Ending on a Good Note

From the last few posts, many readers assume it is really hard to find appreciation (other than one's own) when working unpaid or as a volunteer.

This is true for many. However, an optimistic view can turn the glass half full after all.

I constantly found myself struggling throughout the semester managing my time between school and work. This was very hard on me for the longest time.

Even so my Father informs me that is the real world. Compliments are rare, and appreciation thin. But at the end of the day, I received this letter and found myself more gratified than ever.



Basically thanks comes randomly, and its the simple pleasures in life that count. So don't hesitate to volunteer, it will never waste your time.

What Now? Crisis Management Checklist

1. Alert Public Relations immediately
2. Establish emergency alert procedure
3. Establish centralized spokesperson
4. Determine the facts
5. Establish news media station, or command post, or situation room
6. Assist media
7. Log information released
8. Don't release information prematurely
9. Don't specualte
10. Correct false information
11. Control camera crews
12. Keep info flowing once verified
13. Ask, 'What next?'

Last Thursday our PR group that is currently set to graduate Spring 11' was lucky enough to have a guest speaker who had direct experience in crisis management.

Katherine Voss, current head of PR for Oschner Clinical Foundations, was at the source of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005. Upon directing Oschner's chain of hospital's public relations she never imagined having to implement the actual crisis managment checklist.

When her team found out that Hurricane Katrina was headed for New Orleans the main goal was to successfully move all intensive care patients to the main hospital and maintain contact with all employees in order to continue health services throughout the disaster.

However, when the National Guard was deployed to the area surrounding the hospital because all of the land was under sea leavel, the strategy changed. Suddenly half of the Oschner hospital staff was immediately missing - the families had left town. Businesses surrounding also closed and were evacuated. The hospital went under 'lock down' and was actually boarded up leaving all employees in town to survive at the hospital together.

The hurricane hit and left Katherine to defend the hospital from the media to soon arrive. For the following two weeks, she was constantly battling negative press and fighting for the Oschner Foundation's well being. The hospital managed to suffer minimal damage while continuing care for the intensive unit patients. Back up generators and Red Cross supplies kept the people living inside alive.

Her story was moving and seemed a PR major's dream or nightmare. It continued onward with tales of struggling to survive while maintaining the image of the hospital, as it was flogged with people needing medical attention after the levvy broke. The rest of her story left us with this list.

This list of checkpoints was developed after the hurricane. It is provided that under any given crisis a PR team should follow these checkpoints in order to correctly address a problem, and make a succussful message follow.

Katherine is one of many who after the disaster stressed the necessity of such a list, so here it is for all, fellow bloggers and PR followers.

ARC Social Media Handbook

The American Red Cross released this guide for not only its own good, but for the non-profit industry as a whole. In researching it's applicability to other non-profits, social media is now a developing crucial tool for organizations to maintain communication with their publics.

Developed by the ARC's Wendy Harman, its contents include guides to setting up accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and blogging sites in order to develop a 'conversational' relationship with affiliates.



“It just seems like it’s human nature to reach out and be in touch with the people who support you – our donors, our supporters, our volunteers. We have to connect with these people in order to remain a viable organization.” –Wendy Harman

Harman is very credible for the contents of this guide. It is now being used to find new membership and continue the mission of the American Red Cross. It was interesting to find that this guidebook was created as a direct effect of Hurricane Katrina.

After Hurricane Katrina the ARC received a lot of negative feedback for its efforts in the crisis. Desperate to find new ways to make sure volunteers and affiliates new their concerns, even if negative, were being heard, she then went to social media.

Social media provides an environment to carry out discussion and even use constructive criticism. There are many uses these media have yet to even be discovered for, which is why this developing medium is so interesting.

Any person or organization can sign up to use these tools, and the hand book does step by step instruction in creating and implementing a social media strategy. If used correctly, targeted publics are communicated to and given an open opportunity to share as well. This advantage as compared to public service announcements on television is huge.

To conclude the handbook is available online in PDF and Powerpoint format. Any and all looking to form their own social media goals can use this as a viable source to guide and accomplish. I highly recommend it.

Social Media Bandwaggon

The American Red Cross currently pays employees to constantly monitor it's social media, as do many large corporations in the United States. Up until recently though, these tools were for marketing business to business relationships.

The American Red Cross released the Social Media Guidebook, and a group I am working with decided we will do a school feature presentation on it.

I will later post on the guidebook itself, which is a useful tool, but do not want to discuss it right now. This post will study the relation business' compared to non-profits and others (such as Rep. Kleinschmidt's campaign for re-election) use social media.

As a person I have my own facebook website. Any person can search my name, find out where I live, and request to be my friend. I found going into college this was a great resource to meet new people, maintain relationships with old friends, and market myself for possible opportunities that would enhance my own image.

Now that I am junior and somewhat Facebook savvy, I do not use it for personal marketing anymore. I achieved somewhat success with it for my main goal, and go back every once in a while do delete annoying comments my buddies make.

It is most interesting to see the groups of incoming freshmen flogging eachother over FB popularity from a social standpoint.

From a business one though, the marketing capabilities are growing. From event planning, to public relations, the social media market is thriving and developing in all areas. As I move from school and friends, I find myself doing updates on random issues concerning House Dis. 17's constituency, and format my message more objectively.

This objectivity becomes disheartening, and the main question I leave after a circle discussion of social media: When to be personal, use personal social media, and when to be objective and professional? Because either way people are reading from people, and the institution at hand is usually person friendly. It is a tough decision when to leave one's "voice" out of social media posts.

The relationship between the business and personal social media websites is apparent though - third party relationship. By using social media as a third party, the business is well presented, the user less personified, and goal is well, business.

So after someone decides to jump on the Facebook bandwaggon, or even the undiscussed Twitter (to be discussed I suppose), do you want to be personal or objective? Its all based on the business your trying to do.

UT Austin Red Cross Affiliation

The American Red Cross has a club at the University of Texas! It is a branch of the ARC of Central Texas.

With a mission "to improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity", this student organization is what keeps non-profits like the ARC up and running. Many students find comfort and good will through participation.

As a student one can apply to be an ARC Officer, and this recognition has been known to look good on a resume. But as more students are joining and volunteering, the organization is based on better moral than business.

It hosts meetings every Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Wagner Hall on UT campus. The meetings are open to non-members as well, because event planning for the organization centers around random volunteers. I was surprised to find this out, when I asked Disaster Services Co-Chair Andy Aus. He said, "Any and everyone are welcome. We have a strong membership, but most of our help comes from friends deciding to show up for even one meeting during the semester. It only adds to the communal effectiveness of the group."

I went to junior-high school with Andy and always wondered where we would end up. As friends with a meaningful aspect on non-profits, we share a lot in common. He can relate to my volunteer work at the state capitol. Aus commented, "You make the little people feel recognized at the capitol, I make them happy (gesture of making a joke)."

In some senses of the phrase he is right, I can only say my help reaches a certain extent, but both our efforts seem valiant. There are plenty of volunteer opportunities around the UT campus and Austin area, and for students who constantly struggle with hard schooling and tough work often forget the light-hearted good feeling that comes from doing something for free.

Aus urged I comment the next meeting will cover opportunity for Summer volunteering and the next on campus event, which will also be covered in unison with UT's 'Go Green Be Orange' campaigne.

Whether interning or volunteering, the resume addition helps, but it is definitely the good feelings associated that make it all the worth while.

To join simply show up to the next meeting, or e-mail the organization at UT.Austin.RedCross@gmail.com

Update: Curious at the Capitol Blog Turn of Interest - American Red Cross' Public Relations

Now that we are in the interim at the capitol awaiting the beginning of the 82nd Legislature, I left Representative Jim Jackson's office as a paid intern and decided to do a work study program at the University of Texas and volunteer for Texas House Member Tim Kleinschmidt. I was recently accepted into the Public Relations major in the College of Communications, so my foundation for this blog will change, and I will now be posting on the conduct and latest projects of the American Red Cross pertaining to it's public relations sector and general business as a non-profit organization. This change is temporary and will provide general discussion into the dealings of the ARC and in ways tie into the new legislation and hearings occurring at the Texas capitol that raise awareness and relate to the general interest of non-profit organizations. As a government employee of the THR, volunteering my time will reveal interesting correlations between my new job for Rep. Kleinschmidt (R-Lexington) as a case worker and my studies of the ARC for the next few posts on the blog. Let's see where the correlation lies!


More on my new employer can be found at:

http://www.timkleinschmidt.com/

Highschool Guy's With Long Hair, Beware

Today on the Texas House Floor ammendment No. 64 to HB 3 ( relating to public school accountability, curriculum, and promotion requirements) was passed, amongst many others, regarding male hair length in all public state funded high schools. According to this amendment, also known as "Mason's Measure", the board of trustee's of any given Texas school distict may not place any length limit's on male attendants hair so long as they meet the following requirements : the student has performed satisfactory on assessment instruments administered in the previous and concurrent school years, have not been subject to disciplinary action up to a certain code, meet the grade criteria for the given school's honor roll, and have no un-excused absences. Whoa! Here that teenage highschool guys? If your not on the honor roll, have gotten into trouble past a certain set 'code', or do not say pass your TAKS testing, your high school has the legislative right to restrict the length of your hair! Now this is nothing new, for the past few years many districts have had a male hair length policy for all males in attendance. This 'Mason's Measure' was passed as ammendment mostly to secure the rights of smart male students opposed to the state's stereotypical policies regarding long hair students, who reportedly perform poorer in school by having long hair. But those infact who have done well in school and choose to have long hair but are not allowed, have now found justice in the legislature. When the amendment was passed it was a humurous moment when the Speaker of the Floor smiled, raising up a t- shirt with a large imprint of the long haired Savior himself, Jesus Christ.



The actual ammendment, documented by the House Clerk who reports the Daily Texas House of Representatives Journal, can be read on page 78 of 126 at the following link: http://www.journals.house.state.tx.us/hjrnl/81r/pdf/81RDAY59FINAL.PDF