Empower MediaMarketing project mixes volunteerism, social media

Empower MediaMarketing employees, under the theme “Giving Back Instead of Looking Back,” took on an innovative 24-hour volunteer project to celebrate the Cincinnati company’s 25th anniversary.The volunteer project involved tackling a multitude of tasks – and tweeting about them – at the non-profit Brighton Center in Newport, and could serve as a blueprint for future volunteer projects by Empower. 160 Empower volunteers worked over 24 hours straight at the Brighton Center, which offers community support services through its Family Center, Bright Days Early Childhood Education Program, Homeward Bound Runaway Shelter, Two Rivers Senior Facility and Saratoga Place Senior Facility. Volunteers painted, cleaned, had breakfast with the center’s teens, played bingo with its seniors and completed some minor repairs.”There were at least nine different shifts; we did everything,” said Empower President Jim Price.The effort had an added dimension, employing social media tools to create a wider buzz about the Brighton Center. Empower employees, well-versed in using social media tools, used Twitter, Flikr and Facebook during their volunteer work. It allowed the Empower employees to broadcast their work, and promote the Brighton Center to their network of friends through status updates and photos.”We drove awareness though 160 well-connected people by using our skills through social media channels,” Price said.Empower corralled the tweets, photos and other updates in a central online location that also includes a video featuring Brighton Center clients. “Our micro site is designed to increase advocacy for the Brighton Center,” Price said. “By increasing awareness through social media, our experience tells us that the Brighton Center will see additional volunteers and donations over time. It’s a well-deserving organization with a variety of needs.”Empower clients and service partners are also supporting the effort, including donations from Marco’s Pizza, Meijer, Rust-Oleum and Hoover.Writer: Feoshia HendersonSources: Mark Braff, Jim Price Empower MediaMarketing