Solihull Together
“Solihull’s charities and voluntary organisations need your support too”
was the message behind Solihull Together - a major awareness campaign to raise the profile of community groups in the borough.
Running for six months from May to October, the campaign aimed to encourage more local people and businesses to support Solihull-based voluntary organisations. And believe it or not there are over 600 to choose from!
Supported by Blythe Valley-based communications agency Big Umbrella Media, Solihull Together used video, newspaper coverage, local radio, business networks and a sponsored walk to push the message that local causes need local people to get involved and support them.
Highlights
A promotional DVD showcasing some of the great work voluntary organisations are doing in Solihull kicked off the campaign in April.
For five consecutive weeks the Solihull News ran features on Solihull Together – including case studies, competitions and a ‘wanted’ column where voluntary groups could advertise for people or resources they were in need of.
Drayton Manor, Aston Villa and Birmingham City donated competition prizes and Best of Solihull donated a free page in its directory “The Little Blue Book”.
A poster campaign encouraged people to offer their time and skills to local causes, with Touchwood donating three advertising spaces.
During National Volunteers’ Week, the Phil Upton show on Radio WM and BBC Midlands Today featured pieces about volunteering in Solihull, complementing a week of recruitment and celebration events organised by the Solihull Volunteer Management Forum. Read more about how volunteering in Solihull was boosted during National Volunteers’ Week.
Business Supporting Solihull Together
In June, members of the SUSTAiN team took part in a three-legged walk around Solihull to launch phase two of the campaign, which focused on encouraging the business community to do something fun to raise money for the ‘Solihull Together Resilience Fund‘ – an emergency fund for voluntary organisations struggling to cope financially with the effects of the recession.
Ramada Solihull adopted Solihull Together as its annual charity and a number of local businesses held fundraising events during the summer. Read more about business support for Solihull Together.
Solihull Together Sponsored Walk
Solihull Together culminated in October with the Solihull Together sponsored walk. 180 people walked up to 12 miles to raise money for their chosen good cause – read more about the Solihull Together sponsored walk here.
The future
This year’s Solihull Together campaign will leave a strong legacy for the future. Plans are already underway to make the Solihull Together sponsored walk an annual event and we will be advertising a date for next year soon. So keep checking this website and put the date in your diary!
We are also looking to build on the success of Solihull Together by supporting local voluntary groups with more fundraising events in 2010. Watch this space!
