On our recent travels, we visited United Way of the Midlands in Columbia, South Carolina. While we were visiting, we stayed at the Homewood Suites. As I arrived in my hotel room, I noticed this magnet holding a calendar of events up on the fridge:

It reads: “A Suite Story: Once there was a hotel that supported Books for Kids and child literacy. You became part of the story. And everyone lived happily ever after. Read more at homewoodsuites/booksforkids.”

I LOVE this magnet! What a cool way to share your organization and the issue you are addressing with the public. We are always looking for unique ways in which United Ways are communicating their message and the issue they address in their community and love finding ways other organizations are communicating their message and issue to share with all of you.

While a hotel may not be the best place for a local United Way to share its message and issue with community members (since usually those staying in hotels are from out-of-town), magnets are a great and unique way to communicate with your community! Whether you pass them out to community members at a local event, give them to children at school, or pass them out to workplaces to hang on their refrigerators in their break room/kitchen area, this is a great opportunity to share your message and the issue you are addressing with your community.

Make sure to include a link or a QR code to a Web page on your Web site that is specifically dedicated to the issue you are focused on addressing. This will show your community members that you are dedicated to addressing this issue in your community, and they will want to support your United Way, in order to help address the issue in your community. Check out the Homewood Suites Web site, where they have more information on Books for Kids and the issue of child literacy here.

We encourage your United Way to continue thinking of creative ways to communicate to your community members, and would love to see your examples! Post a comment below and share with us your creative ideas and unique ways you have communicated with your community members.

Creatively Inspired,