'Tis the Season

If you haven't already seen dreaded Christmas stuff in stores already, I want to know where you live!  Yes, retailers have thrust the season upon us too early, but in the PR world, it's not too late to think of a way to help those less fortunate while at the same time promoting your business or service!  I love it when businesses partner with non profits - a win-win situation.

But what can you do?  Here in Sacramento, not only did part of a big suburban mall burn recently, but a food bank was also scorched.   I would advise local clients to hold a canned/dry food drive to benefit the food bank.  I would also advise them to offer some of their products or services to be awarded in a drawing to those who signed up on their mailing list. 

So, take a look around your town or city to see what is going on and what needs to be done.  With more folks not finding work for long periods of time, I think it's always good to do something for local food banks which are being hit harder than ever.

Another idea is to hold a toy drive and bring what you have collected over to a children's charity in your area.  Or if you are associated with any kind of "beauty" services for women, offer those services on a special day to women who are clients of the domestic abuse agency in your area. 

I think that it's probably common knowledge that when economic conditions decline, the rates of domestic violence rise, especially around the holidays.  One thing that I do is that I collect all those little shampoo and conditioner and the like bottles from my hotel stays.  In December, I gather them up and bring them over to the Sacramento Childrens Receiving Home.

And once you have made your plans, publicize the hell out of your events!  Get it posted on Facebook, Tweet about it and make sure that you post your news releases (which you should send out first) on the many free news release sites.