Ice-free challenge

Most people in the Development world, as well as millions of people around the world, are watching a spectacle every day on their social media. The phenomenon is so simple and basic, yet it is making a huge impact. The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has made such an impact that even Taylor Swift, Oprah, Robert Downey Jr., and my 10 year old niece have taken part. The awareness and fundraising campaign has truly gone global with India doing their own version (using rice instead of ice). With almost anything that goes viral, there are a few things that raise eyebrows or make people not want to take part, but I think the message is clear-people are raising awareness and ALS is something that most people now have actually heard of.

As a development director, I look in awe at the work that is being done to spread this across the country and to get people to donate and nominate. It's something I totally respect and even if not everyone understands the hype behind it or what they are doing, it's getting people to give in a new, share-friendly way.

Donating and spreading awareness is vital to keeping organizations alive. Every year at St. Mark Youth Enrichment, we impact 350 students as well as their families. The academic programs we provide align with the 40 Developmental Assets of Adolescents which, according to the Search Institute, help students to grow up to be healthy, caring adults who are equipped to handle the 21st Century. Most of the students we serve are in poverty and come from single parent homes with only one income. Our programs help to alleviate some of the stress on their families and allow the kids to learn and grow while having fun. In fact, in our program this summer, we saw 87% of our students maintain or improve their literacy skills; according to research, most of these students would have gone back almost 2 months academically if they had not been in the program.

So here is my challenge to you. On September 11th at Hotel Julien, we will be hosting our annual Legacy of Learning Dinner themed "Red Carpet Masquerade." For $50 a ticket, you will get a great meal, entertainment with a few surprises, a chance to bid on some awesome auction items, and the satisfaction of knowing that you are making a difference for students in our community. In fact, if you wanted a double challenge, you could even volunteer at the program to see the impact of that one night in effect!

This challenge is ice-free, although if you feel the urge to dump a bucket of ice water on your head, please do so!! Just not in the Hotel Julien. :)


To RSVP, contact:
Jessica Pape
563-582-6211 ext 102
or register online at www.stmarkyouthenrichment.org or on our Facebook page.

From Media to You

Almost any non-profit will tell you that it's hard to get your message out to community members when you are working with a small or even non-existent marketing budget. We all know that marketing is important, but at the end of the day we know that hiring qualified staff to work with the students to have a safe and compassionate learning environment or being able to get students off of our waiting list for programs is even more important. We rely heavily on word of mouth to get our stories out there to show the success of not our programs but of our kids and the leaps and bounds they are making when they have that consistent place and they know someone cares while their parents are at work.

Social marketing is still rather new. I remember when Facebook was just for college students and now it seems like it's a free marketing platform more than anything. We use our Facebook page to share what we are doing in program as well as to share our love and support to the community that gives so much to us.

As I was updating a few things on our page this morning, I saw we were at 497 "likes." Three more and we would hit the milestone 500! Now, if you are not an avid Facebook user, one thing that is important to know is that a "like" when it comes to marketing is not so much about popularity as it is about people being engaged. If I "like" something on Facebook and I have 300 friends myself, my 300 friends could potentially see that, broadening the awareness for our organization. When I came back and checked the page after lunch, I was amazed. ScanDubuque, Stan's Coffeehouse and Resources Unite took to sharing our post and I am excited to say that we blew our goal of 500 out of the water and are now close to 700!!

Thank you for helping us spread the word. We feel your support and appreciate it so much! So from me to you, we like you as well and look forward to growing and impacting even more youth in our community!