Time Together
Campaign message: "Become a mentor to a refugee and help them settle into a new life in the UK"
Aim: To recruit mentors to support refugees and help them integrate into their local community.
Number of people involved: 6 (TimeBank project and communications team)
Launched: On-going
PR work: The charity TimeBank run a project called Time Together which matches local people with refugees in one-to-one mentoring relationships. Time Together occasionally advertise for mentors but rely on securing editorial coverage in target media to recruit the volunteer mentors they need.
For example, they chose to place a story in The Times Career section of the paper to reach an audience of professionals. The article headline read, "Refugee wins by sharing the load... Matthew Foster believed he had something to offer doctors coming here as refugees. He was right – as Abdul Karim Atefi can attest"
Working with case studies: To secure media coverage for the project, TimeBank provide journalists with case studies - people who've experienced being a Time Together mentor/ mentee (as in The Times article). To get local media coverage they supply local case studies.
The TimeBank press officer talks with each media volunteer (case study) about how the article will be used and if a photo is needed. In some special cases, TimeBank change the case studies' names to protect them. They are careful to brief their case studies before introducing them to journalists and reporters. To protect the refugees and mentors involved and for clarity, TimeBank also ask their case studies to sign a consent form.
There is also a short film on the Time Together website which features the project's mentors and mentees talking about their experiences.
Outside agencies: None
Results: In the last year 1610 people have applied to become a Time Together mentor.
Contact: Fiona Lewis www.TimeBank.org.uk
