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Thrivent Builds Publicity Newsletter Archive
June 2008
- Volunteer Stories – Don't forget to feature them
- Thrivent Builds Best Practices: "Thrivent Builds house is not built in vain"
- May Media Watch—It was a record-setting month!
- What's new on www.thriventbuilds.com: Thrivent Builds Worldwide Destination of Choice Package Trips
- Feedback
- Newsletter Archive
Volunteer Stories – Don't forget to feature them
While partner families usually provide opportunities for the most dramatic Thrivent Builds stories, another story source that we don't use often enough is our pool of dedicated and selfless volunteers.
Recently we came across a volunteer couple that had a truly unique story. Not only was it dramatic, it also highlighted a remarkable commitment we don't often witness. Read the story of Jean and Ron Gratz. (Word, 26K) Perhaps it will motivate you to write your own volunteer story.
If your volunteer article has some particularly interesting components, consider alerting your local newspaper—especially if it has a "faith and values" or "lifestyle" section. Just make sure your featured volunteer is willing to have their story told in a public forum.
Good story telling not only provides entertainment for the reader, it can also:
- Help the reader remember your message longer
- Enhance your organization's credibility with real-life examples of how your work affects the community
- Create a "buzz" around your work
- Improve the readership of your newsletter and/or Web site
- Communicate your message more clearly
- Polish your image in the community
- Keep your reader's attention
- Inspire others to volunteer, donate or support your work in other ways
Thrivent Builds Best Practices: "Thrivent Builds house is not built in vain"
Read an article that appeared recently in the Savage Pacer, a newspaper in Savage, MN. This particular article was authored by Rev. Paul Cross, pastor of St. Mary Magdalene Lutheran Church, and it nicely emphasizes the good news of building a Thrivent Builds home amongst all the depressing housing headlines we read these days.
Rev. Cross's article inspired us to create a template that other pastors, whose churches support Thrivent Builds projects, could use to offer the same kind of message to their local newspapers. We call our template Thrivent Builds house is not built in vain (Word, 29K).
Do you know a supportive pastor who would be willing to complete and submit the template to your local newspaper? It could even be signed by a group of pastors who agree with the message. Remind them that they can feel free to personalize the article with a little more information about their church(es), if they like.
We'd love to hear from you about your successes in using a template like this and about your concerns, as well. Just send your messages to cheryl.winget@thrivent.com.
May Media Watch—It was a record-setting month!
May was definitely a big month for news about all of the Thrivent Builds programs. A record number of 33 large hits (print articles in publications with circulations of 55,000 or greater and TV broadcast items with audiences of 100,000 or greater). Thank you for all your efforts in reaching out to your local media with your Thrivent Builds stories, events and announcements, making this achievement possible.
A little headline help
Ever have trouble thinking of a great headline that stands a better chance of getting a reporter's or editor's attention? Here are a few headlines from May articles that we thought were particularly interesting. If any of these headlines was yours—congratulations on your creativity! If they weren't, maybe they will help spark some ideas for your next great Thrivent Builds news item:
- "Habitat, Thrivent building blessings" (Fort Collins Coloradoan, Fort Collins, CO)
- "Partners seek solutions to housing woes" (McKeesport Daily News, McKeesport, PA)
- "Churches join hands to build a home" (Chico Enterprise Record, Chico, CA)
- "Seed Money Will Sprout New Life for Old Neighborhoods" (KDSM TV, Des Moines, IA)
- "Habitat on the grow" (Hudson Star-Observer, Hudson, WI)
- "Habitat workers look upward and onward" (The North Platte Telegraph, North Platte, NE)
- "Pies and perennials" (Daily Inter Lake, Kalispell, MT)
- "Somewhere to Stay" (The Orlando Sentinel, Orlando, FL)
What's new on www.thriventbuilds.com: Thrivent Builds Worldwide Destination of Choice Package Trips
Thrivent Builds Worldwide Destination of Choice Package Trips
This year, in addition to our standard Destination of Choice trips, we're offering "prepackaged," ready-to-lead trips. We take care of the details, like hotel accommodations and ground transportation. And, we've made team leader training as easy as possible with a four-hour online training session. You focus on what's really important—recruiting and guiding participants—and working with partner families to build simple, decent, affordable homes.
The "ready-to-lead" trip destinations are Bolivia, Honduras, Hungary, Poland, Macedonia and Romania.
And remember, Gulf Cost Community trips also offer a ready-to-lead trip experience for 2008 with minimal training required. And we're still welcoming trip participants for the El Salvador Community pilot trips this summer!
You can use these tools to help recruit trip leaders in 2008.
- Destination of Choice Pakcages Fact Sheet (Word, 1.3MB)
- Gulf Coast Community Fact Sheet (Word, 684K)
- El Salvador Community Fact Sheet (Word, 1.3MB)
Feedback
Is this newsletter helpful to you? Do you have additional ideas for articles you'd find helpful? Please send your feedback to Nicole Doebert.
Newsletter Archive
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