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Volunteering at Scouts is changing to help us reach more young people

Volunteering is changing to help us reach more young people

Volunteering is changing at Scouts. Read more

Discover what this means

Spread kindness through local media

First suggested by The British Red Cross
Boost the power of kindness by shouting about it in local media.
Plan a session with this activity

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You’ll need

  • Pens or pencils
  • Big pieces of paper
  • Examples of local press articles
How to write a good press release
PDF – 128.9KB
Download How to write a good press release

Before you begin

  • Remind yourself of everything people have done to champion kindness. If you have quotes and facts, or photos and videos of them taking action, bring them to show everyone. You could ask people to bring their own photos and resources too.
  • Do some research into the local media in your area. Are there newspapers, websites, radio stations, regional news, or community TV channels? What about Scouts newsletters or blogs? You could ask people you know where they get their local news, check out info for a directory, or get in touch with your County’s media or communications team.
  • See what you can find out about local media deadlines on their website or by getting in touch. Local newspapers, for example, will have a deadline for receiving press releases.
  • Gather some examples of stories from your target publication to bring to the session.

Plan your campaign

  1. Everyone should chat about their local media. What do they know about the options?
  2. Everyone should look at the examples of local media. What makes a good story?

People could think about photos, structure, headlines, and quotations.

  1. Everyone should split into small groups. Each group should get a bit sheet of paper and split it into six sections. They should label the sections: Who? What? Why? Where? When? How?
  2. Each group should decide what they’ll include of each of the sections to tell their story.

For example, a group of Explorers aged 14–18 held an event to combat loneliness in their area and help people feel less isolated. The event was held at the town park last Saturday; the Explorers linked up with local care homes to run their skill sharing day.

  1. Each group should think about which images they’d like to use. They should try to find photos that’ll capture people’s imagination.

There’s plenty of guidance in the ‘How to write a good press release’ sheet.

  1. Everyone should think about what they want to ask people to do as a result of their campaign. For example, they could ask people to visit a lonely person in their community, download the Red Cross’ first aid app, or make a kindness pledge.

Create your release

  1. Everyone should work together to create their press release.
  2. Someone should send the press release to the right person at the local media.
Logo containing the words Scouts for SDGs. The O in Scouts is made up of 17 coloured segments, representing the 17 goals.

This activity helps contribute towards some of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. Find out more about the SDGs, and how Scouts across the world are getting involved.

Reflection

This activity was all about being a citizen and helping your community. How do people find out about what’s going on in their local area? What about bigger things in national or international news? People could think about how being informed is important for citizenship.

In this activity, people helped others understand their project and the difference it made. Can anyone sum up the key message of their project and article? What action would they like readers to take? Was it easy to communicate these things?

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

Different groups will need different levels of support. Some young people may be ready to do their own research into local media and deadlines, while others will need an adult to do it before the session.

Some groups may want to write their own press releases using the ‘How to write a good press release’ sheet. Other groups may just want to think about what to include then hand over to the adults.

 

Not everyone needs to be a star writer – some people might be great at coming up with ideas, finding headlines, or spotting a great photo. Everyone should work together to make the most of each other’s skills.

All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.

Community Impact Stage 1
Community Impact Stage 2
Community Impact Stage 3
Community Impact Stage 4

You don’t have to stop at one local news outlet. You could send your story to others to boost your coverage or even try a different medium.

Discover more at https://www.redcross.org.uk/