My internship at Colosoul is coming to an end but I have decided to stay on in order to gain further experience. Event organising is a huge aspect of what Colosoul does and as it is a not for profit organisation they rely on donations and support from local businesses. We organised a movie fundraiser to raise money in order to move into a bigger office and to continue to provide a magazine to the youth of Perth. There is so much more effort required when you are relying on donations, everything takes twice as long. I underestimated the amount we needed donated and what types of things that we had to source. From the venue, to the equipment, to the lolly bags and popcorn. It gives you a strong appreciation for those working in the not for profit sector and the extra work they have to do to organise an event.
I have learnt many things at my placement which i thought i would share:
*Working in PR you have to be organised, as soon as you get an email make sure you reply ASAP. It makes life a lot easier.
*Make lists and lots of them. Event organising requires making lengthy lists, without them it is highly likely you will forget something.
*Double check emails and documents to ensure that there are no spelling mistakes.
*Be ready to be a problem solver, I spent most of the night at the Fair Tradie Ball solving issues with tickets, seating and raffles.
I really have enjoyed my placement and as it is my last semester of my degree I found it a great learning experience, preparing me for the business world. It allows you to put into practice everything you have learnt over the years whilst studying at university. This blog has also been extremely beneficial as everyone has had such different experiences and learnt different things. Sharing our stories and experiences gives everyone an insight into the different areas of public relations and what every individual enjoyed.
Lauren Trevaskis
Showing posts with label Lauren Trevaskis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lauren Trevaskis. Show all posts
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Why we need social media...
Social Media
Social media plays a big role in Public Relations and in order to be truly successful social media has to be utilised to its full potential. At Colosoul they understand how important it is and their Facebook page allows the organisation to connect with the community. They have over 3 800 followers on their page and they constantly update their status and have competitions running.
The Fair Tradie Project Ball was a prime example of how social media when used properly can be very effective. We created a Facebook event for the ball and everyone involved invited their freinds to join the page. This increased awareness for the event and provided a forum for people to chat about the ball and the cause we were fundraising for. It was an easy way to explain what the event was about and give details to the guests attending. Giving regular updates about the progress of the event and the entertainment was important in keeping people interested.
One of my tasks after the event was managing the page and uploading the photos that were taken on the night. Photos are a great way of promoting the event and gaining awarness for the cause. I also went through our list of sponsors and businesses that donated items for the event or the auction and liked their Facebook pages. This allows the organisation to show support to the businesses that had supported Colosoul and help to estbalish a relationship or channel of communication.
One thing that my supervisor made very clear from the start was the importance of maintaining a list of contacts and businesses we had approached for use in the future. Last year no records were kept and so this year we had to start from scratch. In the years to come the organisation has a list of all businesses that we approached, their contact details and whether they wanted to support the event or donate. This will mean a lot less work has to be done next year and Colosoul is hopeful that relationships can be established with certain businesses so they support the event every year.
Social media plays a very important role in organisations, especially not for profits as it a free way of communicating with the public. My internship has allowed me to have a better understanding of why it is so important and how to utilise to its full potential.
Social media plays a big role in Public Relations and in order to be truly successful social media has to be utilised to its full potential. At Colosoul they understand how important it is and their Facebook page allows the organisation to connect with the community. They have over 3 800 followers on their page and they constantly update their status and have competitions running.
The Fair Tradie Project Ball was a prime example of how social media when used properly can be very effective. We created a Facebook event for the ball and everyone involved invited their freinds to join the page. This increased awareness for the event and provided a forum for people to chat about the ball and the cause we were fundraising for. It was an easy way to explain what the event was about and give details to the guests attending. Giving regular updates about the progress of the event and the entertainment was important in keeping people interested.
One of my tasks after the event was managing the page and uploading the photos that were taken on the night. Photos are a great way of promoting the event and gaining awarness for the cause. I also went through our list of sponsors and businesses that donated items for the event or the auction and liked their Facebook pages. This allows the organisation to show support to the businesses that had supported Colosoul and help to estbalish a relationship or channel of communication.
One thing that my supervisor made very clear from the start was the importance of maintaining a list of contacts and businesses we had approached for use in the future. Last year no records were kept and so this year we had to start from scratch. In the years to come the organisation has a list of all businesses that we approached, their contact details and whether they wanted to support the event or donate. This will mean a lot less work has to be done next year and Colosoul is hopeful that relationships can be established with certain businesses so they support the event every year.
Social media plays a very important role in organisations, especially not for profits as it a free way of communicating with the public. My internship has allowed me to have a better understanding of why it is so important and how to utilise to its full potential.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
The Fair Tradie Project Ball
Blog 2
The day of the Fair Tradie Project Ball arrived and there was so much to be done so everyone had to be at the South Perth Community Hall at 11:00 AM in order to set up. I had to help set up the tabels and chairs, arrange seating plans, create flower arrangements for the tables and help with the goodie bags.
At 6:00 PM we were debriefed on our roles for the night. Another girl and I were front of house and in charge of checking everyones names off at the door and informing them of where they were sitting. It soon became clear that it was going to be fairly difficult as the list of names was not in alphabetical order and many names were missing off the list. It took a little while to sort all the issues out but it was a great learning experience about what I would do differently next time. I did a lot of running around trying to find people's seats and figuring out table issues.
Once the night got underway I helped serve drinks and then Georgia the event manager asked me to model the auction items so people at the tables could see the items. I was not super keen as there was hundreds of people in the room but i worked up to courage to do it. I also had to go around and ask the guests who they thought was the best dressed for the night and who the best dancers were. At 12 PM the night was finished and we had to stay back to clean up and pack away everything. It was an extremely long day and there were a few bumps but it was a wonderful night and everyone seemed to really enjoy it.
In the end $15 000 was raised for FTP to build homes for orphaned children in Jinja Uganda which was short of the $30 000 that we hoped to raise but it was still a great result. I personally learned a lot through the process of preparing for the ball and how much work is required in organising everything especially when you work for a not for profit organisation and everything comes from donations.
The day of the Fair Tradie Project Ball arrived and there was so much to be done so everyone had to be at the South Perth Community Hall at 11:00 AM in order to set up. I had to help set up the tabels and chairs, arrange seating plans, create flower arrangements for the tables and help with the goodie bags.
At 6:00 PM we were debriefed on our roles for the night. Another girl and I were front of house and in charge of checking everyones names off at the door and informing them of where they were sitting. It soon became clear that it was going to be fairly difficult as the list of names was not in alphabetical order and many names were missing off the list. It took a little while to sort all the issues out but it was a great learning experience about what I would do differently next time. I did a lot of running around trying to find people's seats and figuring out table issues.
Once the night got underway I helped serve drinks and then Georgia the event manager asked me to model the auction items so people at the tables could see the items. I was not super keen as there was hundreds of people in the room but i worked up to courage to do it. I also had to go around and ask the guests who they thought was the best dressed for the night and who the best dancers were. At 12 PM the night was finished and we had to stay back to clean up and pack away everything. It was an extremely long day and there were a few bumps but it was a wonderful night and everyone seemed to really enjoy it.
In the end $15 000 was raised for FTP to build homes for orphaned children in Jinja Uganda which was short of the $30 000 that we hoped to raise but it was still a great result. I personally learned a lot through the process of preparing for the ball and how much work is required in organising everything especially when you work for a not for profit organisation and everything comes from donations.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Colosoul
I am completing my work experience at Colosoul inc. a not for profit youth magazine and a large part of what I have been doing is helping to organise the Fair Trade Project Ball. The Fair Trade Project is an organisation which utilises the skills of tradies to re-build communities around the world.
Working in PR and marketing you understand that at times you will have to put yourself out there and perform tasks that may be out of your comfort zone but when you are in the workplace it becomes a reality. Selling tickets was one of my roles and I had to approach strangers and engage them in conversation, tell them about the Fair Trade Project and the work they do. Our target market was Tradies and so we approached people at worksites and other places to tell them about the ball and what the money raised would be going towards. I visited supermarkets such as Coles and Woolworths to ask for giftcards which were put towrds buying the food for the caterers. We had to visit and ring many businesses in order to find donations of alcohol and items that could be auctioned off on the night.
Working for a not for profit organisation you have to be resourceful and prepared to approach businesses too ask for donations and sponsorship. You do not have the funds that private industries have. A lot of businesses like to support West Australian organisations and so many made extremely kind donations but you also have to be prepared to be told no many times before someone will say yes.
Lauren trevaskis
Working in PR and marketing you understand that at times you will have to put yourself out there and perform tasks that may be out of your comfort zone but when you are in the workplace it becomes a reality. Selling tickets was one of my roles and I had to approach strangers and engage them in conversation, tell them about the Fair Trade Project and the work they do. Our target market was Tradies and so we approached people at worksites and other places to tell them about the ball and what the money raised would be going towards. I visited supermarkets such as Coles and Woolworths to ask for giftcards which were put towrds buying the food for the caterers. We had to visit and ring many businesses in order to find donations of alcohol and items that could be auctioned off on the night.
Working for a not for profit organisation you have to be resourceful and prepared to approach businesses too ask for donations and sponsorship. You do not have the funds that private industries have. A lot of businesses like to support West Australian organisations and so many made extremely kind donations but you also have to be prepared to be told no many times before someone will say yes.
Lauren trevaskis
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)