Presenting (drum roll please) "Walking Wednesday!"
We kicked off the kids walking program with a bang on Wednesday at Munroe Elementary. Chantay, Jeannine, Rachel and I started out by setting everything up, from educational posters, to balloons, and snacks. Soon the parent volunteers showed up. I greeted Hilda one of the volunteers as she spoke to me ecstatic to be a part of today's activities.
We quickly mobilized to encourage the kids to start walking around the field as they read the educational posters, talked to their friends and got tallied for the walking class competition. I found the event very energetic kids were running telling me "hey! hey! that's my seven lap!". It became a very positive event were even staff from school, parents and everyone got involved jogging or walking with kids, high-fiving kids as they walked and just cheering them on.
My team and I had a blast walking around talking to the enthusiastic kids. However, at one point my team had to leave and set up at Knapp Elementary. This was tough because both events overlapped each other. Soon the bell rang and all the kids ran in but of course some still wanted to keep on walking :) .
After everyone was gone it was time to clean up and take the posters and other materials to the other school so we could quickly use them for the next event. I'm interrupted in the middle of this by a voice that says "Hey Mr.!...can you get my backpack from the playground?" It was the voice of a young boy from 1st grade i believe he had been left behind. I got his backpack and to make sure he got to class o.k. i walked with him inside. He told me that his name was Alex but i could also call him Alexander. Its so refreshing how kids are so open.
I dropped him off in class and quickly rushed to Knapp Elementary. I got there and the event was almost over! Jeannine and I had planned a surprise to bring more fun to the kids at Knapp. Since, the mascot from this school was a knight i decided to dress up as a knight. I had not seen the costume before that day and believed it to be a lot less silly than it actually was. The costume consisted of a silver vest and helmet just made of fabric. Also, it came with every knight's best friend. A white stuffed animal horse...jajaja. I was cracking up as i was putting it on in the parking lot.
I got to the scene with my horse and all the kids swarmed me. I began joking around with the kids and parents about them riding my horse and so on. The kids really enjoyed having their school mascot there and I had a ton of fun.
Julian at Castro Elementary!
I would like to keep this short and only focus on one story that was very special.
Here we did the same drill of setting up and we were ready to get started long before the event was scheduled to start. Soon, a young boy showed up and we quickly encouraged him to walk. I walked and talked with him about sports and being physically active. We really became good friends. He told me that his name is Julian and that he always walks to school.
As we interacted I saw a lot of myself in him. It was funny how much I was learning from him. I started understanding as i kept on talking to him that everyone just wants to be listened to and acknowledged. Soon after more students started joining us. I met a lot of kids and started introducing them to each other and just formed this great group energy.
The whole event continued for more than an hour and Julian still stuck with me like a champion. I asked him "so how do you like this?'' he responds "oh I love walking!...I'm always walking everywhere...". Julian kept on walking with me even when the other students would leave to go play in the playground. There were some funny moments when other kids would ask Julian " Is he your dad?" jajaja...he would respond "no, he's my friend".
Today was an incredibly successful walking day that almost all students participated!
Oh yeah, also 4 news and other media covered the event. The kids loved the idea of being in front of the camera and being famous. :)
I feel very grateful to have had the opportunity to meet all of the great kids from all the three school it was truly the best thing of the whole project.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Friday, May 1, 2009
Implementing the Strategic Plan
After coming up with the strategic plan there was research that needed to be done. I began to explore resources like www.walktoschool.org that provide an tremendous amount of information on walking to school.
We also began visiting the schools to find out more about the walking program already established. I talked to the parents to both get volunteers and establish a relationship with this community.After these meetings my main purpose was to continue these relationship with the parents since I was the only Spanish speaker.
Organizing Volunteers:
I began calling all the parents from both Knapp and Munroe Elementary to have them volunteer on the big walking Wednesday event. The parents were very receptive and excited to make a difference not only with the health of their children but also that of the whole school's health. The parents response was phenomenal parents excitedly committed to the walking day and I had gotten a solid list of committed volunteers.
Promotion:
After getting the volunteers togother it was time to promote the actual event. I designed two fliers one to be sent by the school to the homes of the students and the other to be delivered personally by us to each house of the local community.
The first flier included information about the event, facts about why its important to walk to school and information about incentives for the kids. The sencond flier that was to be delivered to the homes by us included information about the event and encouraged people to drive safely around this new "walking community".
Distrubution of Fliers:
On Monday April 27th Chantay and I went to the schools to ask them to print out the fliers and send them home. The schools were more than happy to do so. However, our day had not ended yet. We started canvassing the community with another flier that had as its main purpose to make the community a safer place to walk. I went from home to home informing people that there was a walking event happening every wednesday and to please be careful when driving. Canvassing homes didn't only create a safer enviroment but also increased the awareness of the program in the Westwood community.
I also wanted to create a direct communition with the teachers and students of all of the three schools. The best way to do this was to have the principal make an announcement about the event. This announcement included a few fun educational facts about health and exercising to keep up with the purpose of spreading health awareness in the schools. I created the script for the principal of both Spanish and English to tailor to communicate with both language speakers.
After exploring the different resources of information that Livewell Colorado gave us I found another great idea to promote the event. The idea was to have the school create a banner about walking in art class. After seeing these banners I was very impressed to say the least. The banners were these big pieces of art workthat portrayed kids happilly walking to school.
The final piece of the promotional aspect of the project was to come up with a incentives to give to the kids.For this we decided to give them healthy snacks in the morning to everyone who walked. Also we would tally everyone who walked to make a class competition to see which class had the most walkers.The winning class got a trophy prize that would be passed around classes depending on which class wins every week.
Also, decided to give away a very special individual prize to the first student who starts walking during the day.
Radio Interview:
In the next couple of days after canvassing the Westwood community I received a phone call from a radio station that wanted to do a report on the event. We talked about what the walking program and event was. I told them what the purpose of this campaign was and who was going to be involved. It was a great interview that gave state wide exposure to the program and created a buzz about the walking events that were coming up.
Survey:
Before the actual events I decided it would be a great idea to survey the parents after the event to find out what they thought about the walking program and the safety of their community. This would give me a great insight about the parent's perspective on the program how to make it even better. Plus, how to address some of the safety issues the community might have.
Sorry to cut this post a bit short but I have to get going and present all of this information and much more to Livewell Colorado, Kaiser Permanente and The Colorado Health Foundation.
Stay tune for the inside scoop on what happened on the actual events! This was the best part of the whole project so you do not want to miss it!
We also began visiting the schools to find out more about the walking program already established. I talked to the parents to both get volunteers and establish a relationship with this community.After these meetings my main purpose was to continue these relationship with the parents since I was the only Spanish speaker.
Organizing Volunteers:
I began calling all the parents from both Knapp and Munroe Elementary to have them volunteer on the big walking Wednesday event. The parents were very receptive and excited to make a difference not only with the health of their children but also that of the whole school's health. The parents response was phenomenal parents excitedly committed to the walking day and I had gotten a solid list of committed volunteers.
Promotion:
After getting the volunteers togother it was time to promote the actual event. I designed two fliers one to be sent by the school to the homes of the students and the other to be delivered personally by us to each house of the local community.
The first flier included information about the event, facts about why its important to walk to school and information about incentives for the kids. The sencond flier that was to be delivered to the homes by us included information about the event and encouraged people to drive safely around this new "walking community".
Distrubution of Fliers:
On Monday April 27th Chantay and I went to the schools to ask them to print out the fliers and send them home. The schools were more than happy to do so. However, our day had not ended yet. We started canvassing the community with another flier that had as its main purpose to make the community a safer place to walk. I went from home to home informing people that there was a walking event happening every wednesday and to please be careful when driving. Canvassing homes didn't only create a safer enviroment but also increased the awareness of the program in the Westwood community.
I also wanted to create a direct communition with the teachers and students of all of the three schools. The best way to do this was to have the principal make an announcement about the event. This announcement included a few fun educational facts about health and exercising to keep up with the purpose of spreading health awareness in the schools. I created the script for the principal of both Spanish and English to tailor to communicate with both language speakers.
After exploring the different resources of information that Livewell Colorado gave us I found another great idea to promote the event. The idea was to have the school create a banner about walking in art class. After seeing these banners I was very impressed to say the least. The banners were these big pieces of art workthat portrayed kids happilly walking to school.
The final piece of the promotional aspect of the project was to come up with a incentives to give to the kids.For this we decided to give them healthy snacks in the morning to everyone who walked. Also we would tally everyone who walked to make a class competition to see which class had the most walkers.The winning class got a trophy prize that would be passed around classes depending on which class wins every week.
Also, decided to give away a very special individual prize to the first student who starts walking during the day.
Radio Interview:
In the next couple of days after canvassing the Westwood community I received a phone call from a radio station that wanted to do a report on the event. We talked about what the walking program and event was. I told them what the purpose of this campaign was and who was going to be involved. It was a great interview that gave state wide exposure to the program and created a buzz about the walking events that were coming up.
Survey:
Before the actual events I decided it would be a great idea to survey the parents after the event to find out what they thought about the walking program and the safety of their community. This would give me a great insight about the parent's perspective on the program how to make it even better. Plus, how to address some of the safety issues the community might have.
Sorry to cut this post a bit short but I have to get going and present all of this information and much more to Livewell Colorado, Kaiser Permanente and The Colorado Health Foundation.
Stay tune for the inside scoop on what happened on the actual events! This was the best part of the whole project so you do not want to miss it!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Quick update
The implementation of the strategic plan is done. Stay tuned later today for a snapshot of the implementation phase of the plan. Plus, the inside scoop of the actual events! They were full of surprises.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
"Small Steps to a Healthier Life"
"Pequeños Pasos Para Una Vida Saludable"
Small Steps to a healthier life is the message behind the walking campaign in the elementary schools of Westwood. The Westwood schools include Castro Elementary, Munroe Elementary and Knapp Elementary. The mission is to encourage kids to walk and integrate physical activity as part of their daily lives. Moreover, the program also seeks to increase health awareness throughout the communities of Westwood.
Why walk to school?
- It is a physical activity
- It is an opportunity to teach kids how to walk safely
- Keeps kids healthy
- It promotes the safety of the community
“Walking Wednesday” and "Trotting Thursdays" is the name of the programs that will kick off April 29th and 30th. Kids will be encouraged to show their school spirit by wearing the school colors and walking with their parents to school. If walking to school is not an option for some kids they can also enjoy a fun morning walking in school grounds. They will get healthy snacks and participate in a walking competition between all classes. The class with the most walkers in the month will get a special party!
There will be volunteers tallying children who walked to school and giving them stamps. There will also be a table set up in the main playground to provide kids with healthy snacks and give everyone health education materials.
The will be so much happening that i would ruin the surprise by writing about it all. So please, join us if you can on Wednesday April 29th at 8:00 am at Munroe Elementary or at 8:30 at Knapp Elementary. There will also be a "Trotting Thursday" on the 30th of April at Castro Elementary.
Stay tune for details on the execution of our strategic plan and more!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Project #4 - The final project!
So we have made it this far and we are all really excited for this new project yet a bit burnt out.
In this project we will be working with Live Well Colorado, The Colorado Health foundation, and Kaiser Permanente. Our mission is to work with kids from three elementary schools in west central Denver to encourage healthy activities like walking on a daily basis. One of our main objectives is to get parents involved in creating this healthier lifestyle for their children.
Now, that is all I can reveal for now but stay tune for the next posts to find out more!
In this project we will be working with Live Well Colorado, The Colorado Health foundation, and Kaiser Permanente. Our mission is to work with kids from three elementary schools in west central Denver to encourage healthy activities like walking on a daily basis. One of our main objectives is to get parents involved in creating this healthier lifestyle for their children.
Now, that is all I can reveal for now but stay tune for the next posts to find out more!
The end of the CHFA project part 2
The day of the presentation had come. I was pretty nervous and i have to say that obsessing over the marketing plan day and night for the past week did not help.
The presentation started and everything seemed to go pretty smoothly. We were getting our points across clearly and consistently throughout the presentation. Personally, since working with Jesse on the last recycling project I have learned the art of "winging" presentations as he called it. :) Now, it does not mean being unprepared but rather speaking without notes just letting the knowledge of everything you have done and created flow out. This has made a huge difference in the quality of my presentation skills.
After we finished the presentation we had the longest Q&A sessions thus far. Shortly after we also received some feed back on what we did well and what we could have improved on.
Throughout these projects i keep on learning the importance of keeping a constant flow of communication with the organizations we are working with. The importance of research in a marketing plan and presenting the sources of this information to create more credibility.
Overall, this project has been extremely regarding I think for everyone involved. It has brought great insights to all parties involved. In the end although we had areas we could have definitely improved on I'm pleased with what we put together in the short amount of time.
The presentation started and everything seemed to go pretty smoothly. We were getting our points across clearly and consistently throughout the presentation. Personally, since working with Jesse on the last recycling project I have learned the art of "winging" presentations as he called it. :) Now, it does not mean being unprepared but rather speaking without notes just letting the knowledge of everything you have done and created flow out. This has made a huge difference in the quality of my presentation skills.
After we finished the presentation we had the longest Q&A sessions thus far. Shortly after we also received some feed back on what we did well and what we could have improved on.
Throughout these projects i keep on learning the importance of keeping a constant flow of communication with the organizations we are working with. The importance of research in a marketing plan and presenting the sources of this information to create more credibility.
Overall, this project has been extremely regarding I think for everyone involved. It has brought great insights to all parties involved. In the end although we had areas we could have definitely improved on I'm pleased with what we put together in the short amount of time.
Monday, April 6, 2009
The end of the CHFA project part 1
This was certainly a tricky project. At first glance when I heard of the project it seemed like a very straightforward easy project. In fact I jumped at the idea of building a marketing plan. I felt like it would not only give me more experience in my field (marketing) but that it would make a difference in the community and in the economy perhaps.
We started out pretty well it seemed like we were each given our part and felt how we fitted in the project. However, like everyone knows not everything goes according to plan and so the jobs that were in the beginning clear began to fade away. There was a sense of no direction and no momentum on the project. I decided I had to get the project moving so I decided to take on the marketing plan and take initiative by contacting the people we had as resources for information.
Meeting with people - I started setting up appointments to meet with people and get all the information we needed to figure out a direction for the marketing plan. This definitely gave me a clarification on the project and exactly what was needed in the marketing plan.
After going with me to meet with Silvina Sansot, Jeaninne took it upon herself to research the demographics to put together the marketing plan. She also put together the budget of all the tools the marketing strategy would have.
At this point Chantay already had the basic structure for the PowerPoint she just needed everyone’s part to be presented. Well this was easier said than done. It became another full day of work consisting of making last minute changes to the PowerPoint and the budget. We were tying loose ends and getting everything ready for the presentation, and everyone was burned out by this point.
Felipe
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Detachment & Acceptance
I thought I would stir off topic a bit from the apprentice to get into one of my favorite subjects. Life! I can talk about this subject for hours!
Recently I was talking to a friend of mine about how we many times take ourselves and things so seriously. We give so much meaning to things that it holds us back from being as “care free” as we would like to be. In fact in our society being carefree many times is looked at as bad. If you are not busy and stressed you are not being productive and there is something wrong with you. Plus, everything we do must have a goal or an end result in mind or else you are "wasting time".
Most people think that wanting and focusing on an end result will make it happen faster or assure it happening. However, so much of our energy is wasted on wanting an end result that it adversely affects the quality of everything we do. Think about it, when you are involved in something doesn’t the fear of failure or the desire for success take an enormous amount of your thinking? Notice the last time you screwed up in something important for you and you will probably find that during the situation you were probably saying to yourself “I hope I don’t screw this up” or “I have to succeed or else I’ll be dissapointed”. This attachments and fears actually prevent people from giving it their very best.
Now, I do not mean to have no motivation to succeed or not to have goals in life. In fact it’s the complete opposite. I often use the phrase “being committed to an outcome but yet not attached to it”. I got this phrase from one of my mentors and it reminds me every time to focus on the journey not the destination. The byproduct of this practice is that everything you do is more enjoyable (instead of stressful) and the end results end up being much better than you can imagine!
How do you stop being so attached to an outcome? Every time you are trying to get to a goal you must be o.k. with whatever happens and realize that it doesn’t have to determine your happiness. I have been asked this many times “how do you do it to be so happy?” or “how do you stay positive with people even when they might not be?”. ACCEPTANCE. I accept situations as they are and people as they are. Granted it is more difficult with some situations and people than with others.
How do you begin doing this?
Value the simple things and lower your standards/expectations for what makes you happy. Value the fact that unlike other people in the world you will never starve or be hungry, you will probably always have water to drink, and it is unlikely that you will ever be without shelter. Same with validation, value a simple smile from a stranger or even better a smile from YOURSELF. So if you were to realize that you will always have everything to be happy what would you be afraid of?
Once you build the capacity and realization of needing less you will have far more power over your life. Why? Because, you will have NOTHING to loose and thus nothing to fear.
Recently I was talking to a friend of mine about how we many times take ourselves and things so seriously. We give so much meaning to things that it holds us back from being as “care free” as we would like to be. In fact in our society being carefree many times is looked at as bad. If you are not busy and stressed you are not being productive and there is something wrong with you. Plus, everything we do must have a goal or an end result in mind or else you are "wasting time".
Most people think that wanting and focusing on an end result will make it happen faster or assure it happening. However, so much of our energy is wasted on wanting an end result that it adversely affects the quality of everything we do. Think about it, when you are involved in something doesn’t the fear of failure or the desire for success take an enormous amount of your thinking? Notice the last time you screwed up in something important for you and you will probably find that during the situation you were probably saying to yourself “I hope I don’t screw this up” or “I have to succeed or else I’ll be dissapointed”. This attachments and fears actually prevent people from giving it their very best.
Now, I do not mean to have no motivation to succeed or not to have goals in life. In fact it’s the complete opposite. I often use the phrase “being committed to an outcome but yet not attached to it”. I got this phrase from one of my mentors and it reminds me every time to focus on the journey not the destination. The byproduct of this practice is that everything you do is more enjoyable (instead of stressful) and the end results end up being much better than you can imagine!
How do you stop being so attached to an outcome? Every time you are trying to get to a goal you must be o.k. with whatever happens and realize that it doesn’t have to determine your happiness. I have been asked this many times “how do you do it to be so happy?” or “how do you stay positive with people even when they might not be?”. ACCEPTANCE. I accept situations as they are and people as they are. Granted it is more difficult with some situations and people than with others.
How do you begin doing this?
Value the simple things and lower your standards/expectations for what makes you happy. Value the fact that unlike other people in the world you will never starve or be hungry, you will probably always have water to drink, and it is unlikely that you will ever be without shelter. Same with validation, value a simple smile from a stranger or even better a smile from YOURSELF. So if you were to realize that you will always have everything to be happy what would you be afraid of?
Once you build the capacity and realization of needing less you will have far more power over your life. Why? Because, you will have NOTHING to loose and thus nothing to fear.
Project 2 wrap up!
OK. So project two was very eventful to say the very least. We started the project without a clue of what we were going to do. The only vision we had was our goal of promoting the recycling event, educating people at the event and recruit volunteers.
Over time is when our strategy really developed. Although, we were only a two person team we really worked well together and everything flowed very well.
Our 1st task was to use social media like Blogger, twitter, Yahoo groups, Myspace and others to promote the event and educate people. We researched into it and even attended some social media workshops to get an idea of how to use it. We decided to make a video about who we were, what we were doing, and promote our event and other social media websites. The video is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eIQ2ITqFYc. We gave updates and educational information on these sites daily. Plus, we even used direct email marketing to advertise our event to targeted recycling groups.
As we are managing these websites we also used other conventional marketing tools like press releases, newspapers, and so on. One of the most effective promoting activities we did was the recycling event we had at the Auraria campus. Our plan was to get students’ emails, phone numbers and have these students also promote the upcoming recycling event to their friends. How? We gave away slices of pizza to people who filled out “commitment cards” in which they would put their name, email address, and their phone number if they were interested in volunteering. Also, they had to text five friends to tell them about the upcoming recycling event. Not only did we have great success with this Auraria event but it gave us experience of what to expect on the actual recycling event.
Anyway, we did so much that I’m only scratching the surface here and talking about the “bigger” stuff.
March 7th recycling event:
So finally the day came to put everything we had been preparing and planning for to the test. We had “Thank you” cards to get people’s information and do a post recycling education program and survey them about the event. We had 5 volunteers come to this event and help us out. Of course everything started perfectly, NOT. In fact, when we first got to the recycling site at 6am we were already overwhelmed with so many cars lined up. We had no clue of where to start or what to start. Our plan went out the window. I saw Jesse panicking so I had to slap some sense into him.hahaha and remind him that we could do this. He relaxed a little and joined with me in an improvised version of our plan.
We had our DJ already setting up so we decided to make our little area more “official” by putting up our Comcast tent, and posters.
Now, for the improvised part we had a “three section” approach to our thank you card/education plan. First, I would talk to the people at the designated “official” area “educated” them and give them the thank you cards to fill out in their cars. Then I would tell them to give it to Cindy who was positioned further along in the line of cars (so we didn’t slow traffic down). She would give out prizes to people who gave her these cards. Jesse was the second person these people would encounter after me, and he would encourage them to text to a number to be entered to win Rockies tickets. After getting people subscribed their phone number he would thank people for coming and give them recycling education facts through phone text messages. We collected more than 200 thank you cards and did the post education program and survey with great success!
We definitely had a positive impact on the event!
Over time is when our strategy really developed. Although, we were only a two person team we really worked well together and everything flowed very well.
Our 1st task was to use social media like Blogger, twitter, Yahoo groups, Myspace and others to promote the event and educate people. We researched into it and even attended some social media workshops to get an idea of how to use it. We decided to make a video about who we were, what we were doing, and promote our event and other social media websites. The video is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eIQ2ITqFYc. We gave updates and educational information on these sites daily. Plus, we even used direct email marketing to advertise our event to targeted recycling groups.
As we are managing these websites we also used other conventional marketing tools like press releases, newspapers, and so on. One of the most effective promoting activities we did was the recycling event we had at the Auraria campus. Our plan was to get students’ emails, phone numbers and have these students also promote the upcoming recycling event to their friends. How? We gave away slices of pizza to people who filled out “commitment cards” in which they would put their name, email address, and their phone number if they were interested in volunteering. Also, they had to text five friends to tell them about the upcoming recycling event. Not only did we have great success with this Auraria event but it gave us experience of what to expect on the actual recycling event.
Anyway, we did so much that I’m only scratching the surface here and talking about the “bigger” stuff.
March 7th recycling event:
So finally the day came to put everything we had been preparing and planning for to the test. We had “Thank you” cards to get people’s information and do a post recycling education program and survey them about the event. We had 5 volunteers come to this event and help us out. Of course everything started perfectly, NOT. In fact, when we first got to the recycling site at 6am we were already overwhelmed with so many cars lined up. We had no clue of where to start or what to start. Our plan went out the window. I saw Jesse panicking so I had to slap some sense into him.hahaha and remind him that we could do this. He relaxed a little and joined with me in an improvised version of our plan.
We had our DJ already setting up so we decided to make our little area more “official” by putting up our Comcast tent, and posters.
Now, for the improvised part we had a “three section” approach to our thank you card/education plan. First, I would talk to the people at the designated “official” area “educated” them and give them the thank you cards to fill out in their cars. Then I would tell them to give it to Cindy who was positioned further along in the line of cars (so we didn’t slow traffic down). She would give out prizes to people who gave her these cards. Jesse was the second person these people would encounter after me, and he would encourage them to text to a number to be entered to win Rockies tickets. After getting people subscribed their phone number he would thank people for coming and give them recycling education facts through phone text messages. We collected more than 200 thank you cards and did the post education program and survey with great success!
We definitely had a positive impact on the event!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Project #3 - CHFA
Last Friday we were informed about our next project. It has to do with working with CHFA to get more people to use resources that help them avoid the foreclosure of their homes. Our job is to come up with a Marketing plan to make this happen.
I will post more about this later. I'm starving and need to eat some breakfast.
Que tengan buenos dias!
I will post more about this later. I'm starving and need to eat some breakfast.
Que tengan buenos dias!
March 7th's Recycling Event
So our electronic recycling event was a huge success. We had almost 5,000 cars show up and by noon unfortunately a lot of people had to be turned down. It was an amazing even.t People who showed up were telling me they were really excited to get rid of their old electronics the right way. For many people this meant getting rid of electronics they had stored away for YEARS!
Although it was freezing our group (The Contenders) focused on interacting with people face to face. We were educating people, asking for their input on the event (how they heard about it), giving away tons of prizes, our DJ was blasting away some music and just making their wait more enjoyable. In fact some people mentioned feeling like they were in a Disneyland ride.
By the end of the event we were all exhausted and ready to go home. I felt like i was going to loose my voice from talking to so many people. Overall though i had a fantastic time talking to them. They were super friendly and open. Telling me how they wanted to see these kind of events happen more often.
Talking directly to hundreds of people was above all the funnest thing out of the whole event for me. It was priceless having to joke with everyone and having people feel like they were old friends of mine. In fact it was hilarious people would drive up to me and THEY would start joking around off the bat. Good times! :) I'm sure we all made their drive a little less boring and a bit more educational and entertaining.
Thanks to everyone who helped! Cindy, Herman, Peter (our DJ), Grant, and Ivan.
Although it was freezing our group (The Contenders) focused on interacting with people face to face. We were educating people, asking for their input on the event (how they heard about it), giving away tons of prizes, our DJ was blasting away some music and just making their wait more enjoyable. In fact some people mentioned feeling like they were in a Disneyland ride.
By the end of the event we were all exhausted and ready to go home. I felt like i was going to loose my voice from talking to so many people. Overall though i had a fantastic time talking to them. They were super friendly and open. Telling me how they wanted to see these kind of events happen more often.
Talking directly to hundreds of people was above all the funnest thing out of the whole event for me. It was priceless having to joke with everyone and having people feel like they were old friends of mine. In fact it was hilarious people would drive up to me and THEY would start joking around off the bat. Good times! :) I'm sure we all made their drive a little less boring and a bit more educational and entertaining.
Thanks to everyone who helped! Cindy, Herman, Peter (our DJ), Grant, and Ivan.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Social media "The New Marketing Tool"
Ok so I got an email that I should be blogging some more so here it goes. I have a cold so bare with me if some things make no sense.
The heat is up on project 2 and I have to say our team “the contenders” is really bringing it. Our strategy has been solid since the beginning and the results are showing. I’m learning so much about social media far more than I expected to learn.
I recently attended a social media workshop at Regis University. Although, I lost my folder where I had my notes while filming our E-cycle video I will go over what I learned.
Social media has become the new medium by which businesses are promoting their products. The spin on this new marketing approach for businesses is an “interactive” approach. It has become evident that social media is a direct communication between businesses and their consumers. Businesses have far more control over their image through these internet communication tools. They can address customers’ concerns and questions. Social medium also allows organizations know how people are reacting to their product, and advertising efforts faster than ever. If a person has complaints about a particular brand of product you will sure here about it on a site like Twitter.
On the other side of the coin regular people can network very easily with high ranking people in any business. It is fascinating how in the old days people used to network with people from the bottom up (through the secretary to higher levels) and now it is possible to start right at the top perhaps by connecting with a CEO who is using twitter.
In the Social media workshop I learned that it is all about giving (like it is in life in general) and people who are ineffective with this internet tool make the mistake of solely focusing on what they want. For example many people who are there to promote their products or even their opinion solely focus on that. Instead of taking the time to help out people, give advice, pay attention to other people’s messages and responding to them. It’s kind of like in real life where most people want to talk and talk without listening. Well when a person comes a long who REALLY listens people are drawn to them. It is the same for social media. It is important to listen to others on these websites if you plan to be listened to. Again it is an INTERACTIVE medium of communication not just a one way form of communication.
I asked several questions to the panelist at this social media workshop. One was about how to publicize a local event through social media (answer: find and contact the influencers in your field and geographical area, make use of the social networks that the organizers are already on), and how to build a business using social media (answer: create trust, give away something of value, contribute to others' goals.)
Overall I learned that the possibilities with social media are endless. I hope this post was informative to everyone who might need social media in the future.
Till next time and best wishes to everyone!
Felipe
By the way check out our own social media effort to better the environment at:
http://ecyclecountdown.blogspot.com/
http://www.myspace.com/ecyclecountdown
http://twitter.com/EcycleCountdown
Also for more information about social media visit my good friend Carol Ross’ website at http://www.abiggervoiceblog.com/.
The heat is up on project 2 and I have to say our team “the contenders” is really bringing it. Our strategy has been solid since the beginning and the results are showing. I’m learning so much about social media far more than I expected to learn.
I recently attended a social media workshop at Regis University. Although, I lost my folder where I had my notes while filming our E-cycle video I will go over what I learned.
Social media has become the new medium by which businesses are promoting their products. The spin on this new marketing approach for businesses is an “interactive” approach. It has become evident that social media is a direct communication between businesses and their consumers. Businesses have far more control over their image through these internet communication tools. They can address customers’ concerns and questions. Social medium also allows organizations know how people are reacting to their product, and advertising efforts faster than ever. If a person has complaints about a particular brand of product you will sure here about it on a site like Twitter.
On the other side of the coin regular people can network very easily with high ranking people in any business. It is fascinating how in the old days people used to network with people from the bottom up (through the secretary to higher levels) and now it is possible to start right at the top perhaps by connecting with a CEO who is using twitter.
In the Social media workshop I learned that it is all about giving (like it is in life in general) and people who are ineffective with this internet tool make the mistake of solely focusing on what they want. For example many people who are there to promote their products or even their opinion solely focus on that. Instead of taking the time to help out people, give advice, pay attention to other people’s messages and responding to them. It’s kind of like in real life where most people want to talk and talk without listening. Well when a person comes a long who REALLY listens people are drawn to them. It is the same for social media. It is important to listen to others on these websites if you plan to be listened to. Again it is an INTERACTIVE medium of communication not just a one way form of communication.
I asked several questions to the panelist at this social media workshop. One was about how to publicize a local event through social media (answer: find and contact the influencers in your field and geographical area, make use of the social networks that the organizers are already on), and how to build a business using social media (answer: create trust, give away something of value, contribute to others' goals.)
Overall I learned that the possibilities with social media are endless. I hope this post was informative to everyone who might need social media in the future.
Till next time and best wishes to everyone!
Felipe
By the way check out our own social media effort to better the environment at:
http://ecyclecountdown.blogspot.com/
http://www.myspace.com/ecyclecountdown
http://twitter.com/EcycleCountdown
Also for more information about social media visit my good friend Carol Ross’ website at http://www.abiggervoiceblog.com/.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Project #2 E-cycling Event
I have to say the first time I heard about the project before it was explained to us I was a little nervous. Surprisingly though it seemed to be much simpler than i thought. Our main purpose in this project is to help the Denver Recycles program and Comcast in "Comcast E-Waste Eco Rally" cause. Simply put this eco-rally is an event to both help people recycle their electronics (especially Televisions) and educate the general public of the importance of recycling. Our role in this project is to promote this event and also recruit volunteers.
Our group is composed solely of male students “The Three Amigos”. I think we are going to do great in this project, having Erik and Jesse on my team will definitely put a lot of drive in to our efforts.
Personally this project is becoming an opportunity to learn and have fun with social media to promote this cause. Also this has inspired me to take a creative role and get more experience in my area of study, which is marketing. I really can't wait to see how this project will turn out.
Check out what all the buzz is about soon on:
Twitter, Myspace, Blogger, and more!
P.s. Please join us at: 183 Inverness Drive West on March 7th for our E-Waste, ECO-Rally! It will be fun and environmentally wise
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Project Numero Uno 1
This first project has been a very interesting experience. We have gotten a first hand look at the poverty that many people face on a daily basis and what we could do to improve this situation. In this project our objectives was to volunteer at a food bank, and also to come up with a strategic plan to help the Metro State food bank operate more efficiently.
I worked on the project area of community partners and had the luck of being referred by a friend to a great nutritionist/chef who specializes in low income meals. She helped me put together a cook book and find the resources that the food bank needed. Along the way I learned a few things about myself and how to be more effective in these projects. The first project has taught me that simple is better than complicated especially when you only have two weeks to come up with a plan. Moreover, I saw the power of networking and connecting with people to make a project that much easier.
Regarding the team I think the biggest insight I have gotten is how we all fit in according to our strengths and the areas we need to improve on. I got some great advice from one of my teammates about needing to be more assertive since I’m normally a very “mellow”.
So far my greatest experience has been meeting a number of great people in the kick off event, while working on the project, and during our meetings and media events. I don’t know what to expect in the 2nd project but I can’t wait to see what’s coming.
I worked on the project area of community partners and had the luck of being referred by a friend to a great nutritionist/chef who specializes in low income meals. She helped me put together a cook book and find the resources that the food bank needed. Along the way I learned a few things about myself and how to be more effective in these projects. The first project has taught me that simple is better than complicated especially when you only have two weeks to come up with a plan. Moreover, I saw the power of networking and connecting with people to make a project that much easier.
Regarding the team I think the biggest insight I have gotten is how we all fit in according to our strengths and the areas we need to improve on. I got some great advice from one of my teammates about needing to be more assertive since I’m normally a very “mellow”.
So far my greatest experience has been meeting a number of great people in the kick off event, while working on the project, and during our meetings and media events. I don’t know what to expect in the 2nd project but I can’t wait to see what’s coming.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Trip to Guanajuato Mexico
I'd thought I'd test out the first blog by posting a about my trip to Mexico. I have to say that every time i go to Mexico I'm enchanted by it. From the atmosphere and being around people here, to the architecture, THE FOOD!, and its history. Not only does it bring back great 
memories of my childhood but i find that some of the happiest times I've had have been here in Mexico.
Mexico has a mixed culture which came from European and Mesoamerican cultures. The way of life here, its culture, its mystery and folklore, and its people give everyone who visits an unforgettable experience.
On this trip i visited the colonial capital of my state of Guanajuato. It is well known for its mummies museum, "el callejon del beso" or the alley of the kiss, its mines, The Juarez Theater, Union Garden, The legends museum, and much more.
Below are a few pictures of the relaxing days i spent here...
(My brother and some friends cooking dinner...I get the tough job of taking pictures)
(Salsa dancing at a Lounge in Guanajuato...)
And that's it...I would have loved to share more but I'm hungry and need to get some lunch. But i definitely recommend visiting Guanajuato Mexico.
Felipe
memories of my childhood but i find that some of the happiest times I've had have been here in Mexico.Mexico has a mixed culture which came from European and Mesoamerican cultures. The way of life here, its culture, its mystery and folklore, and its people give everyone who visits an unforgettable experience.
On this trip i visited the colonial capital of my state of Guanajuato. It is well known for its mummies museum, "el callejon del beso" or the alley of the kiss, its mines, The Juarez Theater, Union Garden, The legends museum, and much more.
The Mummies of Guanajuato are a number of naturally mummified bodies in Guanajuato, Mexico in 1833. The bodies were mummified due to the air and weather in the area.
The first mummy was put on display in 1965. The museum contains at least 108 corpses, is located above the spot where the mummies were first discovered. Numerous mummies can be seen throughout the exhibition, of varying sizes. This museum is known to have the smallest mummy in the world, a fetus from a pregnant woman who fell victim to the disease, also mummified.
Below are a few pictures of the relaxing days i spent here...
(My brother and some friends cooking dinner...I get the tough job of taking pictures)
(Salsa dancing at a Lounge in Guanajuato...)
And that's it...I would have loved to share more but I'm hungry and need to get some lunch. But i definitely recommend visiting Guanajuato Mexico.
Felipe
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