Final Report

Jillian Simmons commented on all groups' posts and wrote this paper 

Final Report

Jillian Simmons

Ball State University

Summary

               The first part of the process for the Big Read Event at Morrison Woods Health Campus was contacting potential organizations that might be interested in not only allowing us to host the event at their facility, but also spreading the word about the event. Phone calls and emails were sent out to organizations, such as Ball Memorial Hospital, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Delaware County, Morrison Woods Health Campus, and a few more. Morrison Woods Health Campus, which is an assisted-living and nursing facility, was the only organization that agreed to allow us to hold the event at their facility and spread the word about the Big Read event. Big Brother Big Sisters of Delaware County agreed to spread the word to their members.

            Our marketing strategies for the event varied from handing out flyers to the potential organizations and creating a Facebook event page. The first thing we did was hand out the flyers to the potential organizations. After most them said “no” to the event, we brought books to the facilities that said “yes,” which were Big Brothers Big Sisters and Morrison Woods Health Campus. After that, we held a practice workshop with the residents at Morrison Woods Health Campus as well as with employers who were interested in the event. We gave out more books for the residents and the employers to read before the event as well as the book in big print, the audiobook and the movie. During the practice workshop, we talked with residents about others who might be interested and what type of things they would like to do or talk about during the event. We gained some valuable information from the practice workshop, such as the name of another organization that might be interested in the event and the type of set up we were allowed to have at the facility. After we set a date with the facility, a Facebook page was made for the event and was made public for everyone on Facebook to see, especially our friends and family. I shared the Facebook page to my Twitter page, in order to spread the word even more. With two members gone from the group, I had to finish the project by myself.

            The workshop was supposed to begin with a showing of the film, Fahrenheit 451. However, due to a misunderstanding, the employees at the Morris Woods Health Campus showed the film to the residents earlier that day. The film is over an hour long and the content was a bit much for the elderly residents, so I decided not to show it again. Instead, we watched a special feature on the DVD that had the author, Ray Bradbury discussing the film, the book, and its themes. Before I showed the feature clip of the author speaking, I gave a brief presentation about the book, its themes, the author, and other background information.

            After watching the clip of Ray Bradbury discussing how he wrote the book, we had an open discussion while serving cookies to the residents and employees at Morris Health Campus. The discussion included subtopics such as technology, religion, and the burning of books. Most of the attendants were once teachers, which lead to them discussing how society treated books fifty or so years ago, the books they were reading, the books that they assigned their students, and times when they were told that certain books were “too hard” or unacceptable. They continued to discuss education and technology back in the 50’s until we had to stop for them to return to their rooms. “Clear communication directed to your clients’ interests, needs, and educational levels helps lessen the chance for a communication breakdown.” (Smith, 1987, p. 3)

            The employees and participants really enjoyed the workshop. They especially liked the discussion they were able to have with each other. The activity director, Karen asked if I would come back do more with a different book that didn’t have as hard a content as Fahrenheit 451. The residents of the facility also stated that they would like to continue to have these workshops.

            I achieved a lot of what we set out to in the very beginning. The goal was to have 20 people attend the event, not go over budget, and most importantly, our goal was to make sure that everyone had fun. Not only did I complete these goals, but the people who attended asked for more. What I have learned from doing the Big Read event is how to organize a workshop as well as how to advertise for the workshop. I learned different persuasive methods to getting people on board with you. I learned that technology can be your best friend when it comes to sticking below or within a budget. By contacting different organizations, I learned the importance of persistency and consistency. If you keep at it, then eventually you will reach your goal. By marketing, I learned that social media is a great way to market, but face-to-face contact is always better. The workshop taught me a lot about keeping people entertained and interested in your cause.

Demonstration url:  http://mwbigreadmuncie.weebly.com/about.html

Reflection

            The highlight of these assignments was after the workshop when people asked if there was going to be more? I was really happy that everyone liked it that much. I was worried before the workshop, because I was doing it alone and I didn’t think I could pull off a good workshop. However, I did.

            What was really unique about my workshop was that it consisted mostly of elderly people. The topics that were discussed during the workshop were from the point-of-views of many educators that lived during the 50s. They had many interesting things to say concerning technology and the burning of books.

            I completed this assignment by being consistent and keeping in touch with the organization that I was working with. I made sure that everyone was on the same page, even though there was some miscommunication between the boss and the employees at the facility. I planned the workshop around things that the residents at the facility said that they wanted.

            The lessons that I gained was learning altogether how to put together a workshop. I also learned tips, such as face-to-face contact is the best way to market and consistent contact is the best way to keep people interested in your cause. I learned that technology can be helpful with any age group and it helps to keep your activities within the budget.

            Some things that I wish I had done in the workshop was put together a game surrounding the themes of the book and a gift card or gift give away.

           

Components	Organization	Marketing	Workshop
Results	Contacted about 10 organizations. Only two agreed to join in the event.	Got two organizations to spread the word and one organization to allow us to have the event at their facility	Had 20 people attend Everyone wanted another event
Significant Ideas/Methods	Made calls Sent emails Met face-to-face with organizations	Had practice workshop, which was the best idea in preparing the actual workshop	Used requests made at the practice workshop that participants wanted, which was a good open conversation Used technology and a movie
Suggestions for Practitioners	Face-to-face contact and consistency is the best way to get people to jump on board with you	Have a practice run with your participants and get their opinions and requests for what they want at an event Bring materials, books, flyers, etc.  from your workshop as examples	Technology is free and works with any age group

Reference

Smith, B. (1987). Marketing your adult literacy program: A "how to" manual. New York: New York State Adult Literacy Program