x...Charity Event...x

Help for Heroes raises money to support members of the Armed Forces who have been wounded in the service of their country. We ask our supporters to “do their bit” to show these extraordinary young men and women that they are cared for by us. Over a million people have responded to date and millions of pounds have been raised to buy much needed services that will aid their recovery, but we need more! So far, we have allocated almost all of the money we have raised in order to fund direct projects and support other service charities.

http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/splash_what_we_do.html We are passionate about what we are doing and as far as we are concerned the sooner we can see results, the better

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The most exciting task I've came across yet was the organisation and running of a charity event! when the task in hand was set it was very exciting as it gave myself and my group the chance top put all the theory that was learn over the months into practice. and boy did we put it into practice:) . At first the group had masses of ideas (not all of them realistic due to lack of funds) but what can i say we were excited!

In 2007 the charity sector consisted of 190,541 registered charities in the UK alone (Mintel, 2008),After choosing our chosen charity which was Help for Heroes we had to think of an event that was popular easy to access and cheap to run with a high profitable income. we opted to do a sponsored walk as charity events of this calibre has been done for years, quite successfully in the charity sector. From Cancer Research's Walk for life to the The Macmillan Trust. It was also found in focus groups that students like ourselves would prefer to actively take part in a charity event then to donate money, whether it be on a monthly basis or just in money boxes. therefore we saw a good business venture of the students partake and their over 30's parents and family will donate! Genius!

As a vice to kick start the marketing of the event we had to find out when most students would be available to take the time and understand the event. FACEBOOK! E-markeing was an excellent way to appeal to our desired audience as most students use the internet at least once a day. whether its because of checking an email from a lectures or checking on the social site status. Facebook allows you to set up an event page to which you can include all details of the day along with images and most importantly a RSVP system. this system would be both our hindrance and main source of promotion. although we had at least 30 people who said they were willing to come only 8 of us ended up doing the walk.

this was unjustly on our behalf as although we sent reminders but it wasn't the physical act of contacting someone face to face or on the phone. like that of the y generation we were very technology driven and felt that by maybe "taking it to the old skool" we could have gained more people. A Charities Aid Foundation survey showed that charities could be missing out on donations and volunteering time from young people because they are not communicating effectively with them. (2009: The year in Charity Communications) with the use of social networking this will in fact enable the group to reach this audience as according to Mintel reports (Social Networking Across The Age Gap – February 2009) men and women broadly use these sites especially with Facebook as it has a broader base across the age divide than of its rivals, it is slightly different in that advertisers can target campaigns based on the region and specific details on a Facebook user’s profile.

As a vice to kick start the marketing of the event we had to find out when most students would be available to take the time and understand the event. FACEBOOK! E-markeing was an excellent way to appeal to our desired audience as most students use the internet at least once a day. whether its because of checking an email from a lectures or checking on the social site status. Facebook allows you to set up an event page to which you can include all details of the day along with images and most importantly a RSVP system. this system would be both our hindrance and main source of promotion. although we had at least 30 people who said they were willing to come only 8 of us ended up doing the walk.

However we managed to raise just over £200!!!!!!!!! which made us extremely proud :) x the event was truly a learning curve and gave us insight into the true use of marketing communications and how important it is to understand the customer.

Once the event had been held, an exhibition stand had to be displayed within the university showing as much information of the charity and the outcome of the event. The location of each stand was drawn at random, therefore if put in a quieter location there would need to be something different about the stand that would draw people in. Sadly due to the location selected to the group, the area was in the quieter part of the university where less visitors and students pass through. Meaning that the group weren’t able to gain as many donations and attention as anticipated, however the outcome from the stand overall was a success, taking into consideration the location of the stand. the combination of the event and the exhibition was a perfect end to the whole task and would gladly do it again!!!!! Thanks to Gemma, Jenny and Lisa for making it that little bit more enjoyable and to help for heroes for their kind co-operation :):) and of course the donations and participants, smiles all round.