KRISPY KREMES! Now that I've your attention...

I am at the end of my placement, and for the first time since I started, I’m behind on my work. There’s just so much to do, and the end-of-semester workload for my other units are piling up. I can’t believe that my time with the Global Good Foundation is almost over.

Well, technically I’ve already finished my 20 days, but I’m staying on till the end of the semester, and hopefully continuing after a 3-week visit home (Singapore). I guess going for a 3-week break feels like the end for me and it feels like I have unfinished business because things move so quickly at the GGF. Every week I’m working on something entirely new. I just can’t imagine what I’m going to miss out on when I’m gone. For a start, I’m missing out on our latest and probably most delicious donation drive – KRISPY KREME SALES! (For those interested in getting your hands on these amazing donuts, please comment on this post with your email so I can send you more details.)

My confidence has grown so much with my supervisor’s guidance and advice. I feel like I trust myself and can be trusted to produce quality work. I’m no longer just asking for work or asking how I should do stuff, but making suggestions and acting on them.

For example, my supervisor asked me to come up with an information sheet for the charity’s membership program. She asked me to put in all the stuff I put into all the other information sheets I’ve done.

The thing is, while I know information is important, I felt that slapping paragraphs and paragraphs of information and text on a piece of paper wasn’t the right way to get the message across to potential donors. Moreover, there was already so much information on the website, and if people were interested to find out more, that is where they could go (plus you have to go online to sign up anyway). It would be such a waste for words to go unread if I’d thrown all the information in, and it would not make sense for me to write something like “For more information, visit www...”, only for the potential donor to find the same information online.

Instead, I felt short, powerful copy should be used instead to inspire people to find out more first, and hopefully end up donating. If they don’t do the latter, at least they have been to the website. So I wrote some really short copy, and justified it with what I mentioned above…and my supervisor liked it!

This is probably going to be my last entry here. I’ve really enjoyed reading everyone’s posts, and I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about my placement too! Remember, comment if you want to get your hands on some Krispy Kremes.

Going Somewhere and Seeing Things Happen: A PR practitioner's reward

I've been producing information packs, brochures, conducting interviews, writing sponsorship requests, writing media releases, writing, writing, and writing and writing...

No one really sees the work (and paperwork) that goes behind an event. Sometimes, it's hard to see it even when you're the one doing the work. I love what I'm doing, but in the past few weeks, I've been wondering where all the things I'm churning out are going to, what all the words I've spun together mean and how are they going to change anything. 

This week (just a little bit past my halfway mark), I feel like I'm finally getting somewhere. I'm starting to see things in action, see people consume what I have put together and hopefully, post-event, someone might be impacted by it. 

We are kicking off the Global Good Foundation's epic year with the very first Global Good Kids Camps this week. Children aged 8-12 who have been impacted by domestic violence will be attending the camp and soaking up all the wonderful skills and experiences that will help them become confident, strong individuals. I produced an information pack for the participants’ parents which includes information about the camp's development, as well as stories from children and parents who have seen lives changed tremendously because of similar camps. The interviews I conducted to get the stories in the info pack were both heartbreaking and heart-warming. One of the interviewees got back to me pretty late, and I just got the final copy in to my supervisor at close to 11pm last night! Talk about PR being a 24 hour job (checking my email has become a huge obsession)!

My supervisor said the media release I wrote for “Jump for GGF” (a program where people who raise a minimum of $500 get a chance to sky dive) was picked up by one of the community newspapers, so I’m looking forward to seeing how that’s going to turn out. Media wise, we've got something very exciting lined up this week, but I'm not going to say what yet. Hint: It is going to be on TV!

Sponsors have also been very supportive of our fundraising and educational programs which will be starting in the next (primary school) semester. That's going to be a big one, and it is one of the programs which I have come to really familiarise myself with because I hope to take it home to Singapore one day.

I know I am so lucky to be working for the GGF, that I’m seeing and learning skills beyond public relations, that what I do somehow helps bring hope to children and smiles to faces, that however small a part I play, at least I am a part of something big. 

I've attached a story written by a former camp participant which I included in the Kids Camp information pack. It's definitely worth a read.

Danielle Han

Bentley Campus

The Global Good Foundation

15010353 

The Versatility of Language

Hi everyone!

I’m so excited about finally being able to blog about my placement. There were several things that got in the way of me starting my placement earlier, but I’ve finally started and it feels great.

I am doing my placement at the Global Good Foundation (GGF). The GGF is committed to helping those impacted by domestic violence by encouraging and empowering them to speak out about a topic that is not commonly addressed, as well as stopping the cycle of domestic violence. They’ve grown tremendously in such a short time. One of their campaigns, the Minute of Noise campaign, has already been brought overseas!

The week before I started my internship, the founder and the General Manager (my supervisor) of GGF were featured in the Weekend West. This meant that I started my internship in the midst of heaps of enquiries and opportunities flowing in! It was definitely a great way to experience the awareness and response that positive media relations can generate.

The GGF was also recently granted some, well, grants, so they now have the resources to carry out their programs in quite a number of schools. Hence, I was tasked with creating an information kit for the schools and their students’ parents. We’ve always learnt about identifying different stakeholders and using different language and tone to best drive the organisation’s messages across to each target group. Working on these kits made me realise how difficult this can be, especially when you are trying to convey messages about domestic violence in a delicate and non-confrontational manner. My work was edited quite a bit, but I was reassured I would be able to grasp the right and sensitive language and tone used in dealing with the issue in time.

I was also given the chance to look at how applications for grants and funding are written. Again, a totally different tone (more formal) was used in this document because it targeted another stakeholder (e.g. the government).

I’d love to hear if those working in consultancies also have to juggle different writing styles for various clients. I’ve always loved to write, but my first task has already proven itself a challenge! I can only be thankful that I have a good foundation in English, and will remember to stress to others that it is such an important skill (I’m sure your lecturers and tutors have told you this countless times! Well…believe it if you haven’t! Haha).

I am very honoured and privileged to be working with and for some very successful, dedicated, and inspirational people. I know it’s early, but I already know this will not be just another PR internship, but one that would make a real positive difference in the community.

Till my next update!

Danielle Han
Bentley Campus
Interning at the Global Good Foundation