4.2 Other Communications Vehicles

There are numerous other ways to communicate your mission and activities, information about "And Thou Shalt Honor…" and the series web site as well as community services for caregivers.

• A small note in an organizational bulletin or newsletter
• Messages posted at the end of grocery store receipts or mini-posters at check out counters.
• Flyers in places of business can grab customers' eyes.
• Store, bank, and hotel marquees
• Email signatures
• Web sites, linked to the "And Thou Shalt Honor…" web sites: www.thoushalthonor.org and www.caregivers-usa.org.
• "Broadcasting" information through your or others' databases of email addresses

While these methods may not reach as many people as a PSA or a community notice in a newspaper, you can rest assured that they will likely grab enough attention to be worth the effort. The key to utilizing some of these methods is simply asking the appropriate business or person. The worst that can happen is that the organization or business will say no. But even if they say no to your initial ask, they might be willing to communicate your coalition's mission in another way. For example, if the manager of a drugstore can't print a brief message at the end of the receipts given out to customers, perhaps he would be willing to distribute flyers at check-out lines. Caregiving is a worthy cause to be discussed and actions are worthy of being taken. Make sure that you explain this when you approach someone in your community for help in communicating your coalition's goals.

Examples of other media:

1) Organizational Bulletins

Community associations, schools, philanthropic organizations, volunteer organizations, and faith-communities usually publish regular bulletins announcing organizational or community events. Posting a message in an organizational bulletin gives people the opportunity to learn what caregiving is all about and to find out about caregiving issues as well as caregiver issues. Posting a notice about a public meeting or education program sponsored by your coalition is an opportunity for you to reach a wider audience. Design a notice of moderate length then contact organizations in your area and ask them to include your notice in their bulletins. If you have a one time only educational program, discussion forum, or want to announce the airing of "And Thou Shalt Honor…", ask the organization(s) to include the information in their bulletins the two consecutive weeks before the program. If your project is ongoing such as a discussion group, action group, or other meetings open to the public, then see if the organizations will include a brief notice every week. Include as many organizations in your area as possible. Grabbing attention from people of different backgrounds will provide an opportunity to discuss caregiving issues from many different perspectives. Additionally, this will help spread word of "And Thou Shalt Honor…" and your coalition's activities surrounding the series more quickly.

Notice of moderate length for one-time-only activity.

Sample 2 (brief notice for ongoing project)

2) Store receipts

Many stores are able to generate messages on the end of each receipt. Contact your local supermarket or drug store - or any place in your community where many people go to shop. Ask for the manager to promote "And Thou Shalt Honor… " and/or your coalition on the store's cash register receipts. See examples below.

3) Flyers

Circulating or posting flyers is a good way to grab peoples' attention at a supermarket, drug store, gas station, etc. Design a flyer that describes relevant pieces of information about your coalition and "And Thou Shalt Honor…," along with your mission and goals (see example below). Next, contact store managers and see if they would be willing to make the flyers available to customers at key locations in their stores (such as check out counters). Also, ask if the store manager would be willing to put one of the flyers up in a window of their store. Doing this will help grab peoples' attention even if they do not pick up a flyer. Design a simple flyer that people will notice (use colored paper).

You might also ask if these flyers could be stuffed into grocery bags. Flyers can also be displayed in different parts of a store such as the check out line, near the door or on/near a magazine/newspaper rack.

4) Marquees

Many businesses with marquees outside their buildings allow community service organizations to use them to post messages. Design a brief message (See example below.) and ask them to use it.

5) Email and fax signatures; Web links

Another effective way to get your message out is to attach it to your email signatures. Email signatures are stamps that your email program may add to the end of each message you send. Check to see if your program allows you to do this. Most people include their name and contact information. If your program allows you to add a signature, you can also include brief messages about your organization. Ask your coalition members to attach a brief message about your organization or an event that you are sponsoring (See example below).

You might also include web links in your signatures. If you operate a web site, you can also link to your coalition's web site (if you have one) and the "And Thou Shalt Honor…" web site (www.thoushalthonor.org). You can also use your signature as a way of promoting viewership of the series. Include information about the date and channel where the series will air once it becomes available.

If your coalition has a web site, link the web site to the "And Thou Shalt Honor…" web site. That way people who visit your site will have easy access to information about the series.

If your coalition does not have a web site, it's easy to set one up. There are a variety of places you can set up a free web site for your coalition. Some of them include www.angelfire.com, www.geocities.com, www.tripod.com and www.onestarfish.com.

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