The Fellowship of Australian Writers WA - first impressions

Dean Stacey PR393 Blog One
Curtin University

Hello everyone.
Currently I'm in week two of my placement at the Fellowship of Australian Writers (WA) - a non-for-profit organisation which provides training, support and friendship to the state's writing community. The Fellowship (FAWWA) is based in Swanbourne and operates out of a heritage-listed cottage. It is staffed by two women who work Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Have a look at their website or Facebook page for my information - www.fawwa.org.au, http://www.facebook.com/WAwritersfellowship.
The real benefit with this placement is the opportunity to work in conjunction with another PR student to help FAWWA better promote itself. Rather than having an established public relations department, the organisation relies on the existing staff to handle every aspect of daily operations. Because of this, we have a fantastic opportunity to put the knowledge learnt at university into practice. It is also beneficial that we are able to manage all PR related associated tasks by ourselves (in consultation with staff). This means we don’t have someone directing us what to do and allows us to show initiative.  
Initially I was sceptical as to how significant the role of public relations would be in the organisation's day-to-day running. However, after my first day I'm pleased to say that there appears ample opportunity to put into practice the skills learnt at university.

Below is an overview of what tasks, ideas and skills I've been able to utilise so far.  
- Administration/organisational skills: We have created a file-sharing system known as Dropbox where staff can save information and items. Dropbox allows those with access to view, edit and contribute to one another's work. Examples of documents we've placed into the system include a database of current members, membership forms, templates for media releases etc.
- Media releases: FAWWA hold regular workshops and events with established writers. These workshops are attended by members and the general public. In order to raise awareness, I created a media release which was distributed to a newspaper in Rockingham and subsequently was published last month. This media release now serves as a template for future releases and includes the FAWWA logo, contact details etc.
- Promotional material: In order to attract new members to I created a postcard which will be dropped into mailboxes and distributed around university campuses. The postcard was modelled on a similar design the organisation had used in the past. I created the card using a web-based printing company which FAWWA has an account with. The postcards are currently being printed and readied for distribution.
- Website and Facebook authorisation: We have been given access to modify the organisation's website Facebook and website. This allows us to update new material such as upcoming workshops, call for membership renewals and correspond with members. 

There is plenty more we've been tasked with, but in the interest of keeping this blog to a reabable length, I'll leave it there for today.
Thanks

The Fellowship

Through the sheer luck and coincidence of bumping into an old acquaintance I came across a cry for help. I was presented with a brief for an organisation called the Fellowship of Australian Writers (WA).FAWWA is a not for profit organisation that provides support, advocacy, training and most of all friendship to Western Australia's writing community.

The once popular not for profit was founded in 1938 and at its highest point boasted over 1000 members. The organisation was thriving, constantly holding glamorous events attended by many prestigious writers and creative people. They also were putting out a well written and entertaining monthly magazine.

However for many reasons, over time the Fellowship lost its touch. Currently standing at 150 members, the president Trisha Kotai-Ewers and other members decided the fellowship was in need of young Public Relations students to volunteer and give the organisation a new youthful lease on life. I accepted this challenge and have been volunteering for over a month already, the organisation itself is on the verge of great change and it’s an exciting time to be involved with FAWWA.

The organisation can be found in Tom Collin’s house in Swanbourne. Tom Collins was a man called Joseph Furphy’s pen name. Joseph Furphy was a writer, well known for his novel ‘Such is Life’. He built the house by himself and later on the house was donated to FAWWA for use as their office.

The house is an incredible (and freezing) place to work. At lunch time all the volunteers, current writer’s in residence and anyone else who is hanging around is invited to sit in the dining room and have soup together. At this point everyone comes together and talks, jokes and shares stories which is an awesome way to exchange ideas and thoughts.

I don’t think I could have asked for a better placement, I am given tremendous responsibility and I am treated like a professional Public Relations practitioner not just a student. I am not given tasks or jobs instead I have to look for ways I can help the organisation myself and put those plans into action alone , it already has given me invaluable experience and I am sure there is plenty more to learn and my placement continues.