Special Event Communications Plan - MitoCanada Foundation

8/9/2019 Special Event Communications Plan - MitoCanada Foundation

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Table of Contents

Introduction/Summary 2

Event Objectives/Goals . 3

Establishing a Theme . 4

Theme: Obstacle Course Stories/Boards .. 4

Theme: Obstacle Course Stories/Boards contd ... 5

Key Milestones/Checklist 5

Critical Path/Timeline ... 6

Critical Path/Timeline contd. 7

Promotional Material . 8

Promotional Material contd . 9

Promotional Material contd ... 10


Promotional Material contd ..... 12


Budget .. 14

Assembling a Mito Team ... 15

Volunteers .. 15

Just-In-Case Planning .. 16

Follow Up 16

Event Pictures . 17

Social Media .. 18


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Introduction/Summary

The Agency has asked public relations students to work with a client and host a special

event for them. MitoCanada Foundation would like to target the younger generation andeducate them on mitochondrial awareness and most importantly showcase the reality ofthe disease. Our team has created Running on Empty 2.0to go along with MitoCanadasannual Running on Empty marathon event. We wanted to ensure that the theme we chosefor our event stayed consistent with that MitoCanada has worked to achieve. Therefore, wechose to keep the name Running on Empty for our event and add a twist to it with the 2.0initiative.

The following tactic is a summary of our event and how it will benefit MitoCanada as afoundation.

Tactic: Running on Empty 2.0 Host an event at the Kiwanis Boys and Girls Club Hamilton East that teaches children

and their parents about mitochondrial diseases and the MitoCanada Foundation. Children learn about and experience everyday symptoms and realities of those with

mitochondrial diseases by participating in an educational obstacle course. The courseforces children to feel and think about their bodies struggling in different ways.

Children will be given MitoCanada swag, certificate of participation and MitoCanada fact

sheet as a take home that will help educate parents on what their children learnt about.

A child with mitochondrial disease will make an appearance to the event, which willmake the learning experience more impactful and create a wow factor for the event.This wow factor will make the event more memorable for the children as they will beable to see an example of an individual who suffers on a day-to-day basis with facts thatchildren learnt in the obstacle course.

Lunch will also be provided at the event sponsored by PizzaPizza and Dominos.

Sponsorship letters can be sent out to local grocery stories to obtain gift cards or juiceboxes for attendees at the event.

The event can be used as a pilot event if MitoCanada decides they would like to pursue

annual childrens events through the Kiwanis Club, other community centersor with theschool board. Evaluating the event to see how successful it is will give a better reportthat can be submitted to school boards with a DIY event kit for elementary schools touse as a yearly fundraising event.


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Objectives & Goals

Launch special event to inform and highlight the realities that those living withmitochondrial diseases deal with on a day-to-day basis.

Objectives: Increase awareness, support the foundation (donations) and demonstrate thereality of Mitochondria Disease

Increase Awareness

Create a pilot event that will be implemented in the future in various school boardsannually.

DIY Running on Empty 2.0 package for schools to use (background information,

event set up, obstacle stories/boards, etc.)

Event: informational introduction, mitochondrial information/reality at each obstacleevent, take home fact sheet/flyer, mitochondrial fact Bristol boards at each obstaclecourse, MitoCanada swag distribution will increase overall awareness of foundation,etc.

Support the Foundation

Approached Travel and Tourism students to help raise awareness and funds withinMohawk College through a raffle fundraiser.

The fundraiser will have MitoCanada branding present: MitoCanada banner, fact

sheets, and brochures

MitoCanada group will be supplying the raffle with: $25 gift card to Food Basics and

$100 gift card to Target.Fundraiser goal to be raised will be $200 and all proceeds will go directly to

MitoCanada.

Demonstrate the reality of Mitochondria Diseases

Through our event, attendees will participate in various obstacle course games thatwill challenge their body physical and mentally.

This will demonstrate examples and the reality of how it feels for individualssuffering with mitochondrial diseases on a day-to-day basis.

Through informational boards, Bristol boards and real-life stories, we will present real

facts about Mito that will show the reality of the disease and the lack of information

that the general public hasExample: One of the obstacles will be Feel the Burn. It will require kids to lift

dumbbells ten times and then do 30 seconds of skipping. After this, the children willperform a wall sit for thirty seconds.

o This demonstrates how Mito patients experience severe muscle fatigue andtiredness on a regular basis


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Establish a Theme

Running on Empty 2.0

Battery and Toy AnalogyA battery can be used over and over again until the batterygets weak and the toy eventually runs out of energy. Those suffering with

mitochondrial diseases cannot put a new battery in. They have chronic fatigue and runon empty on an everyday basis.

Obstacle Course Stories/Boards

1. Obstacle Course: Running with pylons (zig zag) run forward and backward THEN,

when they run back to the beginning, there will be a table with the straw and ball. Kids

must blow the ball down the table.

Story: Kids with mitochondrial disease feel out of breath like this on a regular basis! Theirbodies cant do what you can do. They feel like this when they get out of bed in the morning.

Bristol Board Information: Out of Breath!- There is no known cure for mitochondrial disease

- Mito is known as the invisible disease

Leader(s): Sam and Jubril

2.

Obstacle Course: Football ladder and bat. The kids will run down the ladder, crawl

through the boxes, then at the end do five circles with the bat, followed by 10 jumping

jacks. Then run back to the beginning.

Story: A symptom of mitochondrial disease is migraines or reallllly bad headaches. Thisgame is going to show you how people that suffer from mito feel dizzy from even justwalking.Bristol Board Information: Feelin Dizzy

- Mitochondrial disease is genetic for the most part!

- Most children do NOT live longer than their mid-teens

Leader: Alex

3.

Obstacle Course: Hop on one foot to the end, then hula hoop 10 times, and then come

back hopping on the opposite foot.

Story: Kids and adults with mitochondrial disease lose their balance when they areaffected. Many of them are restricted to sitting in a wheelchair for majority of their lives.Bristol Board Information: Keep Your Balance

- There are no pills or medication for people with mito to take to feel better.

- Kids with mitochondrial disease learn and grow at a much slower rate than you!


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Leader: Rebecca

4.

Obstacle Course: The kids have to lift the weights 10 times, then do 30 seconds of

skipping (or jumping jacks) and then wall sit for 30 seconds.

Story:Mito patients experience severe muscle fatigue and tiredness all the time. Think ofthe simplest task you do everyday. That task would tire out someone with mito disease allday. For example, brushing your teeth or even eating a bowl of cereal can tire them out!Bristol Board Information: Feel the Burn!!!

- A major symptom of mitochondrial disease is tired muscles

- Mito disease is related to other muscular diseases like MS and Autism

Leader: EmilyMC/Facilitator: Shelby

Key Milestones/Checklist

A few of the key milestones will be: Confirming a location for our event

o Went to various locations, such as: Hamilton Wentworth School Board,Hamilton YMCA, Gretzky Centre, etc.

Finalizing the date and time of the fundraisero During March Break (best time for our key audience)

Finalizing sponsorships with pizza locations and grocery storeso PizzaPizza, Dominos, FoodBasics, Sobeys, Giant Tiger, Target

Attending key meetings with our team, event facility, and MitoCanada

Brainstorming obstacle course ideas, setup and flow of gameso Use whiteboard to map out the event/where people will be located

Creating obstacle story boards Obtaining obstacle course materials before hand Designating each role for the day of the event Asking client to speak on behalf of MitoCanada

Determining wow factor for the evento Vicky Spadonis son Adam attending event and speaking to children

Organize pickup of food and drinks on the day of the event Designate roles for handing out food and drinks/napkins, etc. Assign cleanup crew


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Critical Path/Timeline

Date Notes

January 21, 2014 Account supervisor, Shelby, meets with Tim to find out more

information on the client, MitoCanada Foundation

January 22, 2014 First team meeting to discuss questions to ask client at firstmeeting.

January 25, 2014 Meeting with team in Special Events class to discuss special eventideas/brainstorm questions to ask client at first meeting.

January 28, 2014 First meeting with client to discuss objectives, key messages,background on MitoCanada Foundation, special event, etc.

January 28, 2014 Meeting with team and Julie in Special Events class to discuss firstmeeting with client and clients ideas for a special event.

February 4, 2014 Meeting with team and Julie in Special Events class to discusssponsorship/first contact letters.

February 6, 2014 Started contacting possible venues to host our special obstaclecourse event.

February 6, 2014 Secured sponsorship from Target Canada to donate either a giftcard or Ipad for special event.

February 12, 2014 Meeting with the Kiwanis Club in Hamilton to secure venue forspecial event.

February 13, 2014 Meeting with team to discuss special event, including venuelocation, games for obstacle course, etc.

February 18, 2014 Meeting with team to discuss communications plan and divide upsections/roles for each person to complete.

February 19, 2014 Secured sponsorship from Pizza Pizza to donate five large pizzas forspecial event.

February 24, 2014 Secured sponsorship with Giant Tiger to donate a $25 gift card.


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February 25, 2014 Meeting with team and Vicky at MitoCanada Office in Brantford toupdate her on our progress of our special event and to look at arough draft of our communications plan.

February 25, 2014 Secured sponsorship with Dominos Pizza to donate thirty two large

pizzas.

February 25, 2014 Meeting with team and the Kiwanis Club to go over/confirm eventon March 14thfrom 11am 1pm.

February 25, 2014 Secured sponsorship again with Giant Tiger to donate another $25gift card.

February 25, 2014 Secured sponsorship with Sobeys to donate a $25 gift card.

February 25, 2014 Secured sponsorship with Food Basics to donate a $25 gift card.

February 26, 2014 Purchased 192 juice boxes for special event with two $25 GiantTiger gift cards.

March 4, 2014 Rough drafts of communication plan parts and special event posterto be submitted into dropbox.

March 5, 2014 Meeting with team to discuss special event and plan the obstaclecourse.

March 10, 2014 Picked up extra supply materials from Vicky, which includedposters, pull-up banners, picture frame with MitoCanada kids,tattoos, green mints.

March 11, 2014 Meeting with team to establish event final details and discussion ofwritten report/communications plan.

March 14, 2014 Day of special event. Pickup of Pizza Pizza and Dominos pizza aswell as obstacle course set-up early in the morning. Event runs from11am-1pm.


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Promotional Material

For our event, we created various promotional materials that will increase awareness ofMitoCanada and mitochondrial diseases. Due to the nature of our event, the Kiwanis Boysand Girls Club Hamilton East already had an active audience at their March Break Camp.

Social media was unnecessary considering the pre-registered audience.

The following promotional material were the only necessary items we need to promoteRunning on Empty 2.0.

1. Media Release

F o r E d u c a t i o na l P u r p o s e s O n l y

www.mitocanada.org

e m a il : i n f o @m i t oc a n a da . o rg C h a ri t a b le R e g is t r a ti o n # : 8 1 2 5 8 6 6 6 7 R R 0 00 1

Mi toCanada

2 6 0 S t . P a u l A v e ., P . O . B o x 2 6 0 1 4B r an t fo r d, O N N 3 R 7 X 4

FOR IMMEDIA TE REL EA S E

Contac t: Samantha Fic htner

Ac c ount Exec utive

The Agenc y at M ohawk College

s amantha.fic htner@mohawkc ollege.c a

P: 6 1 3 -6 0 8 -5 9 7 7

MITO WHA T? MITOCA NA DA !

Hosting First Running on Empty 2 .0

H a m i l t o n , O N . M a r c h 2 0 1 4M itoc hondrial Dis eas es affec t 1 in 5 ,0 0 0 individuals and are rarely diagnos ed right away.

This leaves c hildren and parents with open-ended ques tions waiting for ans wers that even medic al profes s ionals are

unable to ans wer. M itoCanada Foundation provides s upport and awarenes s to thos e affec ted direc tly and indirec tly

by M itoc hondrial Dis eas es and mos t importantly funds the advanc ement of mitoc hondrial res earc h.

M itoCanada will be hos ting their firs t Running on Empty 2 .0 event, whic h will provide educ ation on

M itoc hondrial Dis eas es , but als o demons trate the reality of how thos e s uffering with the dis eas e feel on an everyday

bas is . The event will take plac e on M arc h 1 4 , 2 0 1 4 from 1 1 -1 p.m. at the Kiwanis Boys and Girls Club Hamilton.

It is extremely important that the younger generation along with others unders tand what mitoc hondrial

dis eas e is , s aid Vic ky Spadoni, Exec utive Direc tor at M itoCanada. Having c hildren partic ipate in an obs tac le c ours e

will exert them phys ic ally until they hit the wall where they c annot go on until they res t. This is how individuals

s uffering with mitoc hondrial dis eas es feel on a day-to-day bas is .

M itoCanada provides s upport and awarenes s to Canadians direc tly and indirec tly affec ted by M itoc hondrial

Dis eas es and rais es funds for the advanc ements of mitoc hondrial res earc h. The foundation hopes to reac h patients ,

parents , c aregivers and the medic al c ommunity by providing analytic al information that will improve the quality of

life and s ens e of c ommunity for thos e affec ted.

-3 0 -


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2.

Media Advisory

MEDIA ADVISORY

Attention: Editors/Producers/Reporters

March 11, 2014

MitoCanadas Running on Empty 2.0Event

The MitoCanada Foundation will be hosting an event at the Kiwanis Boys andGirls Club to educate children on the realities of mitochondrial disease. Thisevent will help to increase awareness for this charitable organization.

WHO: The MitoCanada Foundation and Mohawk College PR

students; Vicky Spadoni, Executive Director atMitoCanada will be speaking during opening speech

WHAT: Running on Empty 2.0obstacle event to educatechildren on the realities of mitochondrial disease and howpatients living with this disease feel on a regular basis.

WHERE: The Kiwanis Boys and Girls Club. The event will be heldin the gymnasium of the venue. 45 Ellis Avenue,Hamilton, Ontario. Just off of Barton Street East.

WHEN: Mar. 14, 2014 - 11-1 p.m.

WHY: The event is being held in order to increase awarenessand knowledge of mitochondrial disease to educate thepublic on the organization.

HOW: This event can help people understand the realities ofmitochondrial disease and what the symptoms are.

MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES: Vicky Spadoni and the Mohawk CollegePR students will be made available for media to interview.

-30-

Media Contact:

Shelby VanderEndeAccount SupervisorThe [email protected]


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3.

Event Poster

M arch 14, 2014 f rom 11am - 1pm

Boys and Gir ls C lubs of Hamilt on

Running On Empt y

2.0

D onat ions t o f urt her support t he M it oCanada Foundation are great ly appreciat ed!

Come out t o support t he M it oCanada Foundat ion and

t ake par t in an obst acle cour se which will educat e

part icipant s on t he realit y of M it ochondial D isease.

Join us af t er f or f ree pizza & dr inks f or lunch!


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4.

Sponsorship Letters

To Whom It May C oncern,

I a m c o n t a ct i n g y o u o n b e h a l f o f Vi c k y S p a d on i , Ex e c u t iv e D i r e ct o r o f th eM i t o Ca n a d a F o u nd a t i on . W e w o u ld l o ve t o i n vi t e y o u t o b e a p a rt o f ou r c om m u ni t y

e v e n t fo r a g r e a t c a u s e ; Mi t o C an a d as R u n ni n g o n E m p t y 2 . 0 .

W e a r e a g r o u p o f P o st - Gr a du a te P u bl i c R e la t io n s t ud e nt s f r om M o ha w k C o ll e ge . W e

h a v e b e e n c o n t a ct e d b y Mi t o C an a d a F o u nd a t i o n t o h os t a n e v e nt t o r a i s e a w a r e ne s s

f o r M i to c ho n dr i al D i se a se i n t h e H a mi l to n a r ea . W e a r e h o st i ng M i to C an a das first

annual R unning on Empty 2.0 ev ent. This ev ent is a pilot run for a bigger initiativ e

t h at w i ll b e t a ke n t o S c h o ol B o a r ds n a ti o na l ly .

M i t o Ca n a d a wo u l d l i k e y o u r s u p p or t i n s p o n s or i n g t h e R u n ni n g o n E m pt y 2 .0 E v e nt .

T he e ve n t w i ll b e h e ld o n M a rc h 1 4 th 2 0 14 f ro m 1 1 a . m. t o 1 p . m. a t H a mi l to n E a st

K i w a ni s B o y s a n d G i r l s C l u b. Y o u r c o n t ri b u t io n w i l l a s s i s t M i t o Ca n a d a i n g i v in g b a c kt o u n d e r - pr i v i le g e d c h i ld r e n w h o p a r t i c ip a t e i n o u r e v e n t.

W e a r e r e a ch i ng o u t t o t h e c o mm u ni t y t o s e e i f t h is e v en t w o ul d b e s o me t hi n g y o ur

c o mp a ny w ou l d b e i n te r es t ed i n b y ei t he r d on a ti n g f un d s, a r a ff l e p r iz e o r i t em s t o

h e l p h o s t o u r e v e n t. B y p a r t ic i p a t in g a s a s p o n so r , y o u r o r g a ni z a t io n w i l l b e n e f it

f r o m e x t e nd e d e x p o s ur e t h r o ug h m e d ia c a m p a i gn s , p r i n t m a t e ri a l s a n d o n l in e

p r o m ot i o n al e f f o r t s d ir e c t e d t ow a r d s t h e s u p po r t e r s o f t h e M i t o Ca n a d a F o u nd a t i o n.

A n y co n tr i bu t io n t o h el p s u pp o rt o u r e v en t t o a l lo w t h es e c h il d re n t o h av e a n

a m a z in g t i me , w h il e r e c e i vi n g p h y si c a l ac t i v it y i n a f u n - in t e r a ct i v e w a y i s g r e a tl y

appreciated.

Sincerely ,

MitoC anada Foundation & Mohawk C ollege Students


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5.

Fact Sheet


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6.

Participant Certificate

2014

CERTIFICATE ofEXCELLENCETHIS ACKNOWLEDGES THAT

Child ParticipantSUCCESSFULLY PARTICIPATED IN

MITOCANADAS RUNNING ON EMPTY 2.0OBSTACLE COURSE EVENT

March 14th

Vicky Spadoni, MitoCanada Executive Director

THANK YOU FOR MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN HELPING TO

FIND A CURE!


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Budget

Projected Budget Actual Budget Difference Profit or Loss

Income

Donations $200 $113 $87 Profit

Total Income $200 $113 $87 Profit

Expenses

Venue $0 $0 $0 -

Counsellors $0 $0 $0 -

Raffle Prizes $0 $0 $0 -

Raffle Tickets $10 $7 $3 Profit

Decorations $10 $6 $4 Profit

Printing $0 $0 $0 -

Posters $10 $6 $4 Profit

Total Expenses $30 $19 $11 Profit

Total Income $113Total DonatedExpenses

+($19) out of pocket

Total Donation forMitoCanadaFoundation

$113 Profit

Budget Analysis

The total income on funds raised by Travel and Tourism was received for MitoCanada is$113. This is a $87 difference from the projected income of $200. The total expensesamounted to $19. All of the projected expenses were more than the actual expense. This is$11 under the projected budget for the event. All expenses were made by Travel andTourism students and were out of pocket. Does not affect

The venue, counselors, raffle prices and printing were donated and incurred at no expense.All promotional print materials were printed as a donation by Mohawk College and theKiwanis Boys and Girls Club Hamilton East. Therefore, the projected budget for printmaterials was lower than the actual budget. With most of the promotion-projectedexpenses being donated by MitoCanada, such as pull up banners, large posters, etc. theexpenses were amounted to $0.

Therefore, the total donated amount for the event equals the amount that was donated toMitoCanada. The total amount donated from the Travel and Tourism fundraising raffle was$113.


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Assembling a Mito Team

Account Supervisor: Shelby VanderEnde

Account Executives: Samantha Fichtner

Rebecca BartleyAlex ChappelEmilyAshton LambertJubril Sola

Volunteers

Team members have set duties to perform at our Running on Empty 2.0 event. Obstacle

course stories, set up, and mapping out of floor plan were created in advanced to ensureorganize flow of our event. Shelby VanderEnde, Account Supervisor, will start the event offwith an informational opening and introduce the obstacle course. Team members aredivided into four groups for four different obstacle course games. At each game, teammembers educate participants on mitochondrial diseases facts and instruct/explain how todo each obstacle course game. After each group has gone through the obstacle course, themost enthusiastic participants will compete in the ultimate challenge where they will gothrough each obstacle course game as a race. After the obstacle course games are finalized,pizza and drinks will be provided to participants. Vicky Spadoni, Executive Director ofMitoCanada will thank attendees for participating and a mini-speech about the importanceof mitochondrial awareness. All team members will contribute to the clean up after theevent and thank the Kiwanis Club for their contribution and help for our event. Kiwaniscounselors will be in attendance and help out with participants.


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Just-In-Case Planning

Initially for our event, our client wanted us to create a pilot event that could be brought tothe Hamilton District School Board as an annual fundraiser. We began researching contactsfor the school board and put together an event proposal package. After contacting school

boards, we were informed that this would have to go through a several month process.Even with sending a proposal and calling for a meeting, the school board was not interestedat this point with a limited timeline.

Our just-in-case plan was to keep the same idea, but pitch the event to local Hamilton gyms,community centers/clubs, and local childrens organizations. Drafting a sponsorship

letter/proposal to pitch our event for these places, we successfully landed the Kiwanis Boysand Girls Club Hamilton East. After going directly to these locations to give the letter andtalk about MitoCanada, we found we gained more interest in our event. The Kiwanis Boysand Girls Club was more than happy to help us with Running on Empty 2.0and had anactive audience already for their March Break Camp.

On the day of the event, we came prepared with supplies incase the Kiwanis Club did nothave them. These supplies included: masking tape, scissors, push pins, rope, glue, obstaclecourse materials, etc. For our provided lunch for the event, we made sure to secure morethan enough donations of beverages and pizza incase that we did run out. We wanted togive children 2 slices of pizza each and knew that there would be at least 160 children pluscounselors. With this knowledge, we made sure to have extra just in case.

Follow Up

After the successful Running on Empty 2.0event, we drafted and handed out thank-youletters to our major sponsors: Kiwanis Club and Dominos Upper James. We wanted to givepersonalized thank-you cards to these places for our sincere gratitude for theirservices/contribution.


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Event Pictures

Event pictures can be seen on our PowerPoint slideshow and comments will be underneathfor viewing.


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Social Media Posts

Twitter Pictures retweeted by Kiwanis Boys and Girls Club Hamilton East and Tim Tuck,professor at Mohawk College.

Documents

Special Event Communications Plan - MitoCanada Foundation