Workshop Offers Free Pr Training For Nonprofits
IKAIKA Communications’ free workshops feature PR tips and tricks, as well as visits from media professionals PHOTO COURTESY IKAIKA COMMUNICATIONS
To help nonprofits get a feel for public relations and marketing, IKAIKA Communications hosts a free workshop from 1 to 5 p.m. Jan. 16 at the Pam Am Building, Suite 105. According to owner and president Mona Wood-Sword, the seminar is designed to teach some of the most-useful tips and tricks in the profession, such as writing press releases, distributing information and more.
Wood-Sword began her PR company in 1998 and has since been getting numerous requests for assistance from nonprofits. In response, she launched these free workshops several years ago.
“My business was getting busier, but I still wanted to find a way to give back,” she says. “I thought, ‘Why don’t I teach them some skills?'”
That train of thought made sense for the entrepreneur, who never took public relations or marketing classes during college. In her words: “I learned it all on my own.”
During each workshop, media guest speakers make appearances to divulge ways they can help and what resources are available to nonprofits.
The goal of the workshops, Wood-Sword says, is to help nonprofits understand the processes and strategies involved in PR and attain media coverage.
“There were a lot of nonprofits I didn’t know about,” admits Wood-Sword. “But they do it with passion and use a lot of their own resources.”
When Wood-Sword first started these workshops, they were a once-a-year event, but quickly grew in popularity. Wood-Sword now tries to hold them twice a year, and each seminar tends to max out at 40 participants.
“There’s a lot of demand,” she adds. “This is a way I could give them skills, and they get empowered to do it on their own. I wanted to take the mystery out of PR for them, so they wouldn’t feel intimidated.”
RSVP for the Jan. 16 event to ikaikacommpr@gmail.com with your name, organization name, email and cell number. Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis. All participants must work for a 501(c)(3), and everyone from staff members to executive directors are welcome.
The Pan Am Building is located at 1600 Kapiolani Blvd, and Suite 105 is in the offices of Hugo Higa, M.D. Check-in begins at 12:30 p.m.
BOOK & MUSIC SALE
The annual Book & Music Sale features a collection of vinyl, as well as books, CDs and more
Start off the new year with good reads and tunes, when Friends of the Library of Hawaii hosts its Book & Music Sale Jan. 16-18 (Martin Luther King Jr. weekend) at Washington Middle School cafeteria.
Peruse more than 25,000 records, CDs, sheet music and DVDs, as well as tens of thousands of new and gently used reading materials.
The seventh annual event, co-sponsored by Hawaii State Federal Credit Union, also will have a vast assortment of vinyl on display — and the collection will be restocked daily.
Proceeds from the event will go toward Hawaii’s libraries to enhance collections, fund grants and services, and more.
Sale hours are 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday (Jan. 16-17) and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday (Jan. 18).
Washington Middle School is located at 1633 S. King St. For more information, visit friendsofthelibraryofhawaii.org.
