Campaigning Guide

8/2/2019 Campaigning Guide

1/20A better childhood. For every child. www.childrenssociety.org.uk

Make Change:A quick-start guide to

local campaigning


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Hi. Welcome to The Childrens Societys guide to campaigning,which will help you make a difference for children andyoung people.

Firstly, a massive thank you! The success of The Childrens Societydepends on you to make real change, and its fantastic that youregetting involved.

Whether youre just getting started, or youre a seasonedcampaigner, this little guide will help you plan and run a winningcampaign in your area.

Whether you do something as simple as signing a petition, as

involved as arranging a demonstration, or as direct as giving aspeech: any action, big or small, to make a better world foryoung people to live in makes you a campaigner.

ContentsThe Childrens Society 3

What is campaigning? 3

Planning 4

Making a change 4Raising awareness 5Getting started 5

Growing 6

Meetings with other campaigners 6Forming a group 7Alliances 8Making change with your church 9Lobbying your MP 10Lobbying your local councillor 11Growing media attention 13Photographs 14Materials 14Case studies 14

Campaigning using social media 14Blogging 15

Succeeding 16Celebrate your successes, however small 16

Evaluating 17

Tools, links, resources, contact 18

Press release template 19

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The Childrens Society

We aim to create a societywhere children and youngpeople are valued, respected

and happy.

Through our campaigns andresearch, we seek to inuencepolicy and perceptions toimprove child protection soyoung people have a betterchance in life.

Since Edward Rudolf foundedThe Childrens Society in 1881,weve been working tirelessly

for children and young peopleand, every step of the way, thiswork has been supported bydedicated, concerned peoplejust like you.

In recent times, wecampaigned on behalf ofyoung runaways, and lobbiedfor an end to detention ofchildren seeking asylum.

Campaigning is about helpingpeople come together tochange something. It mightbe about tackling injustice,encouraging people to makea particular decision, orchanging the way people thinkabout an issue. Or it can be

about reversing a decision orhalting a dangerous proposal.

As a campaigner supportingThe Childrens Society, theresa wide variety of activities thatyou might take part in. Youdont need to devote everywaking hour to it; any timeyou can spare will reallyhelp.

You may nd yourself

writing letters, signingpetitions, organising marches,holding meetings, arrangingprayer vigils or devisingpublicity stunts.

Or you could developfundraising ideas and talkto others about what theirsupport could provide.If you become a housebox network coordinator,or organise a fundraisingevent, youll be making a

long-term commitment tothe needs of young people.Call 0300 303 7000 for moreinformation about gettinginvolved in fundraising.

Your campaigning might befocused more on reaching outto local and national media,or meeting with elected

ofcials. It can be all of this,and more.

What is

campaigning?

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Planning

What is it you want to achieve?Be clear and specic. Forexample, some end goals

might be having freshlycooked school meals in yourlocal area, or making surethe police are trained inresponding to child sexualexploitation. You need to beclear what your end goal is,then work out who the peopleare that have the power tomake that change for you.

Who is it that you need totarget?

A lot of campaigns, regardless

of the size or issue, get off onthe wrong foot by not beingclear about who they aretargeting in their campaign.

You need to think about whocan act to enable you to meetyour goal. This groupor individual will be the direct

target(s) of the campaign.

Making a change Sometimes youll be able tomeet your principal targetdirectly to talk to them.But youll probably needto persuade people whoinuence them too the lastthing you want is to convinceyour target that this change

is important and then haveother people persuade them

otherwise.

Quite often, youll target theperson lowest down in thehierarchy who has the powerto make the change you want.Its no good always buildingcampaigns that target thePrime Minister.

So, meeting with inuencersis very important. This

may include teachers andyoung people, or all localconstituents.

OutCry!We were delighted to achieve our OutCry! campaign objective whenthe government announced its timetable to end the detention ofchildren for immigration purposes. The family unit at Yarls Woodwas closed immediately.

From the outset of the campaign in collaboration with Bail forImmigration Detainees we looked at what we wanted to change(immigration detention of children and young people), who had thepower to change it (national government) and what methods andresources we had at our disposal for achieving it.

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END IMMIGRATION DETENTION OF CHILDREN

Every year, the UK immigration system locks up 1,000 children.Detention is damaging, expensive and unnecessary. We want to livein a more humane and compassionate society. We believe detainingchildren is immoral and unacceptable. Do you?

Join the campaign at www.outcrycampaign.org.uk

TheChildrensSociety RegisteredCharity No. 221124 | BailforImmigrationDetaineesRegisteredCharity No. 1077187. Exemptedby theOISC | The Diana, PrincessofWalesMemorialFundRegisteredCharity No. 1064238Photographposedby modelShutterstock | 7584/10/09

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Raising awareness On some campaigns, youmight want to raise awarenessof a situation or change theway people think about anissue. This wont be aboutidentifying one particulartarget, as your target will

be a wider group. If youwere campaigning to raiseawareness of young peoplebeing trafcked, for instance,you might target localtransport centres andpublic spaces.

These campaigns will dependon strong public appearances,

events and alliances withorganisations that canexpose your issue to lotsof people, such as schoolsand media outlets.

Dont put the cart beforethe horse.

Many campaigns and

campaign actions are notsuccessful because theorganisers have only thoughtabout the action, not aboutwhat its intended to achieve.Dont plan to have a petition,stunt or meeting before youveworked out what the bestcourse of action to take wouldbe. First get your objectives

clear, then think about whatactions, and contacts, can helpyou to achieve them.

Think about what resourcesyou have and what youmight need. Do you needpeople with specic skills writing newsletters,organising meetings? CanThe Childrens Society help

you with this? (Youll ndcontact details at the end ofthis guide).

Think about the externalenvironment and otherpeoples timings.

When is the local councilsetting its budget, when are

the key committee meetings,when are local elections

in your area etc? Somecampaigns make the mistakeof running the campaignbased on their own timingsand ignore key dates in theexternal environment.

You wont be expected toact as The Childrens Society

ofcial representative.Your actions will be more

powerful if youre acting asan independent citizen, insupport of our campaign. Somake sure people know youdont work for The ChildrensSociety and that yourerepresenting yourself andstating your own views.

Getting started Start in your own front room.If you have friends who may

want to get involved, invitethem round for a coffee andtalk about the issues you care

about. Start making a plan.

You might think chatting tofriends, or sending an email,

will never achieve anything.But its worth rememberingtheres no such thing as

starting off too small: lots oflittle actions will always addup to big change.

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Growing

You can start growing your campaign as soon as you decideyou want to do something. If youre starting on your own, orwith a group of friends, start spreading the discussion; chat to

neighbours and family members. Quite often, youll be surprisedwho is touched by the issue and is keen to get involved.

Meetings with other

campaigners

Holding an open meeting isa great way of building yourlocal campaign. You can createa space for newcomers to learn

more about the issues, decide

if they want to help out anddiscuss together how to moveit forward.

Before the meeting, havea think about the followingthings.

Have you got a suitablevenue thats not too noisy?

Is it easy to nd and easy toaccess, with good transport

links?

Get an idea of how manypeople might be coming.Check with the venue thattherell be enough space forall of you.

Make sure everyone knowswhen and where the event istaking place.

Try to organise the meetingat a time when most peoplewill be able to come, like afterworking hours or onthe weekend.

End Child PovertyThe Childrens Society has always campaigned on child poverty and onhighlighting the reality of life for children from low income backgrounds.We joined End Child Poverty as we shared the groups central goals, andwe knew it was a better way of achieving them than all organisationsworking in isolation.

End Child Poverty is a substantial coalition of charities, child welfareorganisations, social justice groups, faith groups, trade unions and others.It was established in 2003 with a single goal - to eradicate child povertyin the UK.

While the coalition members may differ in many ways, we make a muchbigger impact when we work together.

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Forming a group If you decide to form a campaign group, [email protected] for assistanceand support, and for more information on whats happeningin your region.

Spread the word by

telling friends and askingthem to tell their friends,

sharing it on church/community notice board,

sharing it through socialmedia (see Page 14),

Its great if everyone presentgets a chance to talk about

why theyre there and whatthey want to see happen next.

Try to reach an agreement onsome action points. Perhapseveryone can agree to go andsee their local MP, or write totheir local councillor?

You shouldnt feel responsiblefor all aspects of the event.Try to get others involved inpublicising it and preparingthe room.

And, of course, get contactdetails of all attendees, and

discuss how often you shouldall keep in touch.

Any questions aboutorganising or runninga meeting, [email protected]

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Alliances Forming alliances is a reallyimportant part of organisingand creating change.

Start by working out who

you know, from your existingnetwork. Who would getinvolved in the campaign?These individuals couldbe associated with an

organisation; would they beinterested in supporting? Whatlocal groups campaign andadvocate for young people?Once you and your fellow

campaigners do this, youshould nd that you quicklydevelop a list of organisationsyou can contact.

When you have a list, startthinking about what groupsyou want to reach out to, andthe best way of doing this.

You might make allianceswith groups who you dontnormally work with and yourcampaign will be strengthenedby this. For instance, a mumsand toddlers group might

come together with a group ofteachers to campaign for theirarea to be more child-friendly.

When forming alliancesand cooperating with otherorganisations, exercise adegree of caution. If thepartner group has a negative

reputation or an ideologicalbias, it could reect badly onyour campaign.

Take advantage of

disagreementIf youre discussing animportant change, or anemotive issue, youll oftenhave discussions that involve

disagreements.

The rst thing to rememberis that this isnt a problem. Itmeans that people are listeningto you and engaging with thecampaign and the issues: ahuge step!

If people dont agree with

the campaign, or with one ofyour key points, try not to getdisheartened or angry. Alwaysgo back to the benets oftaking action. For a ChildrensSociety campaign, youll always

have a report full of evidencesupporting what were askingfor. So repeat the evidence,back up your claims and look

for agreements.

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Making change with

your church

Getting your churchcongregation involved incampaigning is an effectiveway of getting names on apetition, signatures on postcards or a group of peopletogether to lobby your local

MP or council.

But the best way to get yourchurch involved is to rootthe campaign in the regularprayer and worship life of yourcongregation. Theres a fewways to do this.

You could hold a special

service for the campaign,using the worship materials

on The Childrens Societywebsite.

Ask your prayer group topray for the young peopleaffected by the issue.

Include the campaign weekby week in your intercessions.

Put an article about thecampaign in your localchurch newsletter or parishmagazine.

If you do hold a special eventin your church either a

church service or a talk thenmake sure you have enoughcampaign resources foreveryone at the meeting totake action or make a donation.Email [email protected] for

campaign postcards or giftenvelopes.

Safe and SoundWe have worked to protectrunaways for decades. The Safeand Sound campaign was a hugestep in bringing this work tonational attention and creatinglasting change.

A group of 23 bishops joined theSafe and Sound campaign fromthe beginning. They recognisedthat the Church is a powerfulmovement and The ChildrensSociety provided an opportunityto turn faith into action. It was ahuge effort from everyone who gotinvolved, and was only possible byusing the strong networks we havein our churches.

Church groups played a massive

part in collecting the 100,000signatures one for every youngperson who runs away each year we delivered to government askingfor all runaways to have a chanceto feel safe and sound.

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DEREK, SERIAL PAEDOPHILE OPERATES ONE OF THE UKS

BUSIEST REFUGES FOR CHILD RUNAWAYS.

Derek often helps children out. Hes got a spare room, theres no charge and whenyoure frightened and alone on the streets you look for kindness wherever you can.

In the UK there are just 10 refuge beds for the 100,000 children who run away fromviolence, abuse or neglect at home every year.

Join The Childrens Societys Safe and Sound campaign for a national network ofrefuges for runaways and help give children an alternative to becoming victimsof paedophiles, pimps and pushers.

Please give runaway children a safe and sound alternative.

INSIST THAT TONY BLAIR GIVES THE 100,000 RUNAWAYS SAFE REFUGE.PLEASE CALL 0845 345 9252* TODAY AND JOIN OUR CAMPAIGN.

www.childrenssociety.org.uk/safeandsound CharityRegistrationNo. 221124 *Calls arechargedat local rates 35|A|B|1


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Lobbying your MP MPs raise issues affecting theirconstituents in Parliamentand with Ministers, attenddebates and vote on new laws.Many MPs are also membersof committees, which look atissues and government policy

in more detail.

Writing to your MP:

The best way to contactyour MP is to write thema letter or send them anemail. To nd your local MPscontact details go to: http://ndyourmp.parliament.uk/.

Make sure you identifyyourself as a constituent, oras a group running in their

constituency. Include yourpostcode or the postcodeof where your group meets.This means that the MP willbe able to help you.

Ask your MP to take aspecic action such as:

writing to a governmentminister, signing up to yourcampaign, signing an EarlyDay Motion or asking a

parliamentary question.

Make your email clear andconcise, and ask your MP fora reply.

If youre writing on behalfof one of The ChildrensSocietys campaigns,please look on our websitefor more information.

Remember to keep a recordof all your correspondence.

The more letters they receiveon any issues the more likelythey are to take notice.

Meeting your MP:

If you meet with your MP,make sure that everyone whois attending the meeting hasdiscussed what you are goingto say beforehand.

Ask the MP to do somethingspecic: write to agovernment minister, signup to your campaign, signan Early Day Motion or ask aparliamentary question.

Keep a record of what was

said and write to your MPafterwards conrming whatthey agreed to do.

Dont bluffWhen talking to politicians,the media, other campaigners,or anyone else, never try tofudge your answer and dontmake things up. You might

think saying, I dont knowwill look bad for you and yourcampaign, but getting details

wrong will look a lot worse.If youre asked a question towhich you dont know theanswer, theres a couple ofgood options:

Say that youll try to nd outthe answer, and get back tothe person who asked you.

Say Im not sure about that

detail, but generally its thecase that and you can makea general point which you aresure about.

Your most important asset iscredibility. So its great if youknow lots about the subjectyoure talking about, but dontsay something if youre not

sure of it.

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Lobbying your

local councillor

Councillors make decisionsabout how your local council isrun, what services the councilprovide, and how the councilspends its money.

Search google for, Find out

about your local councillors,and nd the directgov site.

Different councils arestructured differentlydepending on the area soit is important to nd outabout your local council andits councillors. Make sure youtarget the right people by

looking at the roles of differentdepartments and committees.There are a number of differentcouncillors you should look at:

Local Ward Councillors each councillor represents aspecic ward, or area.

Leader of the Council is theleader of the largest political

group on the council and isthe most senior person inthe council. They lead the

decision-making process.

Leader of the Opposition is the leader of the secondlargest political group on thecouncil.

Lead Cabinet or Committeemember for the relevant

area these are the seniormembers of the cabinet thatlead the policy developmentin their area. They are, forexample, the lead member

for Childrens Services.

Chair or member of theRelevant Overview andScrutiny Panel these panelsreview the decisions madeby the cabinet or committeemembers and makerecommendations.

Approaching your localcouncillor

You could send your localcouncillor a letter or writethem an email. All their contactdetails will be on your localcouncils website. When writingto them:

Remember to identifyyourself as a local resident.

Be clear about what the issueis and the impact on children,young people and local

families.

Ask them to do somethingspecic or to set out a plan totackle the issue.

Ask for a reply and rememberto keep a record of all yourcorrespondence.

Or you could attend one ofyour local ward councillorssurgeries. These are for localresidents to raise concerns

about their local area. Searchgoogle for nd out aboutcouncillor advice surgeries,

to get the details.

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Look for common groundwith everyoneApproach meetings with MPsor councillors aiming to nd asmuch agreement as possible.

When youre talking aboutthe issue, perhaps ask the MP/councillor if theyve done workon it before and how you (andyour fellow campaigners)might be able to help out fromnow on.

Dont bombard them with factsand gures, but have a few

key messages prepared andbacked up with evidence.

If anyone is asking for a lotmore detail than you have, givethem The Childrens Societyreport or reading material.Make sure you follow up yourmeeting and keep peopleaccountable to what theyveagreed to do.

Election lawWhen campaigning on behalfof The Childrens Society, orany charity, there are somelegal aspects to keep in mind.A charity cannot endorseany election candidate or

political party or else theindependence of the charityis unclear and charities mustbe independent. You need tobe particularly careful duringelection campaign periods.While we can hold eventsor prepare materials whichdiscuss how different partiesand candidates would tackle

issues we care about, wecannot urge voting (or notvoting) for any of them. Readthe Charity Commissionsguidance on charitycampaigning to nd outmore (The link is at the endof this guide).

If youre looking for advice on contacting ormeeting elected ofcials, you can contactThe Childrens Society policy team [email protected]

Stand By MeWhen we were working to make sure disabled children placed awayfrom home had a real say in decisions concerning their lives, we knewthe crucial element would be connecting young people and policymakers.

We led a consortium of more than 30 organisations to highlight theissue. Through this partnership we worked with disabled childrenand their advocates and met directly with the Prime Minister andgovernment representatives.

We used a live video link to involve young people in a Ministerialmeeting. This allowed young people who might not otherwise be ableto be involved in lobbying, due to their complex communication andsupport needs, to take part.

This proved to be a very effective method for improving understandingof the needs of disabled children by professionals and politicians.

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Growing media

attention

Growing a campaign locallyor nationally becomes mucheasier if you have a goodrelationship with the media.This media could be national,regional or local; newspapers,

radio or TV. They all have theiruses for you, and they all havedifferent strengths. But localpapers will always be the mostlikely to cover your campaignor event.

The rst thing to say aboutmedia coverage is thattherell always be help

available. The Media Team

at The Childrens Society willalways be on hand to offeradvice and help [youll ndthe relevant contact details onpage 18].

Prepare a press release thatcan be emailed a few days inadvance of any activity, and

always follow up with a phone

call.

Press Release Templateon page 19

Involve your local paperWriting to your local paper is agreat way of drawing attention

to an important issue in yourarea. MPs and councillors will

always keep a keen eye onwhats being discussed in theirlocal paper, so it can inuencedecision makers, but it will alsoreach the general public.

Make your letter clear andsimple. Address a small

number of important pointsabout the issue. You mightwant to get the letter co-

signed by fellow ChildrensSociety campaigners, or bylocal organisations.

The campaign youre workingon might be national or eveninternational, but to getinterest in your area, youllneed to make the focus local.Think about how the issues

affect children and families inyour area?

InterviewsWhen speaking to any mediato promote the campaign,always keep it simple andaim to make no more thanthree key points. Prepare for

any questions you think willbe asked. Make sure you give

complete answers. Neverassume your audience knowswhat you are talking about.Use background informationand examples to help.

Know who you are talkingto, and why, and what their

deadline is. Never commenton something you dont know

about or get drawn in tospeculating for a third party.If you are doing a broadcastinterview, ask for the questionsin advance to help you prepare.

Dont attack individualsIn conversations, or in writing,

try not to say anythingthat could be considered

rude or offensive about aparticular person. You couldend up in trouble personally,and it could damage yourcampaigns reputation, andultimately prevent you frommaking change. Try to criticiseprocedures and policies, not

individuals.

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An eye-catching photographcan bring your story, and yourcampaign, to life. Think aboutcreating a photo opportunitywhen planning your story andinvite the local paper or takea good picture and send it

to them.

The support of a local celebrityor dignitary can always help toraise the prole and awarenessof your issue.

For any event, or photoopportunity, its great tohave some campaign-relatedresources, like banners ort-shirts, to display. For mediaattention, the campaignshould have a visual identity.

Contact The Childrens Societyif you think you need moreresources: [email protected].

Photographs

Materials The Childrens Society head ofce will have materials theycan provide for campaign use. This might include things likebookmarks, A5 leaets, postcards, posters or stickers. All ofthese will be useful for when youre holding events and lookingto spread the word.

Case studies The Childrens Society staff will have access to a varietyof case studies and images you may nd helpful. [email protected] to nd out whatsavailable.

Social media networks suchas Twitter and Facebook area great way to reach a wideraudience, and can be used toorganise campaign events,and get others onboard.You can nd out how many

other people are interested inyour campaign issues, discussit on blogs and forums, andgather support.

Building your campaigncommunity:

Choose short, user-friendlyTwitter & Facebook identitynames i.e. @yourname,facebook.com/yourname.Remember, there are only 140

characters available in eachTwitter post. The longer yourTwitter ID, the more space ittakes up, which can limit yourinteractions.

Campaigning

using social media

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To document the campaign,from the beginning to yourultimate success, a blog is agreat tool. Posting all the latestdevelopments, including anyphotos or videos you have,means that anyone interested

can get lots of informationand resources, and see whatstage the campaigns at. This

is helpful for people who wantto get involved, but also formedia enquiries.

Keep your post headlinesshort and relevant; includekey words about thecampaign so that searchengines will nd you

Guest post and use guest

bloggers; writing for like-minded blogs and invitingothers to post on yours willgenerate more content for

your blog, and spread theword to new readers

Be consistent post regularlyon relevant topics and alwaysrespond to feedback

Include lots of links torelevant sites and contentin your posts

Find other blogs focusing

on issues affecting childrenand young people, to start

making connections.

Remember to ask permissionfrom anyone who appearsin a photo or video youllbe using.

Two of the best free, easy-to-use platforms are

http://wordpress.organd www.tumblr.com

Blogging

Connect with us on social media channelswww.twitter.com/childrensocietywww.facebook.com/childrenssocietyThe Childrens Society on Google+:www.gplus.to/childrenssocietywww.childrenssociety.org.uk/news-and-views/good-childhood-blog

Search for people to followand connect with. Itsperfectly normal in Twitterculture to follow peopleyouve never met. OnFacebook, search groupsto see if anyone else is

campaigning on this issue,and invite your friends, familyand colleagues to join you.

Reach out regularly onthese networks; update yourfollowers and your groupson progress, and also startconversations and joindebates.

Promote others and shareyour best information. Themore information you putout, the more you receive.When you nd othercontacts with great links andresources, share them with

your community.

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Succeeding

Even if youve won your campaign, the change still needsto happen on the ground. You need to ensure the change isimplemented and the successes that you have made are not

lost in the future.

Sometimes it can be a long road to success and you need tokeep yourself and the rest of your group motivated, so take timeto celebrate and let people know when you do achieve success.

Celebrate your

successes,

however small

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When your involvement withthe campaign is coming to anend, youll nd it really valuableto take time to evaluate. Thisis about learning from whatyouve done and proving whatyouve accomplished.

So look out for successes,learning points and stumblingblocks to avoid in future. Andit all should be backed up withevidence, as much as possible.

Outcomes (what youvechanged) are more importantthan outputs (things youve

done). For example, you mightwant to note the numberof people who attended anevent. But try to think aboutwhat the outcome of this was.Did it achieve a change inopinion in the community, wereprocedures changed withinorganisations or government?

Keep it simple and inproportion to your campaign its probably wise not to spenda long time evaluating a short-term campaign.

Try to get a mix of evidencefrom internal and externalsources.

Be clear from the outset, clarifyroles and responsibilities andmake time for this in campaignplanning.

Build evidence that couldreasonably be used to make

a connection.

Other key questions tothink about:

What did we do well, andhow can we prove we didit well?

What do we need to learnfrom and what can we

improve?

What was supposed tohappen, what actuallyhappened and why were

they different?

And also, be sure to assess:

Did you get enough supportfrom The Childrens Society?Enough materials and advice?

While it might seempainstaking, the informationyou collect will be reallyvaluable to you when you

come to work on futurecampaigns, and to everyoneat The Childrens Society.

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Tools, links, resources, contacts

Contact:The Childrens SocietyEdward Rudolf House

Margery StreetLondonWC1X 0JL

[email protected] 303 7000

See how were using social media and blogs:www.twitter.com/childrensociety www.facebook.com/childrenssocietyThe Childrens Society on Google+: www.gplus.to/childrenssociety

www.childrenssociety.org.uk/news-and-views/good-childhood-blogwww.charitycomms.org.uk/socialmediaguide

For all The Childrens Society research and policy documents:www.childrenssociety.org.uk/what-we-do/research

Check to see what events organised by The Childrens Society are taking place in your area:www.childrenssociety.org.uk/in-your-area

Find out how your MP voted on a particular issue and what he/she said

about it in Parliament:http://ndyourmp.parliament.uk/

Find your local councillors:http://local.direct.gov.uk/LDGRedirect/index.jsp?LGSL=358&LGIL=8

Great hub for a range of campaigning needs:www.campaigncentral.org.uk

Some really great resources and useful tips:

www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/campaigning-resources

Series of videos on how to campaign. Really useful:www.louder.org.uk/FreeDave/

The Charity Commissions guidance on campaigning can be downloaded from here:www.charitycommission.gov.uk/Charity_requirements_guidance/Your_charitys_activities/Campaigning/elect.aspx

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Template press release layout

Date

News release(must insert if news release or photocall)

Headline should be catchy andlocalised to capture attention

First paragraph needs to say why, what, when, where and who (keep it short and to

the point.) The copy text is set in 12pt Verdana/80% black on 15pt line spacing with

a whole line space between paragraphs and no indents.

2nd and 3rd paragraphs should expand on the event or story. This is an opportunity

to go into more detail. Still keep it short and to the point. Think of your audience:

avoid technical phrases or complicated jargon.

4th paragraph quote. Start with persons name, job title. The quote needs to be

relevant and supportive. How to decide who to quote? Often youd use the mostsenior person involved with the campaign or event.

For a 2nd quote, in a further paragraph, use someone from a different organisation

who will endorse the story. If you are hosting an event in collaboration, ask if you

can include a quote from the partner organisation in the release.

For a nal paragraph, the focus should be information about the campaign and how

people can get involved. This should include any links to websites or groups.

Media enquiries:Name, telephone number and email address ensure that the number given will be

manned at all times during the event or when the story is run. If a journalist cant

get hold of anyone, they might be tempted to drop the story.

Notes to editor:

This section should contain further supporting information on your group. If you

would like to include information on The Childrens Society, contact us.

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The Childrens SocietyEdward Rudolf HouseMargery StreetLondon

WC1X 0JL

Email: [email protected]

Call: 0300 303 7000

Lines are open from 9m to 5pm, Monday to Friday

www.childrenssociety.org.uk

Documents

Campaigning Guide