Make the Most of Your Winter Break

The countdown has officially begun (26 days!) to the end of the semester.  No more tests, no more 8 a.m. classes, and no more homework keeping us up all night. Winter break is right around the corner and everyone is looking forward to a couple weeks of rest and relaxation.

Between the snowball fights, holiday meals, and movie marathons, it's easy to forget that school breaks are the perfect opportunity to better yourself, personally and professionally. You finally have the free time you wanted all semester and you might as well do something productive with it, right?

I don't mean that you finally get around to organizing your sock drawer or delving into a marathon of that show you've been meaning to catch up on. Winter break is the ideal time to be proactive.  Here are a few suggestions:

• Read a book: This is something you can finally do without interruption!
  
• Do a job shadow: Even one day of a job shadow can be beneficial, and it will be a great talking point in an interview for spring.
  
• Volunteer: The holidays are the perfect time to help others.
  
• Hit the gym: No excuses now! You have the time and deep down you have the motivation too.

What are you most looking forward to doing over break? We'd love to hear from you!

Today: Bake Sale to Benefit Philabundance!

Are you on or around Temple University Main Campus today? If so, stop by the Student Center to grab some delicious baked goods while supporting a great cause!

Temple’s Public Relations Student Society of America and PRowl Public Relations are hosting a bake sale from 11 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. in Temple’s Student Center. All proceeds from the event will be donated to Philabundance, a non-profit organization dedicated to driving hunger from the greater Philadelphia area. The bake sale will feature an assortment of delicious cupcakes, cookies and other baked goods; all for $1 or less!

Temple University’s Student Center is located at 1755 N. 13^th Street (on the corner of 13^th and Montgomery) in Philadelphia. For more information on how to get involved with Philabundance, click here.

Hope to see you there!

Don't Forget: TU Relay For Life Tonight!

Tonight almost 800 students will crowd the Pavillion at Temple University to walk for a cure and support the fight against cancer. As PRSSA guest blogger Alison Curran mentioned in her post "PRSSA and PRowl Walk for a Cure" earlier this week, Temple University's Relay For Life unites individual students and student organizations to walk laps with peers, cancer survivors and their supporters.

Here are a few important details to know about tonight:

• Online registration (click here) closes at NOON today, but you can register at the door between 6 and 8 p.m.
• The Opening Ceremonies start at 8 p.m.
• Doors close at 11 p.m. and no one else can enter the building (you of course will be allowed to exit without re-entrance though)
• Activities throughout the include 3v3 basketball tournaments, water pong, magic tricks, live bands, "Mr. Relay" and more!
• Closing Ceremonies start at 5 a.m. and the event will end soon after

Join PRSSA and PRowl tonight to support the fight against cancer at Temple and warm up for Relay For Life of South Philadelphia (a PRowl client) on Saturday, June 10!

PRSSA and PRowl Walk for a Cure

Temple University’s Public Relations Student Society of America and PRowl Public Relations will be participating in Temple University’s Relay For Life this Friday. The event will be held at the Student Pavilion, located at 1901 N. 15th Street across from the Turf Complex.

PRSSA and PRowl team members will walk around an indoor track for 12 hours to help raise money for the American Cancer Society. The PRSSA and PRowl team currently consists of 8 members and has already raised $90. Help us reach our goal by making a donation or signing up to walk!

Temple University’s Relay For Life has already raised over $22,500 and has more than 770 participants signed up to walk. The overall fundraising goal for the relay is $60,000. All money raised will go toward funding cancer research and prevention initiatives. Several events will take place throughout the walk, beginning with the Survivor Lap, during which participants who beat cancer will be invited to walk a lap while being cheered on by their fellow walkers. During the Luminaria Ceremony, participants will have the opportunity to light candles and walk a lap in silence to remember those who have lost their battle with cancer. The relay will end with the Fight Back Ceremony, which encourages all walkers to take a stand and pledge to continue the fight against cancer.

The cost to participate in this event is $20 and you can register here.

This guest blog was written by PRSSA member Alison Curran.

Think critically!

As a student of public relations, I have learned a lot about crafting messages that will be received by both internal and external audiences. My coursework has also stressed the importance of being an active and critical consumer of the media.

I recently received an email from my credit card company encouraging me to donate to Japan relief using my credit card. Once I opened the message, I was given the option to donate either using my credit card, or by donating my reward points.

One one hand, I saw the campaign as a brilliant way to raise awareness about the huge need for relief in Japan. I also thought it was a smart way for the company to attach itself to a good cause.

However, as I thought about it more, I began to question the ethics of such a message. Particularly if people donate using their credit card, the company stands a chance of profiting from interest fees on the donations.

A closer look into the campaign revealed that the company itself had donated $5 million to relief efforts. This reaffirmed my original belief that the campaign was in good conscience, but I still couldn't help feeling a bit skeptical.

What do you think, is it ethical for the company to attach itself to a relief effort from which it could also benefit monetarily? Or is this a good example of corporate social responsibility? Either way, the campaign is a good example of the need to think critically when interpreting messages.

If you would like to donate to American Red Cross relief efforts in Japan, you can do so by clicking here. The site also provides a list of cash donation sites and the names of many organizations working to provide relief to the victims in Japan.

Using Social Media for Social Good

The other day I was perusing one of my favorite sites, Mashable.com, when I saw something of interest on the main page. The page featured a story about a non-profit organization using Foursquare to raise awareness about homelessness. The North Carolina non-profit organization, Urban Ministries of Durham (UMD) provides food, shelter and clothing to the city’s homeless. The organization recently launched a Foursquare initiative “designed to unsettle application users and raise awareness around homelessness in Durham. “ Basically, UMD wants to inspire Foursquare users to check into unusual locations, such as abandoned warehouses, to raise awareness about homelessness prevention.

After reading this article, I realized Mashable.com features non-profit organizations on a regular basis in its Social Good section. This section is dedicated to discussing organizations’ social works projects. It allows readers to see how organizations are using social networking sites to promote their causes and it allows readers to track the success of these projects.

Social media is a great way to raise awareness and many organizations are finding unique ways to promote their cause. Check out how some organizations are using social media to promote non-profit campaigns at http://mashable.com/social-good/.

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Kurie Fitzgerald.

Social Media Savvy Spin for Charity

Add one black dress, recycled and donated accessories, 365 days and one creative blog and you have the "Uniform Project" - a charity that was created by Sheena Matheiken to exercise sustainable fashion and raise money for children in India to go to school.

The "Uniform Project" blog was updated daily with photo-documented posts featuring the 365 ways the little black dress was reinvented. Through the project and Sheena's savvy use of social media, the "Uniform Project" raised $94,958 and sent 263 kids to school.

Check out Sheena's video that features all 365 outfits!

Uniform Project Picture Book from The Uniform Project on Vimeo.

What charities do you know of that have utilized social media to increase the success of their charity? Let us know!

Connecting Community Service and the Workplace

I came across an inspiring article in the Philadelphia Business Journal yesterday. The article highlighted IMA Consulting, a health-care consulting firm in Chadds Ford, Pa., for their annual volunteer day. Each year, the firm takes a day off from the office to give back to the community by volunteering in the Chester County area. This year, the firm spent their volunteer day at the Tick Tock Early Learning Center in Avondale, Pa., cleaning inside and outside and reading to the children. In addition to this day of community service, the firm also provides employees with two days of paid community service leave annually. As an advocate for community service, I find it inspiring that this company encourages their employees to give back to the community both as a group and on their own.

What do you think: should companies provide paid leave for volunteer work?

PRSSA Clean-Up Tomorrow!

Temple University's Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) will be holding a clean-up in the neighborhood around Temple's campus tomorrow (Saturday, April 17) from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Here are the details:

When: Saturday, April 17 (Rain date: Saturday, April 24)
Time: 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Where: Sign-up table will be at Broad St. and Polett Walk
Area to be cleaned: From Diamond St. to Cecil B. Moore Ave. and from Broad to 17th Streets

If you have any questions, please contact Jaclyn McKeown at jaclynmckeown@temple.edu or Jonathan Burns at jonathan.e.burns@temple.edu

Hope to see you there!