PR pros in health care know that persistence and creativity can bring big payoffs.
So can partnering with the right people, who may be ordinary citizens in your community looking to make a difference.
Consider Christie Isenberg in Denver. She and her husband, Walter, live by the motto, “Go big, or go home.” The Denver Post featured the couple, highlighting their unusual celebrations, including one that benefited a local hospital. Reporter Joanne Davidson wrote:
[Christie] refused to give up until Lionel Richie agreed to let a young cancer patient join him on stage to sing “Endless Love” at a fundraising gala for Children’s Hospital Colorado. Richie’s tour manager had repeatedly told Isenberg that the award-winning vocalist wasn’t going to share the stage with anyone. She stood her ground, and eventually he relented. When the song concluded, Richie—and much of the audience—was in tears.
In 2004, the Isenbergs launched a foundation to benefit health and education causes in Denver. The charity—originally called Concerts for Kids—organized a show with musical guests Earth, Wind & Fire and Chicago. Proceeds went to Children’s Hospital Colorado. The foundation—now named Amp the Cause—organizes fundraisers such as the Denver Day of Rock.
Davidson recently wrote:
It began as a way to attract shoppers and others to downtown Denver over Memorial Day Weekend, and a Celebrity Waiters Dinner… Amp the Cause has distributed $5 million in monetary and in-kind services to roughly 50 nonprofits in the Denver area.
During the holiday season, Amp the Cause stages four parties for more than 2,000 children who are treated to arts and crafts, balloon artists, face painters and a visit from Santa. Kris Kringle sends the kids home with gifts and a backpack filled with books.
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Not your typical rides and runs
In Boston, the Pan-Mass Challenge has made an international name for itself. The annual ride to support the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute has grown to 6,000 cyclists from 41 states and five countries. StatNews.com reported the Pan-Mass Challenge is an athletic fundraiser that consists of only one event, and it’s the highest-grossing such event in the nation.
Organizers last week announced the bike-a-thon raised $45 million in 2015, pushing its all-time total past the $500 million mark. The money, which comes without strings attached, has enabled Dana-Farber to build a more robust research mission than the hospital could support on just federal grants, said hospital CEO Dr. Edward Benz.
Another kind of athletic event recently took place in Iowa, where Ryan Wade became a one-man running team to raise money and awareness for The Leukemia& Lymphoma Society. The highlight of Wade’s “One Step at a Time” fundraising campaign for Man of the Year was his 250-mile run across Iowa. The seven-day journey brought cheers and donations from spectators, supporters and survivors. Wade also used Facebook to share information and encourage donations, which total nearly $170,000.
However, the PR coup came when HLNTV.com picked up the story from a local affiliate in Iowa.
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