder as the week comes closer.  Urge each community organizations to participate—interest them in joining a canned food drive, promoting the Awareness Week within their organization, and sending at least a few representatives to each event.

Another idea for publicity, which is inexpensive and effective, is to enlist students or residents to announce the Awareness Week and events to their classes or at work.  Professors and employers are usually very supportive of this idea and should not mind giving one to two minutes of class time to promote National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week.  Also, using chalkings on campus helps to alert a large number of people to your events.

Also, make sure you let the National Coalition for the Homeless know about Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week in your community!  NCH might be able to provide you with some publicity support as well.  Contact: Michael O’Neill, Director, Faces of Homelessness Speakers’ Bureau.  Phone: (202) 462-4822 x20 Email: moneill@nationalhomeless.org