The Cheltenham Volunteer Centre
Campaign message: "Volunteering is of enormous benefit to the volunteers themselves"
Aim: Cheltenham Volunteer Centre (CVC) wanted to recruit more volunteers and increase the profile of their centre in the Cheltenham area.
Number of people involved: 1 (Office Manager)
Launched: June 2007
Magazine article: "Service with a smile" CVC approached a journalist from Cotswold Life in January 2007. CVC pitched an idea all about the surprising work volunteers are doing around the region; they suggested a feature with big glossy photos. The journalist was inspired by the pitch and ended up asking to come to the volunteer centre and do some volunteering work herself. She wanted to write a first person article about her volunteering experiences.
Newspaper article: "Can you help pack?" This straightforward ask for volunteers, only took up a couple of centimetres on the news pages of the Gloucestershire Echo. As a result of this simple article, the volunteer centre received nine calls as well as several emails from people who wanted to volunteer at the event.
Research: CVC were involved in a Voluntary Action Media Unit and Institute for Volunteering Research action research project: Working with the media.
Outside agencies: None
Results: "The exposure in Cotswold Life has done us enormous good on lots of levels. It is a terrific marketing tool... you read that article and you just know what we do, what we're about and why it's important." Peter Day at CVC.
Contact: Hazel Lonsdale www.volunteeringcheltenham.org.uk
