Publicity to the Rescue, by Susan C. Daffron
This past Spring I had the honor of being interviewd by Susan C.. Daffron for her upcoming book, Publicity to the Rescue: Learn How You Can Use the Power of Publicity to Raise More Money, Recruit Volunteers, and Boost Adoptions. It’s no surprise that the book is geared toward rescue advocates who are looking for creative promotion ideas. Daffron is also the head of the National Association of Pet Rescue Professionals, a network of rescue workers who’s main goal is to network together to find more homes for companion animals. A volunteer herself, Daffron has spent years working with various shelters and has seen all sides of the rescue community: the good, the inspirational, the bad and the ugly. She has also worked as a vet tech in a spay/neuter clinic and has seen everything from the medical side of rescue work to the nitty-gritty administrative side. In addition to this book she has published called Happy Hound: Develop a Great Relationship with Your Adopted Dog or Puppy and Happy Tabby: Develop a Great Relationship with Your Adopted Cat or Kitten.
When she approached me, she was interested in how we got The Monster Milers (our non-profit volunteer running group that visits local animal shelters) off the ground. She wanted to know what lessons we learned from building a volunteer group from the ground up, in a non-conventional volunteer base of local runners. An excerpt from our section:
“We [The Monster Milers] formed unconventional alliances within the running community. We’ve networked with race directors, athletic clubs, sports shops, etc. We found that most of the time, rescues are “preaching to the choir.” It’s great to have a supportive base of passionate rescue advocates, but what happens when everyone you’re targeting is already involved? By networking with the local running community and businesses, we tapped into a huge volunteer base. Only a handful of our volunteers had previously volunteered at an animal shelter. Most of them are shelter newbies, and that’s the most exciting part for us, because we’re expanding the community. Obviously, rescue advocates are a wonderful place to start, but if you can network into non-rescue circles, your impact is that much greater.”
Throughout the book she interviews rescue personalities from all over the country, to cover everything from how to hold a newsworthy event to how to formulate a basic press release. Even though I was a featured contributor to this project, I’m eagerly awaiting my copy so I can take The Monster Milers to the next level.
Check out the National Association of Pet Rescue Professionals on Facebook or order you copy of Publicity to the Rescue today.
