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After months of rebranding and messaging work to frame volunteerism with Compeer Rochester as friendship, the Be A Friend campaign - sporting custom photography, two videos telling the story of a young boy and his volunteer match, and a social media and advertising rollout to boot - was ready to launch. The question was, how could this launch knock it out of the park?
Following a creative team brainstorm and a phone call to our local Minor League Baseball team, the young boy at the center of our campaign storytelling would be throwing out the first pitch at the next Rochester Red Wings baseball game. Additionally, the two campaign videos would debut on the jumbotron throughout the game. Since enjoying Red Wings baseball games was just one of the ways DJ and Mike spent their time together as friends each month, this was the perfect pitch to get Compeer's mission and volunteer opportunities in front of a new crowd.
Check out The Story of Friendship: DJ & Mike, Part 1 and Part 2.
During the summer of 2018, Compeer Rochester was celebrating its 45th anniversary of supporting community members with mental health challenges through healing friendships. To engage their clients, community partners, and volunteer mentors, the organization set out to revive what was once an annual walk-about event.
The Cause Collaborative renamed and branded the walk to "Strides Against Stigma" and helped Compeer Rochester re-launch the event with branded event collateral, PR, and live social media. To underscore the depth of impact that Compeer friendships can have on individuals, the community, and stigma surrounding mental health, I interviewed long-time Compeer friends Ilene and Elizabeth. The pair was matched by Compeer in 1991 and has spent time with each other each week since. They attended Compeer's first-ever friendship walk together and returned in 2018 as Grand Marshals of Strides Against Stigma.
“I believe I’ve opened up many things for her. I am supportive and non-judgmental. We have watched each other age, and watched each other’s kids grow up over the years." Ilene, Compeer Rochester volunteer
Strides Against Stigma brought over 50 Compeer Rochester and Bishop Kearney community members together to step out against mental health stigma and celebrate the power of friendship. Several media outlets covered our story:
Good Day Rochester on Fox Rochester, TV & Digital
News8-WROC/RochesterFirst.com, TV & Digital
Spectrum News Rochester, TV (not available online)
If you're an avid movie and show streamer, like me, you probably watched Bird Box on Netflix as December 2018 came to a close. While some consumed the supernatural, end-of-the-world flick casually, or jumped on the immediate meme-ability of the blindfolded characters, other viewers like myself drew parallels of the movie's plot to mental health stigmas that persist today.
As the movie began to trend, I encouraged Compeer Rochester team members to watch the film and draw their own interpretations. I simultaneously worked with the producer of Connections with Evan Dawson, a popular mid-day radio show on WXXI covering trending local and national conversations, to plan a Bird Box breakdown episode. Compeer Program Director at the time, Sara Passamonte, joined a panel with other mental health advocates and a film critic to discuss perspectives and implications.
This 1-hour talk show feature, "Discussing Bird Box and How Mental Illness is Depicted in the Media," prompted comments and discussions across Compeer's and WXXI's social media and six calls to Compeer Rochester by listeners who wanted to learn about the organization.
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Between 2018 and 2019, Compeer Rochester was tuned into the need for young volunteers of color for over 70 local youth with mental illness seeking matches who could identify with and understand their experiences. Compeer Rochester and The Beat 105.5, a growing hip-hop and R&B station in the Rochester, NY area, teamed up on a 6-month radio commercial and community event contract to get Compeer's call for volunteers in front of The Beat's listeners and event audiences.
In my role as External Communications Coordinator at The Cause Collaborative, I negotiated and directed the contract to ensure that Compeer's voice and message was adapting to The Beat's audience. I wrote radio scripts, co-wrote social media for Compeer and The Beat's social media channels, designed social graphics and event collateral, planned a comedy event, and ran live social media coverage at all partnered events. In total, we produced three sets of radio commercials, hosted two Compeer events with live on-site radio and interviews, and laughed with over 50 guests at the micro-event Comic Relief: A Night of Laughs in the Name of Friendship.
Throughout the collaboration, Compeer Rochester saw a long-awaited increase in volunteer inquiries, activations, and social media engagement with young men of color interested in mentoring youth with mental illness.
Peruse this collection of social media cross sharing and event coverage from the collaboration and a news interview in advance of the Comic Relief event.
By the fall of 2019, my role at The Cause Collaborative had shifted from public relations and community development to strategy and project management of all client accounts. In this position, I continued to lead story strategy, timelines, and media list recommendations for Compeer Rochester PR while working closely with a Content Specialist who expertly carried out the writing, interviewing, and pitching of these recent efforts.
During this time, major communication strategies and milestones at Compeer Rochester were occurring, including the retirement of the Executive Director and the impact of COVID-19 on the organization's primarily in-person services and programs. Beyond internal and donor communication strategies recommended to Compeer regarding both a leadership transition and COVID-19, external strategies garnered the following coverage:
National Mentoring Month with a new leader | Fox Rochester, TV & Digital
Compeer Executive Director Dana Frame to retire | RBJ, Digital & Print
New Leadership at Compeer Rochester | News10-WHEC, TV & Digital
Virtual Buddies help those with mental health illness stay connected | News8-WROC, TV & Digital
Compeer seeking virtual volunteers | Fox Rochester, TV & Digital
Local mental health service aims to bring people together during distancing | News10-WHEC, TV & Digital
Coronavirus in Rochester: How you can help, in all different ways | Democrat & Chronicle, Digital
Charities, looking back on 2018, thankful for Rochester givers | RBJ, Digital & Print
Compeer holding volunteer open houses | The Monroe Co. Post, Digital
Plenty of chances to give back for National Mentoring Month | News10-WHEC, TV & Digital
Local Veteran Deemed Hometown Hero | News8-WROC on RochesterFirst.com, TV & Digital
Hometown Hero Award | Spectrum News Rochester, TV Broadcast only
7th Annual Warrior Benefit Concert honors Hometown Heroes | 13WHAM, TV & Digital
American Legion Honors Gates-Chili Veteran as Hometown Hero | The Monroe Co. Post, Digital & Print
Photo Exhibit Tells Stories of Local Female Veterans | Spectrum News Rochester, TV & Digital
CompeerCORPS hosting event for Female Veterans | Fox Rochester, TV & Digital
Bill Cowher to headline Compeer Rochester Event | Fox Rochester, TV & Digital
Happy away from coaching, Cowher shares thoughts on success, perspective | RBJ, Digital & Daily Report Newsletter
Former NFL coach Bill Cowher speaks in Rochester at Compeer Luncheon | 13WHAM, TV & Digital
Bill Cowher provides hard-hitting perspective at Compeer Rochester Luncheon | Democrat & Chronicle, Digital
Bills legend to be keynote speaker for annual sports luncheon | Fox Rochester, TV & Digital
Content, public relations, and experiential marketing strategist telling stories for brands, leaders, and causes.
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