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Thrivent Builds Publicity Newsletter Archive
September 2008
- 2008 Thrivent Builds Mobile Recap
- Host a "family reunion!"
- August Media Watch
- What's new on www.thriventbuilds.com: Join a TBW Gulf Coast Community team for a special event in December!
- Feedback
- Newsletter Archive
2008 Thrivent Builds Mobile Recap
The 2008 Thrivent Builds Mobile tour was capped off on Labor Day (Monday, September 1) by the largest stop of the year: the Minnesota State Fair. Throughout its 12-day stay at the fair, the Mobile introduced over 16,000 Minnesotans to the problem of substandard housing and showed them ways to get involved with the Thrivent Builds program.
This final stop ended a 22-week tour which included mostly large-scale events (5000+ visitors) in 13 states across the country. Overall, this year's tour reached 42,862 visitors - a 12% increase over 2007 - and prompted at least 59 media hits, many of which focused on the Thrivent Builds Mobile as a free educational experience for the family.
One of the more notable TV segments featured "Joe on the Go" from KXTV News in Minot, North Dakota, who challenged his photojournalist to a live nail-pounding competition at the Thrivent Builds Mobile footprint during the North Dakota State Fair (she won). The spot also showed "Joe" touring the truck and interviewing Field Manager Charles Boltas, who detailed the Thrivent/Habitat alliance and tour experience. This is just one example of the 15 TV hits the Thrivent Builds Mobile received.
Alliance Strategy Office management is currently in the process of considering options for next year. Thank you to all of the local visit committees who helped make the 2008 tour a success!
Host a "family reunion!"
Involving Thrivent Builds Homes partner families in regional Thrivent eventsInga Theeke, LCSS-TB, and Kimberly Spayer, Congregational Relationship Manager, of the Chicagoland region, had a brilliant idea when including their Thrivent Builds Homes partner families in a regional Thrivent member social event.
On August 9, the Chicagoland region hosted a "Night at the Museum" event for Thrivent members at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. Over 600 Thrivent members, Thrivent Financial Representatives and guests from the Chicago metro area enjoyed exclusive access to the museum for dinner, fellowship and enjoyment of all of the exhibits on the first floor of the museum.
Included with the Thrivent members on the invitation list were Chicagoland's 36 Thrivent Builds Homes partner families from the past four years. Of the 36 partner families invited, there was representation from almost 30 of the families at the event!
Keep Thrivent Builds Homes partner families in mind when planning Thrivent events in your own community! Consider inviting these partner families to member events, whether to simply enjoy the event or to share stories and photos from their Thrivent Builds home.
"The night at the museum was designed to thank members for their partnership with Thrivent. Who better to thank the Thrivent Builds volunteers for their service than the partner families?" commented Theeke.
Contact Inga Theeke for more information on this event in Chicago.
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| The Chicagoland Thrivent Builds Homes partner familes were included at a Thrivent member evening at the Museum of Science and Industry in August 2008. Inga Theeke, LCSS-TB (far left) and Dennis Gorski, Chicago Managing Partner (back, near right), also pictured. |
August Media Watch
According to Wikipedia, "a picture is worth a thousand words" is "a proverb that refers to the idea that complex stories can be described with just a single still image, or that an image may be more influential than a substantial amount of text."
Many of us are visual learners. If we can just see a concept, we can remember a concept. Those of us who work in and with the media depend on this well-known fact. It reminds us that a written article—one of text only—may not be as powerful in reaching our key audiences as a printed image. When you don't have the time or resources to produce a complete written story, let a photo, along with an extended cutline, do the talking for you.
An extended cutline is a summary of an event or activity, usually at least three sentences long, which describes not only the obvious features in the photo or image, but also any other relevant details. Here are some examples of Thrivent Builds media hits in August that were photos with captions or extended cutlines:
- August 9, 2008, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee, WI, 230,220 circ.
- August 16, 2008, Sheboygan Press, Sheboygan, WI, 20,315 circ.
- August 21, 2008, West Fargo Pioneer, West Fargo, ND, 3,000 circ.
- August 23, 2008, Owatonna People's Press, Owatonna, MN, 7,290 circ.
What's new on www.thriventbuilds.com: Join a TBW Gulf Coast Community team for a special event this December!
Thrivent Builds Worldwide Gulf Coast Community
Join an existing TBW Gulf Coast Community Team the first week of December! Not only will you be part of a blitz build...you'll also be part of our block party to celebrate our Gulf Coast Community accomplishments for 2008. And you'll be there as we announce our exciting plans for 2009.
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.
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