It is indeed an honor to announce how well the "Give a Week, Change a Life Expedition" went. It was a huge success financially and socially. Are you ready for the highlights of the event?
* 2,000 children were adopted. Hooray!
* One million dollars was raised for the benefit of orphanages across the state of Florida.
* 100 college scholarships were given away, thanks to FAMU, FSU and UF.
* Each orphan received clothing gift cards, sponsored by Macy's, Target and Wal-Mart.
* Every orphan received a lifetime supply of shoes, compliments of Nike.
Special thanks to celebrity Denzel Washington, Steven Curtis Chapman, Miley Cyrus and Raven Simone for donating money and making this event glamorous; the concert was amazing. Also, special thanks to Tallahassee's city officials, Florida A&M University, Florida State University, University of Florida, Nike, Macy's, Target, Wal-Mart, McDonald's, Dave's Barbeque, Sonny's Barbeque, the North Florida Fair Co., the FSU Circus, Star Metro, WCTV, ABC27, PBS, Tallahassee Democrat, Capital Outlook, and the Tallahassee Leon County Civic Center Board.
The Children's Home Society of Florida extends its greatest level of appreciation to every person and company that participated in this event. We look forward to the Second Annual "Give a Week, Change a Life Expedition" and hope that it will be as great as the first.
May you all be blessed beyond your greatest expectations and on behalf of the CHSF and Florida's kids, we love you!
Friday, July 30, 2010
How Concerned are You?
The "Give a Week, Change a Life Expedition" is quickly approaching and the message of adoption is out. However, a tainted idea concerning adopting children in Florida has been put out. I have already written letters to newspaper editors to address this issue before it gets out of control. Just in case you have not seen it in the news, I will share it.
A group of activist has been around promoting the idea that orphans in Florida have no worries and they are better off than the children of Haiti and other countries. Along with their message, they are implying that children from other countries should be first pick when it comes to adoption. Imagine all the people who are ready to adopt a child from Florida. What could happen if they all took heed to the activists' message? Would the bright future of our precious kids be faded?
If few people adopted a child here in Florida, it could set the state up for a long term problem of orphan overflow. These children need parents who will love them and take good care of them just like the other children around the world. It gives me joy to see Charlie Crist, Florida's governor, strongly promoting adoption and he has established a Children and Youth Cabinet to help communicate with agencies that serve kids in the state.
I am not objecting to the adoption of children from Haiti and other countries, but I am advocating for Florida's children that they are not left out. I believe that every child deserves to be loved.
Readers, what do you think about this issue?
Do you agree with the activist?
What should be done concerning this?
I invite you to make a comment by sharing your thoughts. I would love to hear them.
A group of activist has been around promoting the idea that orphans in Florida have no worries and they are better off than the children of Haiti and other countries. Along with their message, they are implying that children from other countries should be first pick when it comes to adoption. Imagine all the people who are ready to adopt a child from Florida. What could happen if they all took heed to the activists' message? Would the bright future of our precious kids be faded?
If few people adopted a child here in Florida, it could set the state up for a long term problem of orphan overflow. These children need parents who will love them and take good care of them just like the other children around the world. It gives me joy to see Charlie Crist, Florida's governor, strongly promoting adoption and he has established a Children and Youth Cabinet to help communicate with agencies that serve kids in the state.
I am not objecting to the adoption of children from Haiti and other countries, but I am advocating for Florida's children that they are not left out. I believe that every child deserves to be loved.
Readers, what do you think about this issue?
Do you agree with the activist?
What should be done concerning this?
I invite you to make a comment by sharing your thoughts. I would love to hear them.
Friday, July 16, 2010
A Great Idea in the Making
This morning I took a moment to visit the blog spot of one of my colleagues, PREssence PR, to see what the company's doing next. When I first arrived to the blog, I noticed the company's logo, which is very nice by the way, however my eyes scanned the page in search for a photo of some sort but there was none.
Now keep in mind readers that PREssence PR and Hughes & Associates PR are not competitors. My company represents and counsels nonprofit organizations and they represent and counsel organizations that are for profit, to my knowledge. Therefore, competition is most certainly NOT a factor here as I critique their blog and ideas.
In the first paragraph, I addressed the absence of a photo on PREssence's blog page. But the good news is that they are hosting such a flamboyant event they can make their blog page pop with red-carpet event colors like red, fire orange and purple with the blog background settings titled "Entertainment".
The event that PREssence is hosting is called "We Present to you "Elegance" in which they are launching an upscale club/lounge opening party. I think this is a very creative title and it sounds like it is going to be a well planned and fun event. I love the way the CEO of PREssence PR introduced herself in the first blog post and shared her original passion for Tallahassee's community.
Having passion for people goes a long way, so I am convinced that PREssence PR will have a very successful outcome concerning its event. In fact, it is a possibility that PREssence's event and Hughes & Associates' event could complement one another. I can see it now! "Change a Life with Elegance" could be the tied in title, and the way we could work together with our events is by donation.
What I mean by donation is that my company could donate our volunteering celebrities by sending them to attend the PREssence event, promote adoption and sign autographs. This will bring more people to their event and it will also draft more adopting parents for my event. Now I think that is A GREAT IDEA IN THE MAKING.
Now keep in mind readers that PREssence PR and Hughes & Associates PR are not competitors. My company represents and counsels nonprofit organizations and they represent and counsel organizations that are for profit, to my knowledge. Therefore, competition is most certainly NOT a factor here as I critique their blog and ideas.
In the first paragraph, I addressed the absence of a photo on PREssence's blog page. But the good news is that they are hosting such a flamboyant event they can make their blog page pop with red-carpet event colors like red, fire orange and purple with the blog background settings titled "Entertainment".
The event that PREssence is hosting is called "We Present to you "Elegance" in which they are launching an upscale club/lounge opening party. I think this is a very creative title and it sounds like it is going to be a well planned and fun event. I love the way the CEO of PREssence PR introduced herself in the first blog post and shared her original passion for Tallahassee's community.
Having passion for people goes a long way, so I am convinced that PREssence PR will have a very successful outcome concerning its event. In fact, it is a possibility that PREssence's event and Hughes & Associates' event could complement one another. I can see it now! "Change a Life with Elegance" could be the tied in title, and the way we could work together with our events is by donation.
What I mean by donation is that my company could donate our volunteering celebrities by sending them to attend the PREssence event, promote adoption and sign autographs. This will bring more people to their event and it will also draft more adopting parents for my event. Now I think that is A GREAT IDEA IN THE MAKING.
*Adoption Fever Going Global*
The "Give a Week, Change a Life Expedition" is an event that has the potential to positively impact people and companies in a variety of ways. Beginning with the company that is hosting the event, The Children's Home Society of Florida; the expedition could change ones perspective of that company.
If the CHSF break a new record of getting children adopted during the expedition, it could earn itself a new staple of recognition: If you place a child in the care of the CHSF, they will get adopted. This will certainly strengthen the hosting company in a positive way by causing them to work just as hard to get children adopted even when there is not a huge event.
The expedition could also positively impact my public relations firm simply by making it better in PR. Because of the extreme level of research and promotion for a cause such as adoption, each employee of the PR firm that has been assigned to this event will naturally discover new strategies and tap farther into his/her creative side as it takes a lot of persuasion and creativity to promote adoption.
Beyond the companies involved with this event, the expedition will most of all positively impact its participants. The children in foster care will be positively touched just from knowing that all of those adults are attending the expedition to spend time with them and raise money for their wellbeing. The life of every child who is adopted changes for the better.
The participating adults will be positively impacted because they decided to adopt or give donations. Overall, this could ultimately impact the world in a positive way. How? Through the media! Once the media cover this event, the footage will be placed on web sites, more blogs, information in newspapers etc, and soon the encouragement to adopt will feed around the world. People will begin to understand that adopting a child is a gift and the world will catch adoption fever.
If the CHSF break a new record of getting children adopted during the expedition, it could earn itself a new staple of recognition: If you place a child in the care of the CHSF, they will get adopted. This will certainly strengthen the hosting company in a positive way by causing them to work just as hard to get children adopted even when there is not a huge event.
The expedition could also positively impact my public relations firm simply by making it better in PR. Because of the extreme level of research and promotion for a cause such as adoption, each employee of the PR firm that has been assigned to this event will naturally discover new strategies and tap farther into his/her creative side as it takes a lot of persuasion and creativity to promote adoption.
Beyond the companies involved with this event, the expedition will most of all positively impact its participants. The children in foster care will be positively touched just from knowing that all of those adults are attending the expedition to spend time with them and raise money for their wellbeing. The life of every child who is adopted changes for the better.
The participating adults will be positively impacted because they decided to adopt or give donations. Overall, this could ultimately impact the world in a positive way. How? Through the media! Once the media cover this event, the footage will be placed on web sites, more blogs, information in newspapers etc, and soon the encouragement to adopt will feed around the world. People will begin to understand that adopting a child is a gift and the world will catch adoption fever.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
An Event worth Going to!
After going through a list in my mind of a really great event that I have attended, I have chosen to mention a youth camp. This is an annual international youth camp(IYC) that is a whole week and was established to help people age 16 and up become closer to Christ.
My reason for attending IYC was because I was asked to be a facilitator, dorm leader and counselor there. It was one of the most exciting experiences in my life thus far.
From a public relations perspective, the camp was well organized from the foundation of collecting all of the workers before the event through newsletters, press release and flyers, to making sure that the guest workers were well accommodated once we got there.
I remember after I arrived at the airport, there was a designated IYC van that came around to pick me up. Once we got to the camp, there was an order of check-in, a meeting of introduction, packets handed out that included a full schedule for the week, tee shirts, backpacks and more.
It was memorable to meet people from all cultures, in which everyone did not speak the same language, but there was one language that reigned supreme and that was the language of love. It was one of the most beautiful things.
In spite of the different nationalities, there was excellent control during the camp; and that was another thing that was impressive. Selecting something from that event to utilize for my event, I would use their organizing techniques because they were pretty close to perfect. It was definitely an event worth going to!
My reason for attending IYC was because I was asked to be a facilitator, dorm leader and counselor there. It was one of the most exciting experiences in my life thus far.
From a public relations perspective, the camp was well organized from the foundation of collecting all of the workers before the event through newsletters, press release and flyers, to making sure that the guest workers were well accommodated once we got there.
I remember after I arrived at the airport, there was a designated IYC van that came around to pick me up. Once we got to the camp, there was an order of check-in, a meeting of introduction, packets handed out that included a full schedule for the week, tee shirts, backpacks and more.
It was memorable to meet people from all cultures, in which everyone did not speak the same language, but there was one language that reigned supreme and that was the language of love. It was one of the most beautiful things.
In spite of the different nationalities, there was excellent control during the camp; and that was another thing that was impressive. Selecting something from that event to utilize for my event, I would use their organizing techniques because they were pretty close to perfect. It was definitely an event worth going to!
Public Relations Taken to a Whole New Level
Hughes and Associates Public Relations Firm is an agency that specializes in servicing nonprofit organizations. The company was established in 1987 in Tallahassee, Fla., by Tommy Hughes and was the first of its kind in the North Florida area.
Since then, Hughes and Associates PR Firm is no longer the only agency of its specialization, however, it stands nationally as number one in its category and has held that rank for years now.
In 2008, the founder of the firm established a new PR agency in Perry, Fla., and gave the Tallahassee location to his daughter, yours truly. So here I am, CEO of Hughes and Associates of Tallahassee and anticipating our next huge event called the "Give a Week, Change a Life Expedition."
The client that has retained our services for this special event is the Children's Home Society of Florida, which is of course a nonprofit organization. The CHSF's constant passion is to help neglected and abused children, giving them a safe haven until new parents are found.
The Children's Home Society in general was established in 1902 and hit a national level in 1982, serving foster children around the United States.
Since then, Hughes and Associates PR Firm is no longer the only agency of its specialization, however, it stands nationally as number one in its category and has held that rank for years now.
In 2008, the founder of the firm established a new PR agency in Perry, Fla., and gave the Tallahassee location to his daughter, yours truly. So here I am, CEO of Hughes and Associates of Tallahassee and anticipating our next huge event called the "Give a Week, Change a Life Expedition."
The client that has retained our services for this special event is the Children's Home Society of Florida, which is of course a nonprofit organization. The CHSF's constant passion is to help neglected and abused children, giving them a safe haven until new parents are found.
The Children's Home Society in general was established in 1902 and hit a national level in 1982, serving foster children around the United States.
Monday, July 5, 2010
*The Beauty of the Finished Product*
Welcome to the "Give a Week, Change a Life" blogspot. It is a joy to have you as a visiting reader and I hope you enjoy each entry.
Allow me to introduce myself. I am a young lady by the name of Ranata Hughes who loves writing. Be it songs, poetry, articles, blogs etc; I always have a good time putting words together. I am an undergraduate student at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University where I am majoring in public relations, with a minor in elementary education.
I am also a youth pastor, recording artist and fashion designer (by hobby). I try to keep a safe balance of things between my careers, aspirations and academics, although it is not always an easy thing to do.
The motivation for this blog spot is a course that I am currently taking called "Public Relations Methods, PUR 3105", in which The other students and I were given an individual project to work on during the semester.
The professor has instructed us to come up with a special event in which we must spearhead, planning every detail of the event from the company who hired us to plan it, to what it is about, where it will be held, who will be there and how will we get them there.
Sounds exciting right? Well, wait until you read what I have come up with. The event that I am planning caters to children who are in foster care. The title of my event is "Give a Week, Change a Life Expedition" and its purpose is to give foster children a winning chance to be adopted.
Another important focus of the expedition is to raise a huge amount of money that will go towards the construction and maintenance of orphanage homes/facilities within the North Florida area, while having fun as the money is raised. Although this is just a class project to equip me for my future career in public relations, I happen to be honestly passionate about foster children finding a good home.
The "Give a Week, Change a Life Expedition" will be held in the great city of Tallahassee, Fla., and will be promoted periodically on this blog. I am definitely excited about this project and I look forward to the beauty of the finished product.
Allow me to introduce myself. I am a young lady by the name of Ranata Hughes who loves writing. Be it songs, poetry, articles, blogs etc; I always have a good time putting words together. I am an undergraduate student at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University where I am majoring in public relations, with a minor in elementary education.
I am also a youth pastor, recording artist and fashion designer (by hobby). I try to keep a safe balance of things between my careers, aspirations and academics, although it is not always an easy thing to do.
The motivation for this blog spot is a course that I am currently taking called "Public Relations Methods, PUR 3105", in which The other students and I were given an individual project to work on during the semester.
The professor has instructed us to come up with a special event in which we must spearhead, planning every detail of the event from the company who hired us to plan it, to what it is about, where it will be held, who will be there and how will we get them there.
Sounds exciting right? Well, wait until you read what I have come up with. The event that I am planning caters to children who are in foster care. The title of my event is "Give a Week, Change a Life Expedition" and its purpose is to give foster children a winning chance to be adopted.
Another important focus of the expedition is to raise a huge amount of money that will go towards the construction and maintenance of orphanage homes/facilities within the North Florida area, while having fun as the money is raised. Although this is just a class project to equip me for my future career in public relations, I happen to be honestly passionate about foster children finding a good home.
The "Give a Week, Change a Life Expedition" will be held in the great city of Tallahassee, Fla., and will be promoted periodically on this blog. I am definitely excited about this project and I look forward to the beauty of the finished product.
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