Partnership Guidelines for Media Outreach

We deeply appreciate all the promotion and outreach we’ve seen from our partners to promote the cleanup. Media coverage of the 2010 PRWC was fantastic thanks to our collaborative efforts!

Below are simple (but very important) guidelines and boilerplate language that we ask everyone to please incorporate into your individual media outreach for this event. By working together to deliver consistent messages, we ensure the continued success – and powerful impact – of this event.

In addition, Partners and Site Leaders are also encouraged to promote their local cleanup through neighborhood newsletters, community email lists, etc.

I. MEDIA PROMOTION GUIDELINES

1. Identify upfront that you are part of the larger 23rd Annual Potomac River Watershed Cleanup coordinated by the Alice Ferguson Foundation.

   EXAMPLE -- _________________________ will be hosting a neighborhood cleanup site as part of the Alice Ferguson Foundation’s 23rd Annual Potomac Watershed Cleanup on April 9, 2011.

   This is critical as it alerts media and public that your local cleanup site is part of the largest annual Watershed-wide event happening simultaneously at over 400 sites. Also, it assists the Alice Ferguson Foundation in fulfilling its obligation to the Cleanup sponsors who pay for the cleanup: coordination, supplies (gloves, trash bags and signs), promotion and volunteer appreciation gifts (last year’s water bottles and this year’s surprise). AFF is able to plan and coordinate this effort with the generous support of these sponsors.

2. List the PRWC web site address and the PWC hotline phone number: www.PotomacCleanup.org
   (202) 973-8203

   EXAMPLE -- Additional cleanup sites throughout the region need volunteers too! Visit www.PotomacCleanup.org or call (202) 973-8203 for a complete list of cleanup sites and to find out more about cleanup sites in our region.

   Directing people to the general website and phone number gives volunteers more choices, and will ultimately increase volunteers for the entire event. Someone may see the notice on a local site and may or may not be willing to drive there.

3. Spread the Word

   A large part of the success of the annual cleanup is getting the word out, in advance, to the major regional news media – print, radio and television. Please coordinate and share your contacts in news outlets with AFF’s Media Team. Call (202) 973-8203 or

   In advance of the Cleanup, AFF will release media advisories, press releases, public service announcements, and Internet notices to major regional print media and television stations. AFF will also advise major news outlets of the 2010 Cleanup activities and results on April 10, 2010.

II. SAMPLE BOILERPLATE PRESS RELEASE FOR A SINGLE SITE

Families, scouts, students, retirees, and thousands of other concerned citizens will hit the shorelines, neighborhood parks and schoolyards of the region during the 23rd Annual Potomac River Watershed Cleanup on Saturday, April 9, 2011 from 9 a.m. to 12 noon.

The Alice Ferguson Foundation, based in Accokeek, Prince George’s County, created the watershed-wide cleanup in 1989 and has overseen the collection of more than 3 million pounds of trash.

_________________________ will be hosting a neighborhood cleanup site as part of the Annual Potomac River Watershed Cleanup. Join us Saturday, April 9, 2011 from 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon at _________________ where community members will meet to cleanup their neighborhood. Additional cleanup sites throughout the region need volunteers too! Visit www.PotomacCleanup.org or call 202-973-8203 for a complete list of cleanup sites and to find out more about cleanup sites in the region.

This year’s cleanup will take place at over 500 sites in the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and West Virginia – all part of the lands, or watershed, that drain into the Potomac. Locations include fields, forests, parking lots and other ‘inland’ sites, where the trash can be removed before it enters creeks and other waterways.

The Cleanup headquarters is the Alice Ferguson Foundation, 2001 Bryan Point Road in Accokeek. Visit www.PotomacCleanup.org or call 202-973-8203 for a local site and spokesperson in your community.