There’s nothing fun about being a sick kid at a hospital. 

But if an NFL football player visits your bedside, your mood might improve. 

“Blue Tuesday” at Seattle Children’s Hospital is a day when the Seahawks’ star quarterback, Russell Wilson, and his wife, Ashton, come visit the hospital. According to the entry, it’s the brightest day of the week for patients, families, and staff. 

We award Seattle Children’s Hospital the prize for Best Charitable/Not-for-Profit Video in PR Daily’s 2013 Video Awards because this video shows how one person’s willingness to give back can help uplift an entire hospital community. 

“The time the couple has dedicated to Seattle Children’s has been miraculous,” according to the entry. “They bring smiles to sick children and keep hope alive for families and staff.” 

As an added bonus, Wilson tweeted the video and it was picked up by local and regional media. In one month, the video was viewed more than 70,000 times. 

Congratulations to the Seattle Children’s video team and Kathryn Bluher, Brittany Alsot and Valerie Needham. 

Want to get recognized for your hard work? Find out about Ragan and PR Daily’s award programs here: http://www.prdaily.com/Main/RaganAwardsPrograms.aspx.

When Verne Global, a developer of energy-efficient data center campuses, set out to tackle the fast-growing problems surrounding the rising cost and unpredictability of energy, the company enlisted the help of the Muppets—specifically, the lighthearted song “It’s Not Easy Being Green,” made popular by Kermit the Frog. The resulting animated video highlights important facts and messages about the environmental impact of data centers, and won first place for Best Animated Video in PR Daily’s 2013 Video Awards.

The two-minute video features a child’s voice singing along to a piano with crayon-drawn images of such environmental challenges as shrinking ice caps, rising energy demands, and the role of data centers in power consumption. It also presents Verne Global’s approach to the problem: an environmentally friendly, competitively priced data center campus harnessing only renewable energy sources, located in Keflavik, Iceland.

To reach the targeted audience of IT leaders, data center operators, and other influential decision makers, Verne Global spread the video as widely as possible through its social media channels, including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn, as well as online communities and user groups like GreenTech Media and the Green Data Center Alliance. In 90 days, the video was viewed more than 7,000 times across a range of social platforms. Additionally, the views garnered more than 120 new Facebook followers; the video was also a top 10 referral traffic link for the Verne website from November 2013 to January 2014.

Score up a win for these energetic producers: Lisa Rhodes, Verne Global; Ken Chow, Froth Curve Marketing; and Asher Warren, 15four, Inc.

Want to get recognized for your hard work? Find out about Ragan and PR Daily’s award programs here: http://www.ragan.com/Awards/RaganAwardsPrograms.aspx.

Obesity is a serious public health concern in the U.S. In recent years, obesity has emerged as the second leading cause of preventable death, behind tobacco use. 

More than one-third (35 percent) of American adults and nearly 15 percent of children are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The medical costs associated with obesity are a whopping $147 billion. 

It’s an unprecedented epidemic that requires a similarly unprecedented public health awareness campaign—and that’s exactly what Kaiser Permanente is doing. 

Kaiser Permanente is a nonprofit health care provider that serves millions nationwide. In 2012, the organization partnered with five other groups for The Weight of the Nation, a public-health awareness campaign, to inform the public about obesity, and inspire and empower a host of people—from individuals to policymakers—to take action to help prevent and eliminate obesity across the U.S. 

Partner organizations are the Institute of Medicine, The Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and HBO.

The Weight of the Nation campaign’s aspirational goals and ongoing, workmanlike execution earned Kaiser Permanente the Grand Prize for CSR Campaign of the Year in PR Daily’s 2012 Corporate Social Responsibility Awards. 

The centerpiece of the campaign is a four-part documentary, titled “The Weight of the Nation,” which was produced by HBO.  

“The Weight of the Nation,” the film, exemplifies the campaign. It informs with peer-reviewed research and puts a human face on the epidemic by interviewing researchers, health care providers, and people suffering from obesity. For instance, one obese woman explains in heart-wrenching detail the story of her father’s ridicule. He forbade his daughter from sitting in the front seat of his car because her size embarrassed him. 

Kaiser Permanente organized or facilitated thousands of screenings of the film nationwide. The film and a companion kit are also available for groups that want to screen the movie locally. By the end of 2012, Kaiser Permanente and HBO had distributed more than 25,000 screening kits. Thousands of people have attended screenings, whether regional or hosted by HBO and Kaiser Permanente. More than 10 million people have watched the documentary on HBO or streamed it online.  

The campaign hasn’t rested on the strength of HBO’s star power, but consistently pushes out messages through traditional PR, email marketing, social media, and live conferences. 

More than 400 positive stories about Kaiser Permanente and The Weight of the Nation have appeared in the media, resulting in more than 1 million unique impressions. Social media drew more than 57 million impressions. 

The Twitter account for The Weight of the Nation has nearly 10,000 followers and continues to tweet about obesity-related topics. For instance, one recent tweet linked to an infographic that outlines the negative health effects of soda consumption. The campaign’s Facebook page, which has roughly 45,000 “likes,” shares links and fosters conversation around the issue of obesity and diet. 

Meanwhile, live conferences have brought together thought leaders and policymakers. In El Paso, Texas, Kaiser Permanente and HBO hosted a community health expo, town hall discussion, and advance screening of “The Weight of the Nation.” The event, which encouraged community engagement and discussion, is one component of this far-reaching public awareness campaign—an ambitious effort with outcomes that could affect the health of the entire nation. 

Want to get recognized for your hard work? Find out about Ragan and PR Daily’s award programs here: http://www.prdaily.com/Main/RaganAwardsPrograms.aspx

Statoil, an international energy company with operations in 36 countries, is tired of hearing criticism that the energy sector isn’t doing anything courageous about sustainability. 

The Norway-based company is trying to change that image. Through its Oil Sands Report Card, Statoil Canada is reframing the debate about sustainability and improving communication. For this endeavor, we award Statoil top honors in the Best Sustainability category of PR Daily’s 2012 Corporate Social Responsibility Awards. 

“Statoil Canada is the only oil sands producer to establish and publically announce its goals to reduce its carbon dioxide intensity and water intensity, while simultaneously making socio-economic contributions to the communities in which we operate,” says Dan Zilnik, who submitted the entry. 

Its sustainability goals are: 

• Reduce carbon dioxide intensity by 25 percent by 2020.
• Reduce water intensity by 45 percent over 10 years.
• Further develop its technology plan with an ambition to reduce carbon dioxide intensity by 40 percent by 2025 through the application of newly developed technologies.

The company plans to spend about $30 million on research and development, aimed at improving its oil sands energy efficiency and recovery, while reducing the environmental footprint, according to the entry. 

“We are also telling the world what it takes to meet these aggressive targets and ambitions,” Zilnik says. 

To tell the world, Statoil has started a new conversation about its improvements. The company communicates its successes and challenges in the Oil Sands Report Card. The report shows the company’s efforts in improving air, water, land, biodiversity, wildlife, and local communities. Ernst & Young provides an independent third-party audit of its reports, as a way to show the company’s transparency and openness. 

“We clearly and openly define performance indicators and activities that will improve our performance as we continue to test new methods of responsibly developing our oil sands lease,” Zilnik says. “We are also telling our stakeholders how we are learning from our challenges, such as our contravention with the local water act, and what we are doing to improve our practices and bring these best practices to the entire oil and gas sector.” 

Zilnik says “the level of transparency Statoil has brought to sustainability reporting in the oil sands industry is changing the game and helping affect positive change in the debate over today’s energy realities.”

Congratulations, Statoil, for your dedication to open communication and your financial commitment to your efforts. 

Want to get recognized for your hard work? Find out about Ragan and PR Daily’s award programs here: http://www.prdaily.com/Main/RaganAwardsPrograms.aspx

You give a little, you get a little.

That’s the philosophy of the LBJ Express Marketplace, a program developed by the project team behind a sweeping interstate construction project in the Dallas area and its agency, Griffin Strategies. Consumers get something in the form of loyalty discounts and specials. Businesses get free advertising, a spot in a directory, and, hopefully, new customers. The highway project team gets a captive audience of people directly affected by its construction work, and maybe a little extra good will from the community.

The success of that plan coming together makes LBJ Express the winner of PR Daily’s 2012 Corporate Social Responsibility Award for Best Stakeholder Engagement.

The LBJ Express team began meeting with local business owners as early as spring 2011 for online brown-bag briefings, but it wasn’t until the fall that the idea for the marketplace came about. LBJ Express initially pitched the idea of giving customers loyalty key chains for discounts at participating businesses and sending those same customers email blasts at one of those briefings, and through direct mail.

Eventually, team members decided they’d have to expend some shoe leather, however. In January and February 2012, team members visited about 800 local businesses. Some of those businesses were prohibited from participating because of corporate or franchise policies, but more than 350 have signed on to participate, displaying marketplace posters on their walls or doors.

Griffin and the LBJ Express team worked with the local chamber of commerce to publicly launch the marketplace. The LBJ Express team has remained involved in the community, participating in fashion shows, concert festivals, and gas card giveaways. It’s handed out more than 20,000 discount key chains.

As a result of all this, businesses in the heart of the construction zone said they saw their sales actually go up in 2012. Meanwhile, consumers seem to be much more plugged into the progress of the highway project.

Want to get recognized for your hard work? Find out about Ragan and PR Daily’s award programs here: 
http://www.prdaily.com/Main/RaganAwardsPrograms.aspx

Sometimes the best way to show one’s green sincerity is to admit one’s mistake, pay the penalty, teach employees not to repeat the violation, and move on boldly.

That’s precisely what Statoil, a Norwegian energy company, did in its 2011 Oil Sands Report Card. 

To the Ragan judges, Statoil’s re-emphasis, after a severe public setback, of its years of research leadership on the environmental effects of oil extraction from the Alberta tar sands was just as impressive as the company’s attempts to find new ways to reduce water use and CO2 emissions.

Many other companies would have chosen to lay low and lick their wounds after suffering the embarrassment Statoil endured after its workers used too much water in 2011, violating the terms of the Alberta Water Act.

Statoil proved that corporate courage exists, and that a stiff business spine and owning up to error without making excuses beat hiding behind a lowered profile.

Statoil’s green reputation before the 2011 excessive-water-use incident had been the best in the oil sands industry. As it points out in its 2011 Oil Sands Report Card:

• Statoil is the only oil sands producer to establish and publicize definite, significant numerical goals to reduce CO2 emissions and water use.
• Statoil spends CA$30 million a year for R&D on increasing oil sands efficiency and reducing pollution. The cost of pilots and field demos will be considerably higher.
• Statoil’s aggressive pollution targets and its new technology have changed the way the entire oil sands industry operates.
• Statoil wants everyone to know that it is transparent, so it hired Ernst & Young to independently audit its environmental reports.
• In 2011, Statoil’s Leismer Project was one of the best startups of its kind, surpassing industry standards for Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) operations. Leismer blew away industry standards for Steam-to-Oil Ratio (SOR) and bitumen production per well per day.
• Statoil led the formation of an industry collaborative, the Oil Sands Leadership Initiative (OSLI), to speed up the adoption of innovative technology in the oil sands.
• Statoil prides itself on its international learning-based culture that rewards knowledge-sharing between its departments and regions.
• To reiterate, Statoil is the only oil sands company with specific numerical green goals.
• Perhaps most important, as the editors of the 2011 Oil Sands Report Card point out, for at least a decade energy companies have been accused of being opaque and timid, not to say disingenuous, in their attempts to seem green and sustainable.

Now, Statoil’s communicators assert, that common perception of the oil sands industry must change because of Statoil’s unprecedented assault on the most stubborn obstacles to clean energy extraction. And they make the case for this change very persuasively in their 2011 Oil Sands Report Card.

The gigantic sweep of Statoil’s intentions—its ambition to remake its entire industry—and Statoil’s obsession with reducing pollution and minimizing other environmental effects of its operations made it the clear winner in the Best Publication category of PR Daily’s 2012 Corporate Social Responsibility Awards. 

Want to get recognized for your hard work? Find out about Ragan and PR Daily’s award programs here: http://www.prdaily.com/Main/RaganAwardsPrograms.aspx

Corporate responsibility takes many forms, from recruiting volunteers for a local food bank to addressing global problems such as hunger.

But amid the worthy crusades, it’s refreshing to find a company championing a cause that combines youth, finances and main street values.

The Connecticut firm Basement Systems worked with Junior Achievement of Western Connecticut, producing videos to represent each of the business-oriented youth club’s four directives: financial literacy, entrepreneurship, work readiness and staying in school. 

The videos promoted Junior Achievement at no cost to the organization. The campaign helped increase awareness and educate the community on the benefits the organization provides. 

The videos offer glimpses of real classrooms, youthful narrators and real kids who dream about starting something as all-American as a corner diner. In a time of economic uncertainty, it highlights future entrepreneurs who may take greater risks than most salaried employees ever will.

With the videos, the western Connecticut club sought to update Junior Achievement antiquated reputation dating back to the 1950’s. If future businessmen and -women see these films and enter the workforce with a more clearheaded idea of how to meet payroll or take out a loan, Junior Achievement—and Basement Systems—can take a bow.

Want to get recognized for your hard work? Find out about Ragan and PR Daily’s award programs here: http://www.prdaily.com/Main/RaganAwardsPrograms.aspx

Partnering with a nonprofit to raise money is commendable for any corporation. But when a campaign is executed with a heavy dose of creativity and garners record-setting numbers, it’s attention-getting. 

AmWINS Group, a wholesale distributor of specialty insurance products and services, falls into that category.

It raised more than $830,000 for St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a childhood cancer charity, through a multimedia campaign that had a lot to do with hair—or lack thereof.

The insurance distributor teamed with its agency, Eric Mower and Associates, to develop the “Expired Coverage” campaign. It played off the word “coverage,” a common word in its industry. 

Eight people—four AmWINS executives and four CEOs from reputable insurance companies—raised money for cancer research for two months. The team of eight agreed to shave their heads at the culmination of the campaign on Jan. 16, 2012, at an AmWINS-sponsored event in Las Vegas.

The campaign won Best Nonprofit/Corporate Partnership in PR Daily’s 2012 Corporate Social Responsibility Awards.

Shaving heads for a good cause

The team of eight’s hair coverage was expiring on Jan. 16, and they had to raise funds before their “coverage” expired. 

To do that, AmWINS spread the word through a dedicated website, press releases, video, social media, email marketing, and print advertising. 

The ExpiredCoverage.com site was the hub of the campaign. It informed people about the campaign, introduced them to the eight team members, and included videos of team members getting their heads shaved, along with a highlights reel of the event.

The site also included a promotional music video, “Our Hair is Comin’ Off,” that received 5,000 views since its release. The song, produced exclusively for this campaign, was made available for purchase on iTunes with all proceeds going toward the campaign.

Promotional materials included messaging such as “Hairless claims are about to skyrocket.”

“To raise funds and awareness for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, we combed the world looking for the best looking heads the insurance industry has to offer. Eight insurance big wigs stood out like a cowlick. So we brought them together to form Expired Coverage—the team representing the insurance industry that’s allowing its hair policy to lapse in exchange for your donations.”

Team members also used Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn feeds to spread the word about the campaign. Here are some examples of social media posts:

• This might be the first time someone actually benefits from lack of coverage. Never thought I’d say it, but I can’t wait to go bald on January 16! expiredcoverage.com
• What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas—including my hair, apparently. That’s right… expiredcoverage.com
• I never thought I would go bald by choice… but on January 16, it’s all coming off! Learn more at expiredcoverage.com
• Looks like my hair policy may lapse. Go to expiredcoverage.com to see what I’m doing about it.
• Want to help conquer kids’ cancer? I do. And I’m shaving my head to prove it. Learn more at expiredcoverage.com.

Proof in numbers

The campaign exceeded the company’s original goal of $600,000 and was a strong driving force behind St. Baldrick’s reaching its $1 million milestone in 2012 in record-setting time.

Want to get recognized for your hard work? Find out about Ragan and PR Daily’s award programs here: 
http://www.prdaily.com/Main/RaganAwardsPrograms.aspx

It’s one thing to reap media mentions when you’re promoting a charitable cause. 

It’s quite another for a bank, in the midst of a financial meltdown, to successfully position its CEO as “the real George Bailey,” the good-hearted banker from the classic movie “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

In the midst of the great recession of 2008-2009, Webster Bank, a $20 billion New England regional bank, created a mortgage modification program that has helped keep more than 1,200 families in their homes.

The story took off in the media in 2011 not just because it was clever (or because a savvy Webster executive had a reporting background with The Wall Street Journal), but for reasons of substance. The bank did everything possible to avoid foreclosures, and for its efforts Webster Bank takes top honors in the Best Media Relations category of PR Daily’s 2012 Corporate Social Responsibility Awards.

Webster opened in the 1930s and had survived the Depression-era desperation portrayed in Frank Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life,” which starred James Stewart as Bailey.

When the more recent financial meltdown began, chairman and CEO Jim Smith, son of the bank’s founder, asked the loss mitigation department to establish a mortgage modification program that would act as a safety net for troubled mortgagees. They modified mortgages while waiving fees and avoiding penalties on customers.

The Wall Street Journal ran a story headlined, “For One Lender, Foreclosure is a Dirty Word.” It led with an anecdote about a couple who avoided foreclosure when Webster shrank the monthly payments on their $295,000 mortgage by 17 percent and lengthened the loan’s term. 

Webster pitched the story to ABC News as a piece on “the real George Bailey.” ABC aired a Christmas-themed story titled, “It’s a Wonderful Bank” on Dec. 22.

Fox News asked if “the real George Bailey” could be in New York the following morning for a live interview. Smith rushed down for the show. Both networks used a clip from “It’s a Wonderful Life,” of Bailey counting out cash to grateful patrons. 

Stories followed in other media.

At a time when bankers were considered villains worldwide, Webster succeeded in pitching a different narrative. This worked, it seems, because reporters found it to be true. As Webster reports, “There are virtually no foreclosures in Webster-owned mortgages.”

Webster’s policies, and its media success, have reaped bottom-line rewards. 

Webster reports, “Copies of the WSJ article and links to the television coverage gave our bankers an edge when cold-calling new customers, and reported back that the ‘feel-good’ story about our company has been making it easier for them to stand out from our competitors and bring in new business.”

Want to get recognized for your hard work? Find out about Ragan and PR Daily’s award programs here: http://www.prdaily.com/Main/RaganAwardsPrograms.aspx

The team at Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC, based in the United Kingdom, had a specific goal: It wanted to reduce the company’s total carbon footprint by 20 percent by 2020. Called “Carbon20,” it was the first program in the FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) sector to try something like this. 

We award Reckitt Benckiser Group with top honors in the Best Environmental Stewardship category of PR Daily’s 2012 Corporate Social Responsibility Awards for not only setting this goal, but exceeding its own expectations. 

The company is a global manufacturer of home, health, and hygiene products. The company’s brands—Lysol, Veet, Clearasil, Mucinex, Woolite, and French’s mustard—are sold in close to 200 countries. These brands, along with 13 others accounted for 70 percent of the company’s revenue in 2011.

Carbon20 was successful because of its three-prong approach: talking to product developers about making changes, influencing consumer behavior, and examining its own operations. 

Executing Carbon20

First, the team launched Carbon20 internally, with the full support of its CEO. Then, team members created a Carbon20 calculator, a tool that helped product developers understand the carbon impact of their decisions. They also developed a network of “Carbon20 Champions” to help explain the tool and share it. 

Second, the program influenced consumer behavior. Team members developed the Our Home, Our Planet brand to encourage more sustainable behaviors. They also wanted to dispel myths, like the one that claims washing dishes by hand has a lower carbon footprint than using a dishwasher. 

Lastly, the Reckitt Benckiser team looked at the company’s own operations. It focused on reducing energy to make operations flow more efficiently. It also encouraged staff to get excited about green energy projects. 

Proving the program’s effectiveness  

With the Carbon20 calculator, the team was able to see if its efforts were effective. Here are a few of the team’s accomplishments: 

• Redesigning the cap for French’s mustard saved 66t of plastic each year.
• Changing the shape of the Harpic toilet cleaner bottle in India saved 162t of packaging each year.
• Powering Air Wick with fresh air (previously butane) saved 20,000t of carbon.
• Redesigning the scoop in Vanish tubs in Europe reduced its weight by 50 percent and saved 638t of carbon.

The company reduced its total lifecycle carbon emissions by 21 percent since 2007—beating its target by eight years. 

The company has been listed on the Carbon Disclosure Project Global 500 Carbon Performance Leadership Index with a performance score of “A” and a disclosure score of 93.

Congratulations, Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC! 

Want to get recognized for your hard work? Find out about Ragan and PR Daily’s award programs here: http://www.prdaily.com/Main/RaganAwardsPrograms.aspx

Philips Electronics North America Corp. launched its Philips Cares program, which encourages employees to volunteer in their communities, in September 2011, but it really took off in 2012. On the one-year anniversary of the program’s launch, the company started up a six-week information campaign to get employees excited about volunteering.

The goal was to inspire 1,500 employees at a minimum of 20 locations to take part. In the end, 2,072 employees at 25 locations volunteered. Because of that success and the multiple creative ways Philips achieved it, the company is the winner of PR Daily’s 2012 Corporate Social Responsibility Award for Best Employee Volunteer Program.

Before the Philips team started communicating about the program, it did its research. Not only did it review its own program and website visits, it also looked at how competitors handled their volunteer programs. The team reached out to executives and HR managers to get their support. And it made sure local volunteering organizers were behind it, too.

What the Philips team learned from other companies was that giving employees an incentive to participate in volunteering certainly helps get them going. So the company offered Good Cards from Network for Good—gift cards for charities—and points in the company’s internal recognition program, which can be redeemed for prizes. An eight-week Champions Challenge tested the knowledge of local volunteering leaders and got them to start new initiatives. Leaders who participated could also win recognition points.

Communicators developed an online toolkit for participants, built online tutorials, enlisted the company chairman as spokesman, and developed an interactive map.

Want to get recognized for your hard work? Find out about Ragan and PR Daily’s award programs here: http://www.prdaily.com/Main/RaganAwardsPrograms.aspx

There’s a killer on the loose, claiming the lives of more than 830,000 children each year around the world, more than any other cause of death. It doesn’t discriminate based on race, color, creed, language, or ethnicity. 

The killer is unintentional injury— traffic-related crashes, drowning, burns, falls, and more. The World Health Organization characterizes these unintentional injuries as predictable and preventable. 

Underwriters Laboratories (UL) is hard at work to save young lives with its Safety Smart® program. The organization’s efforts earned it top honors in the Diversity Communications category of PR Daily’s 2012 Corporate Social Responsibility Awards.

UL, a global, not-for-profit, independent safety science company founded in 1894, believes “standards, certifications, and regulations alone are not sufficient in addressing all aspects of injury prevention.” 

That’s why it developed Safety Smart, “a program allowing employees to improve a child’s awareness and understanding of safety, health, and well-being, thereby helping children to manage themselves and their surrounding by conscious action, not chance.”

The organization says its safety program is helping children the “[build] a consciousness and a knowledge which they draw upon in making better life-sustaining choices helping all children to ‘die of old age’.”

Thanks to UL employees and volunteers, teachers, and organizations worldwide, Safety Smart has reached more than 117 million children and adults. 

In locations around the world, the organization’s employees volunteer as Safety Smart Ambassadors. They bring the Safety Smart program to classrooms, camps, youth groups, daycare centers, scout meetings, and community fairs. Educational materials include animations, flash cards, activities, and more in 20 languages. 

Safety Smart includes programs on topics such as home, water, fire, and online safety. It has programs about going green and being healthy and fit, and plans to introduce additional programs this year. 

Employees choose their language of choice and safety topic, based on their own interest, experience, and comfort level. 

UL’s Safety Smart Ambassador program also includes non-UL employees. It has partnerships with the International Association of Electrical Inspectors, more than 600 fire departments in the US, the US Embassy, Disney, and organizations in Europe, Africa, and in nations such as China, India, Singapore, Korea, and Taiwan. 

UL provides the training, educational materials, and know-how for partners to bring the Safety Smart Program to children in their own communities. 

With a reach so far of 22 countries and 117.6 million people, UL is a winner in the way it draws upon employees’ and volunteers’ diversity to reach a world where there are no differences in pursuing this common goal—working together to save the lives of its children. 

Learn about Safety Smart here. 

Want to get recognized for your hard work? Find out about Ragan and PR Daily’s award programs here: http://www.prdaily.com/Main/RaganAwardsPrograms.aspx

No.

It’s such an easy word. Just a mere two letters. Yet it can also be one of the most difficult for any of us to say, particularly in a professional setting.

Whether it’s pressure coming from upper management or simply a request among colleagues, we often fear how our refusal or inability to either do or help with something at the office might otherwise leave us perceived in the workplace by our fellow associates, even if it means compromising ourselves in the process.

But what about those who are unable to say “no,” not because they can’t muster the courage at work to do so, but because they’re physically inhibited from it?

This is sadly the alarming reality encumbering a number of sexual assault victims who find themselves in compromising positions due to their own alcohol consumption. 

Although much graver a concern than simply saying “no” in a corporate setting, Canada’s Edmonton Police Service (EPS) has made tackling this latter and serious issue a central concern of its own corporate social responsibility (CSR), a concern that culminated in the municipal force launching its “Don’t Be That Guy” awareness campaign in November 2010.

Whereas similar campaigns tend to target potential victims by urging women to restrict their behavior, research suggests this approach might not only be ineffective, but could also contribute to victims blaming themselves in an assault. 

The EPS, therefore, decided to gear its effort toward potential offenders, those who are thereby responsible for the assault, as well as for stopping it. 

Together with Sexual Assault Voices of Edmonton (SAVE), the EPS created the “Don’t Be That Guy” campaign. 

Working with a tight advertising budget, the crusade was, at first, limited to posters in men’s washrooms at local bars. This was before being adopted by police services across North America and around the globe, as well as being featured in Cosmopolitan magazine.

Meanwhile, models in the ads were strictly volunteers, further lowering the costs of the effort.

Relaunched with a second round of posters in November 2012, the provocative campaign has quickly gained traction due to its direct and bold messaging. Examples include:

• “JUST BECAUSE SHE ISN’T SAYING NO … DOESN’T MEAN SHE’S SAYING YES.”
• “JUST BECAUSE YOU HELP HER HOME … DOESN’T MEAN YOU GET TO HELP YOURSELF.”
• “IT’S NOT SEX … WHEN SHE’S PASSED OUT.”

Addressing sexual assault without victim-blaming, the campaign has done more than put Edmonton on the map as a model of CSR for other cities and organizations. 

According to Deputy Chief Doug LePard, the “Don’t Be That Guy” campaign has contributed to a turnaround in statistics on sexual offences in Vancouver, a rate that dropped in 2011 by approximately 10 percent—the first time in several years it had gone down.

This makes us at Ragan Communications all the more proud to honor the EPS and those proud to serve and protect their communities everyday with PR Daily’s 2012 Corporate Social Responsibility Award for Best CSR on a Shoestring.

Congratulations, and on behalf of those who were without a voice before, thank you.

Want to get recognized for your hard work? Find out about Ragan and PR Daily’s award programs here: http://www.prdaily.com/Main/RaganAwardsPrograms.aspx

Leaders lead by example, and that is what Pioneer Services, a division of MidCountry Bank that provides financial services to the United States Armed Forces, does when it comes to corporate social responsibility.

For its ongoing dedication to its community and customers, Pioneer Services earned top honors in the Best CSR Leader/Company category of PR Daily’s 2012 Corporate Social Responsibility Awards.

What sets Pioneer Services apart is its year-round commitment to service. Throughout the year, Pioneer donates time, money, and expertise to military families, as well as the larger community. Pioneer’s dedication to its community isn’t just a task on a to-do list—it’s embedded in the company’s spirit.

The gift of time

Pioneer’s dedication to the community begins at its heart—its corporate culture. Pioneer gives each full-time employee two days per year of “volunteer time off”—two paid days off that employees can use to volunteer at any organization they like. Part-time employees get one day. 

To help employees determine where they’d like to spend their time, Pioneer has a Volunteer Committee that provides information about various organizations to employees based on their interests. Some of the organizations Pioneer employees have donated time to are Operation Breakthrough, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and Stand Down for Homeless Veterans, among others.

Many Pioneer employees also hold leadership positions in civic and nonprofit organizations, such as the Truman Medical Center Foundation, the National World War I Museum, and Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Sharing expertise

As a financial services provider for military personnel, the Pioneer team understands the life and needs of a military family. Pioneer offers free financial education through a variety of means so military families can learn about finances in a way that is most convenient for them. Pioneer offers one-on-one consultations, various websites, videos, and podcasts.

For example, when the Pioneer team learned that the Department of Defense consistently lists service members’ money problems as the primary obstacle in preparing to serve, the company wanted to help. It created the Pioneer Education Podcast series, or Financial PEP Talk, and regularly adds the podcasts and videos to its YouTube channel.  

The PEP Talks are three- to seven-minute videos each focused on a different topic. Topics include how to repair your credit score, how to reduce debt, and the military lending market.

The gift of money

Pioneer also supports various causes through financial giving and fundraising. One example is the company’s Operation Building Freedom Facebook campaign. The campaign’s goal was to raise money for Homes for Our Troops, a nonprofit organization that builds homes for disabled veterans. Pioneer donated $0.50 for every Facebook user who “liked” the campaign, and matched all donations dollar for dollar up to $10,000.

Pioneer also helped found the Warrior Center and Park University, where veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan can earn college degrees. Pioneer’s CEO, Tom Holcrom, and UMB Bank together contributed $100,000 to build the center.

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As any good teacher will tell you, it isn’t easy to make education fun. 

But it is by no means impossible.

Picerne Military Housing, a development, construction, and property management firm, managed to educate the families of Fort Meade, Md., about the community’s crime-fighting and awareness programs in a fun, engaging way with its National Night Out event. The event earned Picerne Military Housing a first-place win in the Best CSR Event category of PR Daily’s 2012 Corporate Social Responsibility Awards.

National Night Out is part of a nationwide event created by the National Association of Town Watch, a nonprofit crime prevention organization that works with law enforcement agencies around the country. The goal of the event is to raise awareness of anti-crime programs in communities across America, and encourage Americans to do their part to keep their neighborhoods safe. Picerne Military Housing planned and organized the event for the Fort Meade community.

The goal for National Night Out was fourfold. The planning team wanted to:

• Raise awareness of crime and drug prevention.
• Build support for local anti-crime programs.
• Strengthen the community’s relationship with its police and fire departments.
• Let criminals know the community is ready to fight back against crime.

Getting the community involved

Planning for National Night Out began about a year before the event took place. The first step in planning the event was to get local emergency agencies involved. Organizers were able to involve 19 agencies, including local police and fire departments and those of the surrounding area, criminal investigation units, and the Baltimore FBI, among others. 

They also made sure nonemergency organizations were involved. On the night of the event, more than 40 organizations and businesses from the Girl and Boy Scouts to Target and 7-11 were represented by booths, activities, and/or demonstrations. 

To encourage the families of Fort Meade to attend, National Night Out was held at a local park, and the event was entirely free for community members. Organizers wanted the community to focus on the fun, unique opportunities the event provided—not the cost.

Making education fun

The evening kicked off with a parade through the Fort Meade neighborhoods. Sparky the Fire Dog and McGruff the Crime Dog, atop a fire truck, invited the community to the event as they paraded through the streets.

Organizers wanted the event’s activities to be not only fun, but educational. Each activity promoted safe, crime-fighting behavior, and made the community’s emergency officials accessible to children and adults alike. With demonstrations and information booths, the various emergency departments could showcase their skills and show community members exactly how they keep the community safe.

Some of the night’s activities included a stop, drop, and roll house, a drunk-driving course, an inflatable boot camp challenge, and police and fire truck displays that families could climb into and explore.

Results

More than 5,000 members of the Fort Meade community attended National Night Out, and more than 70 local organizations supported the event. Most of Picerne’s 120 employees helped work the event, as well.  

National Night Out also received special recognition from Fort Meade’s congressman and senator for successfully improving the safety and quality of life for Fort Meade residents. Representatives from both offices attended the event.

Fort Meade’s National Night Out also earned the 2012 Military Award for outstanding participation from the National Association of Town Watch.

Want to get recognized for your hard work? Find out about Ragan and PR Daily’s award programs here: http://www.prdaily.com/Main/RaganAwardsPrograms.aspx