Important lesson learned: you don't have to be part of a large organization in order to make a significant impact on the world. It is possible to make a difference to a small group of people, because every life matters.
I would venture to say that PR involves a lot of internal philosophy.
Every winter semester for the past 3 years, NMU's small PRSSA Chapter has implemented a campaign to help a non-profit. The first year, we helped raise money for the situation in Darfur. Wishing to reach out more to our local community, last year we raised $2,200 for an organization called Voices for Youth, a "home base" for youth in the Marquette area who left home. This year, we are putting our efforts into Teaching Family Homes. This is a remarkable place about 10 minutes outside Marquette located down an isolated road. This organization teaches troubled youth what "family" means, and how to live by "family values" in hopes of someday, these kids grow up to be sufficient adults capable of raising their own loving families.
Our PRSSA took a tour of this facility, and I was nothing short of amazed and inspired. We went to one of the homes that housed about eight youth, and received a tour from nine-year-old Josh, who explained to us his daily life and what he was learning. In giving the tour, Josh got to apply some social skills he had been practicing with his "family". I wondered if Josh would have been just as sweet, kind and hopeful if he was not with TFH and their program.
TFH is building a school house on their campus to accommodate youth that are not quite ready for the public school environment. This is what NMU's PRSSA is contributing to through a Ski and Snowboard Competition (Jam for Love) and 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament. Though small, TFH is accomplishing tremendous things in our little corner of the world, and as a small PRSSA chapter, its a great lesson for us to see we can contribute something too.
This has made me realize that I don't have to go to a big city to make a positive impact and do something "big" with my life. Sometimes, the small communities need just as much help, if not more than the metropolitan areas. And sometimes, the small organizations, such as TFH, are making just as much of an impact as the large non-profits. A human life is a human life no matter what the size of the region, city or organization. Making a difference in a person's life can be done anywhere.
To learn more about Teaching Family Homes and their services, visit their website at www.teachingfamilyhomes.com
To learn more or participate in PRSSA's fund raising efforts for TFH, visit our Facebook groups:
Jam for Love
3-on-3 Basketball Tournament
Or feel free to email me at kannala@nmu.edu or prssanmu@gmail.com for more information.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Keeping up with the "Joneses"
If there is one thing I've learned throughout my college career, its that the public relations field is hard to break into. I didn't know this when I started the program, but I thrive on a challenge anyway. As one in the field knows, its all about networking and who you know. Getting that PR job you want is also all about the experience, and tons of it.
I was born and raised in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. For those of you who don't know, the UP is that strangely shaped land form that is connected to Wisconsin, but everyone thinks its a part of Canada. I decided to go to school at Northern Michigan University, located in Marquette, which is conveniently located only 20 minutes from my hometown.
It's hard to image, but there is no such thing as "urban" in the UP. No skyscrapers. No subways. People who have an iPhone are rare, and those who even have an idea of what PR is, even rarer. The UP has more acres of forest than any place should want, along with sparse towns here and there with their little shops, restaurants and neighborhoods. The largest employers found in the area are the open-pit iron ore mines and the hospitals. This doesn't generate many opportunities for young PR students looking for that great internship. But the students at NMU find amazing and creative ways to deal with this lack of experience by accomplishing amazing thing in our small community.
Because we (and when I see "we" I am referencing to the people of the UP, also known as "Yoopers") are so far away from any metropolitan area, it takes awhile for the latest trend, fashion, or popular item to catch fire. For example, when my school went to Detroit in November 2008 for the PRSSA National Conference, it was the first time we had ever heard of twitter. We kept hearing, "you must be on twitter" or "Go and tweet about this later." We all looked at each other confused, and googled twitter as soon as we got back to our hotel rooms.
So what's to be done in order to play "catch up"? For me, its listening, learning, and participating in the social media, public relations and any other trends that come around. I take advantage of every opportunity that will help me grow personally and professionally.
So why read this blog?
I find that the experience I have, as well as my perspective on the PR world are worth mentioning. Its important to know the differences in people and learning how to work with others of different backgrounds. Small town PR and its experiences are different from the experiences one would have in Chicago, New York, Boston, Seattle, or any other area that has a large population. This blog will document my small town PR experience and how I hope to use these experiences to break into that competitive, but exciting, PR world.
Happy reading.
I was born and raised in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. For those of you who don't know, the UP is that strangely shaped land form that is connected to Wisconsin, but everyone thinks its a part of Canada. I decided to go to school at Northern Michigan University, located in Marquette, which is conveniently located only 20 minutes from my hometown.
It's hard to image, but there is no such thing as "urban" in the UP. No skyscrapers. No subways. People who have an iPhone are rare, and those who even have an idea of what PR is, even rarer. The UP has more acres of forest than any place should want, along with sparse towns here and there with their little shops, restaurants and neighborhoods. The largest employers found in the area are the open-pit iron ore mines and the hospitals. This doesn't generate many opportunities for young PR students looking for that great internship. But the students at NMU find amazing and creative ways to deal with this lack of experience by accomplishing amazing thing in our small community.
Because we (and when I see "we" I am referencing to the people of the UP, also known as "Yoopers") are so far away from any metropolitan area, it takes awhile for the latest trend, fashion, or popular item to catch fire. For example, when my school went to Detroit in November 2008 for the PRSSA National Conference, it was the first time we had ever heard of twitter. We kept hearing, "you must be on twitter" or "Go and tweet about this later." We all looked at each other confused, and googled twitter as soon as we got back to our hotel rooms.
So what's to be done in order to play "catch up"? For me, its listening, learning, and participating in the social media, public relations and any other trends that come around. I take advantage of every opportunity that will help me grow personally and professionally.
So why read this blog?
I find that the experience I have, as well as my perspective on the PR world are worth mentioning. Its important to know the differences in people and learning how to work with others of different backgrounds. Small town PR and its experiences are different from the experiences one would have in Chicago, New York, Boston, Seattle, or any other area that has a large population. This blog will document my small town PR experience and how I hope to use these experiences to break into that competitive, but exciting, PR world.
Happy reading.
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