WRITING SAMPLES

During my time at the Crisis Center for South Suburbia, I was responsible for writing and editing press releases. Click on the Patch logo for the full story.

Tinley Park, IL – Throughout Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Crisis Center for South Suburbia (CCSS) had a goal to educate friends, family, community, and supporters on the issues regarding domestic violence. By way of community events, speaking engagements and social media, CCSS was able to raise awareness not only within the community, but throughout the Chicagoland area. Domestic violence is a topic that most do not want to discuss. By engaging others in promoting CCSS as a resource, the conversation was started. Such a heavy task could not be completed alone. CCSS had encouraging supporters who were willing to spread the word and advocate for individuals and families impacted by domestic violence.

Awareness was spread throughout Tinley Park, to Worth, in Chicago, and even Phoenix, IL. CCSS kicked off the month with their Password: Purple event held at the Tinley Park Public Library. Many came out to remember and support victims, as well as get information and resources about how to get involved. The CCSS Auxiliary held their annual Tag Day the following week to spread awareness at local grocery stores. CCSS donor, Lakeshia Baker, also hosted her “Let Your Voice Be Heard! Stand Up & Speak Out about Domestic Violence” talent showcase to raise funds and awareness for CCSS. To end the month, The Worth Public Library invited CCSS to speak to their community members about the month and how they could become involved. Many others held clothing and donation drives on the shelter’s behalf throughout the month. It was a collective effort to make a difference in the lives of so many who are victimized.

Another large part of outreach was from Director of Development, Karen Leluga, speaking on Randy Barcella’s AM 560 radio show. During the segment, Leluga had the opportunity to educate listeners about domestic violence and raise awareness that CCSS is a true resource within the community. “Having Karen Leluga on my radio show was a great and positive day”, says Barcella. “We can’t get word out there enough, to let those in pain, suffering and need, know that there really is a way out! I wanted those listening to have strength for today and hope for tomorrow. Being a good neighbor and caring for one another is one of the great, positive and beautiful action steps in life".

In my Media Relations course at DePaul, I reviewed Walmart's Holiday Salute campaign. Click on the Tumblr logo for the full story.

There was a recorded 1,361,755 active duty personnel in the United States Armed Forces in December of 2013. Although service men and women do so much to protect our great country, themselves and their families are often overlooked. Many families experience heartache when their loved ones are deployed and many military personnel face unemployment upon their return. Walmart took notice of these families and with the help of public relations agency BRG Communications, Walmart launched Walmart’s Holiday Salute campaign Veterans Day of 2013.

The campaign had three objectives:

Increase awareness of Walmart’s support of the military through donations to two well-respected military nonprofits, Operation Homefront and Fisher House and also increase awareness of Walmart’s efforts of hiring 100,000 veterans during the first 12 months of active duty by 2015.
Encourage consumer engagement and support amongst Walmart customers, associates, and military affiliated families during the holiday season.
Strengthen Walmart’s brand reputation.

The challenge of the campaign was encompassing all of Walmart’s military support efforts under one campaign. Currently, Walmart has Welcome Home Commitment, Military Family Promise, and Hiring our Heroes efforts that they included under the Holiday Salute umbrella.

Walmart decided to launch the campaign Veterans Day as a way to engage the target audience. They hired Ellie Kay, well-known mother and wife of military personnel and America’s Military Family Expert, as their spokesperson. They developed a wall of honor website for people to submit posts of service members and veterans. The campaign used ‘Giving Tuesday’ as an opportunity to get donations for Operation Homefront and Fisher House. Through Walmart and Operation Homefront, 500 service members were able to come home during the holidays to be with their families.

For my Communication, Law and Ethics course, we were charged with reviewing a movie and anaylzing the law/ethics throughout. Click on The Social Network image for the full analysis.

The Social Network looks at Mark Zuckerberg in late 2003. He is a 19-year old student at Harvard University. The film opens when his then girlfriend breaks up with him. Upset about the outcome of the meeting, Zuckerberg creates a pretty nasty blog post about his ex, Erica Albright on LiveJournal. After a bit of drinking, he and his friends hack into the school’s different databases and create Facemash, which allows users to rate girls on the campus based on their attractiveness. Zuckerberg is given six months of academic probation after the website crashes the Harvard network. Because of this, Zuckerberg is noticed by three upperclassmen, twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss and Divya Narenda, who want his help on their website Harvard Connection.