Look beyond your community for support, ideas, advice, and maybe even funding from regional and national organizations. Your first stop should be the Member section of the NOYS Web site. There, you’ll find contact information and links to organizations that are members of the NOYS coalition. These organizations might also have resources that you can use and would welcome the opportunity to become involved in your activities.
Government agencies, youth-serving organizations, and youth-member organizations all have a vested interest in working with youth on issues such as reducing crashes involving underage-drinking/impaired driving and can be powerful allies for your efforts. Youth-serving organizations are those that have programs or educational resources on underage/impaired driving and other issues, while youth member organizations also have youth actively participating and leading programs.
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Once you have recruited people to work on your project, you must turn this group of individuals into a team. Big projects can only be accomplished when people work cooperatively together. The key to creating positive teamwork is to make sure that everyone wins. Here are some important tips for working with teams and encouraging teamwork from Speak Out & Make NOYS.
Promoting Your Project
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You’ve decided to make a difference in your community and have come up with an action plan to do so. Now it’s important to let others hear your message so they can support your effort. How do you do that?
Developing Your Message
Working with the Media
Working within the School
Working within the Community
Developing Your Message
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When you developed your action plan, you established a clear mental picture of what you want to accomplish. To promote your project, you need to convey that mental picture to others so they can join with you to accomplish it. Use this Presentation Worksheet to help you focus your message and keep these points in mind:
• Restate your goal in a simple, clear sentence that can easily be communicated to reporters and other interested parties.
• Determine three key points you will focus on in all your promotion efforts.
• Gather supporting facts and statistics that will help others understand why your issue is important. Provide local statistics whenever possible.
• Select a few anecdotes that tell your story. Relevant anecdotes can help to illustrate your point and add a human-interest element.
Working with the Media
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Is anyone involved with your project a media relations specialist, marketer, or journalist? If so, the easiest route is to enlist their help with promoting your project. They already have skills and networks that would make things much easier for you.
If you don’t have contacts in this area, now is the time to get to know the people in your community that might help with conveying your story. You can always begin with a friendly telephone call to them to share with them your organization and message to the community. Invite them to assist you in getting the word out about your worthy cause.
If you have to handle publicizing your project yourself, follow these tips to maximize your effectiveness:
• Develop goals and an action plan. Yes, you already have an action plan for your project, but did you also develop goals and an action plan for promoting the project? Use the Media Worksheet to help determine your approach and the Media Action Plan to list tasks to be accomplished and who will do them.
Messages for the media should be goal-driven. To develop a goal driven message consider these points:
• What is the specific problem you are trying to solve?
• Who is your target audience?
• What are your talking points—your message?
• What do you want the audience to do?
• Who or what can influence the target group?
• When and how do you plan to reach your target group?
An example of a goal-driven media message for a group or organization that works to prevent underage drinking and driving in the community might read as follows:
“We want to educate teens regarding the consequences of underage drinking and driving and gain community support for prevention activities.”
• Find a hook. What is it about your project that is newsworthy? Why would people want to know about it? People are often interested in news that stirs their emotions, impacts a lot of people, is odd or offbeat, or fits in with current issues. How does your project relate in these areas?
• Develop a sound bite. A sound bite is a short, catchy snippet of speech, usually between 5–10 seconds, which radio and TV reporters can use in their reports to summarize your points, much as a newspaper or magazine reporter will use a quote from what you have said. Having a catchy phrase that will get your message across clearly and quickly is invaluable, especially given the limited amount of coverage the media may give you. Go into every radio or TV interview knowing exactly the sound bite you want to deliver. Work out the phrase and practice saying it until you can do it naturally.
• Promote your good news. In working to turn adversity into action, you begin with a built-in issue—whatever prompted you to want to make a difference. One way to gain media interest is to focus on how your project will help lessen the problem for the future. People want to hope that some good will come out of bad events—your project can be a ray of hope that will gain media attention.
• Consider delivery of the message. One of the most important things to consider when you develop your media message is how you want to deliver the message to the target audience. Be creative and consider what will appeal to them. There are many mechanisms through which you can reach the media.
Since your message is educating people about how to prevent future tragedies, you might want to approach the media and tell a story at the scene of the incident, the cemetery, or by interviewing friends of the victims when appropriate. You may also want to use this opportunity to memorialize the victims with a candlelight ceremony or some other creative and respectful event that will generate news coverage.
• Assess your efforts. How will you know if your message and materials will work? Whenever possible, test the message with members of your target audience before you disseminate them. After dissemination, can you measure changes in knowledge, attitudes, and behavior? Can you calculate how many individuals in the target group have been exposed to your message and how frequently they have been exposed? Carefully evaluate your efforts so you will be more effective next time.
Mechanisms to Reach the Media
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There are many mechanisms through which you can reach the media. These include:
• Media advisory is used to let the media know about an upcoming news story. Shorter than a news release, the news advisory is written to snag the reader’s interest, tell him/her where and when the event will occur, and provide a phone number for more information. This may be faxed, e-mailed, or hand delivered about two days in advance of the event. Create a catchy headline that will be quickly noticed by the media. Again, be specific answering the following questions about your event:
Who do you want to hear the message?
What do you want the target audience to know?
When is the date and time of the event?
Where is the exact location including the address of event?
Why is it significant? Use a catchy phrase.
How can you be reached for questions or comments?
Check here for a sample media advisory.
Press releases are another great way to communicate to the media. The components of a great press release include:
• Type the release time and date or “For Immediate Release” in the upper right-hand corner with the name and telephone number of a contact person and the name of your organization.
• The release must be typed, double-spaced, and limited to one page.
• The lead paragraph is a description of your project/event summarizing the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How.
• Get to the main point quickly, and then add the details. The entire release should be no more than two to three paragraphs.
• Include a quote from your media spokesperson regarding your issue and the commitment of your organization to combat future tragedies.
• Include statistics on your issue. This will be helpful to the reporter in writing the story and give credibility to your organization.
• Send the press release at least three weeks prior to any event you have scheduled.
Check here for a sample press release that can be adapted for your purposes.
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• Letters to the Editor may be written either in response to a tragedy or to comment on a story in your community. Typed, double-spaced letters kept to one page are best.
• Press Conferences are an effective tool to reach your target audience. Be sure your subject is truly newsworthy and you will receive positive response from the media. Some tips for a successful news conference include:
• Send a press release about two days in advance of your event.
• Select and prepare an accessible site for the event.
• Put together a press kit with information about who will speak and their title, information about your organization. Include statistics about underage drinking and driving.
• Have an agenda prepared for the media and the participants.
• Have a press sign in sheet to help you with follow up.
• Remember to design your message to have the most impact. Think about what you want to accomplish with the event.
Once you have a press conference or television interview set up, be certain to invite all of your supporters and coalition members to the event. For instance, you might invite students, school administrators, law enforcement, SADD, MADD or other appropriate groups for your issue. Having a significant number of people at your event is impressive to a television audience at home.
• Interviews with reporters are another way you can get your message out. When adversity happens, reporters are looking for ways to tell the story and connect with their audiences. Contact your local reporters to let them know who you are and what information you can share with them. Have your ideas well thought out and say them as succinctly as possible; don’t waste the reporter’s time with a rambling story. Fresh ideas and specific stories are more likely to spark an interest than “let’s do something about underage drinking.” You should be prepared with concrete suggestions.
If you do arrange to be interviewed, follow these tips to make the most of the interview:
• Anticipate questions and prepare with brief, precise answers. Expect questions like “What can your group hope to achieve?” and “Do you really think your efforts will make any difference?” Work out how you can turn your answers back to your talking points.
• If you are not certain of an answer, don’t try to answer. Just say: “I don’t know.”
• If you don’t understand the question, ask to have it repeated.
• Use language the audience will understand and relate to. Just because you know what BAC—Blood Alcohol Content—stands for, doesn’t mean everyone else does!
• Stay on target with your media message. Go into the interview with a few points you want to be sure to make, regardless of what is asked. Find a way to work those points into the conversation.
• Be careful not to offer information that may turn out to have a reverse effect on your efforts.
• Use statistics that will have impact on your audience
(Sources for this information may be found on the NOYS Web site under the Reports & Resources section).
• A sound bite is a quote from the person being interviewed that conveys their main message. Remember sound bites are only about 7 seconds. Use your time wisely.
Working within the School
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If the event that is motivating your actions involved a student or students at your school, there will be a lot of emotional energy that can be harnessed to accomplish your goals. Build support for your efforts within the school community with these ideas:
• Provide information to the school newspaper on your activities and efforts. Include any school media on the distribution list of all press releases you send out.
• Develop creative and interesting announcements that include statistics and other information to help people realize they need to help make a difference.
• Prepare presentations for school organizations to let them know what you are doing and how they can help accomplish the goals you are striving to reach.
• Prepare bulletin boards and posters that are informative and clearly identify ways people can get involved in your efforts.
• Tap into the expertise of staff members and get them involved.
• Talk to administrators about your activities and ask for their support.
• Give a presentation to the faculty and the PTA about your efforts and ask for their support.
• Create a short, powerful video message and post it on YouTube. Send the URL to students you know and ask them to help you spread the word.
• Ask supporters to promote your efforts on their social networking pages such as MySpace or FaceBook.
Working within the Community
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People in the larger community will also be interested in helping you achieve your goals. Build support for your efforts within the community with these ideas:
• Seek exhibit space at local malls or other businesses to inform the general public of your efforts. Be sure to include information on how they can support your efforts.
• Provide information to the local media about your activities and goals. (See Working with the Media)
• Put together a series of PSAs and distribute them to local radio and TV stations. Sample PSAs are available at www.noys.org under the programs section.
• Utilize local cable access to broadcast videos about your efforts.
• Contact representatives at local agencies related to your cause and ask for their support.
• Prepare a flier or brochure and take it to local churches, synagogues, mosques, and other faith-based institutions. Ask if you can leave the information for people to pick up. Ask if they can include an announcement about your efforts in their bulletin.
• If getting legislation passed to prevent similar incidents is part of your plan, contact your local and state legislators and ask for their support.
Resource Center
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Welcome to the Youth Turn virtual resource center, where you can find fact sheets and other materials that will help you in your efforts to turn adversity into action. If you know of a good resource that should be here, please let us know about it. contact us
Dealing with Adversity
Impaired Driving/Vehicle Crashes
Underage Drinking
American School Counselor Association
National Association of School Psychologists
Dealing with Adversity
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• How to Deal with Grief: www.samhsa.gov/trauma/index.aspx
• Grief and Bereavement: http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/qf/p3003_01.htm
• Post-traumatic Stress: http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/qf/ptsd.htm
• New Research on Stages of Grief: www.yale.edu/opa/newsr/07-02-20-03.all.html
• Resiliency in the Face of Disaster and Terrorism: www.personhoodpress.com/catalog.php
Impaired Driving/Vehicle Crashes
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• Preventing Teen Motor Vehicle Crashes: www.nap.edu/catalog/11814.html
• The Nation’s Top Strategies to Stop Impaired Driving: www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/alcohol/StrategiesStopID/index.html
• Friends Drive Sober: www.friendsdrivesober.org/
Underage Drinking
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• Binge Alcohol Use Among Persons Aged 12–20: 2002 and 2003 Update: www.oas.samhsa.gov/2k5/youthBinge/youthBinge.cfm
• State Data on Alcohol Use, Dependence, and Treatment: www.oas.samhsa.gov/stateAlcohol.htm
• Substance Free Event Planner: www.sadd.org/campaign/eventplanner.htm
• Too Smart to Start—an underage drinking prevention program:
www.toosmarttostart.samhsa.gov/
• Think About It…Homecoming and Red Ribbon Season: www.sadd.org/campaign/redribbon.htm
• Think About It…Is It Worth the Risk? www.sadd.org/campaign/iiwtr.htm
• Think About It…Prom and Graduation Season: www.sadd.org/campaign/taiprom.htm
• National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information:
http://store.health.org/catalog/results.aspx?h=publications&topic=97
• Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth: http://camy.org/
• Youth, Alcohol, and Other Drugs Fact Sheet: www.ncadd.org/facts/youthalc.html
• Underage Drinking Fact Sheet: www.ncadd.org/facts/underaged_drinking.html
• Facts on Tap: www.factsontap.org/
• National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence: www.ncadd.org
• Characteristics of Underage Drinking: http://camy.org/factsheets/index.php?FactsheetID=28
• Consequences of Underage Drinking: http://camy.org/factsheets/index.php?FactsheetID=29
• Underage Drinking: Restricting Access: http://camy.org/factsheets/index.php?FactsheetID=30
• Key Recommendations to Reduce Underage Drinking: http://camy.org/factsheets/index.php?FactsheetID=12
• Prevalence of Underage Drinking: http://camy.org/factsheets/index.php?FactsheetID=5
• The Toll of Underage Drinking: http://camy.org/factsheets/index.php?FactsheetID=7
• National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information: www.ncadi.samhsa.gov
• Leadership to Keep Children Alcohol Free: www.alcoholfreechildren.org/
• Teenage Drinking Key Facts:
http://www.ama-assn.org/ama1/pub/upload/mm/388/keyfindings.pdf
• Zero Tolerance for Underage Drinking: www.peerprograms.org/Resource_Center
• Monitoring the Future: www.monitoringthefuture.org
• National Survey on Drug Use and Health: www.drugabusestatistics.samhsa.gov/nhsda.htm
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