Relive Halloween 2014
We hope you had a Happy Halloween last weekend! A lot of United Ways joined in on celebrating the holiday, including United Way of the National Capital Area (Vienna, Virginia):
Some United Ways used the holiday as an opportunity to communicate about the issues they are addressing and the programs they are leading in the community.
United Way of New York City (New York, New York) got creative and communicated the importance of a few specific issues in their community on Twitter on Halloween:
United Way of Cass-Clay (Fargo, North Dakota) invited their community to come out for a “BOOtiful night of Halloween festivities” and gave away 2,000 children’s books, as part of its Imagination Library:
United Way of Southwest Minnesota (Marshall, Minnesota) gave away two literacy packages in honor of their commitment to school readiness/literacy:
United Way of Lower Eastern Shore’s Student United Way (Salisbury, Maryland) volunteered at “Trick or Treat Street” and informed families of United Way’s Imagination Library and their upcoming Halloween 5K Dash. The Halloween 5K Dash was put on by the Student United Way and 100% of the proceeds benefited United Way of the Lower Eastern Shore. The cost to register for the race was only $10 for students and it was being promoted by their peers through word-of-mouth and on Facebook.
These are all great examples of United Ways creatively communicating and engaging the community, while sharing in the fun of Halloween!
I found plenty of other examples, such as haunted houses or bake sales, where the proceeds went to the local United Way, but the events were hosted by other organizations. The examples above are more beneficial for United Ways because people become more aware of their United Way, or become more directly involved with their United Way.
Consider communicating with your community in a creative way or hosting a fun event to connect people to your United Way! Remember to let them know what issues you are addressing in the community and how they can get involved – make sure they know the difference your United Way is making in the community.
Did your United Way do something cool for Halloween? If I missed your United Way’s creative communication or fun event for Halloween, please share it with me at kasey@perspectives4uw.com I would love to see what you did!
