Aspire - Indiana University South Bend

PR students
Hospice
MAKE
By Kim McInerney
their business
End of life care for our loved ones is
a topic few people like to think about,
especially college students. In spring
2012, a class was tasked not only
with thinking about the topic, but also
strategizing how to get more college
students thinking about it. Nineteen
students in Senior Lecturer in
Communication Arts Alec Hosterman’s
Public Relations Research & Planning
class were assigned with the mission
of raising awareness about the Center
for Hospice Care among the collegeaged
demographic and provide
opportunities for donations.
The Center for Hospice Care is an
independent, community-based,
not-for-profit organization that aims
to improve the quality of living in
Northern Indiana. The services
include hospice, home health, grief
counseling, and education. At the
start of the semester, representatives
from the Hospice Foundation visited
campus to speak about hospice, its
services, and what they needed from
the students.
“Each team is charged to develop
a working fundraising plan for our
client,” says Hosterman. “Along
the way I treat the project the
same as they might encounter in a
professional setting, complete with
external feedback from working
professionals and constructive in-class
feedback aimed at improving their
communication skills.”
According to Hosterman, the students
pitched their fundraising plans at
the end of the semester and Hospice
left with four viable plans ready to
implement.“It’s a win-win for everyone.”
And the work began. After months of
thinking and creating, the four groups
presented campaigns.
The first of four plans presented was
Cycle at Sunset, a campaign aimed at
further developing a current Hospice
event that involves biking downtown
South Bend to create awareness, and a
fundraising after-party for participants
and friends.
The second proposal was Concert
for Care, a campaign focusing on a
one-day event on the IU South Bend
campus to raise awareness among
IU South Bend students. The pitch
included involving many of the campus
clubs and greek organizations.
The third plan was Project Umbrella
Parade, a campaign that asks people to
“open up” about end-of-life planning.
Participants walking through the streets
of South Bend, umbrellas in hand,
giving out hospice information. The
plan called for a flash mob.
The last presentation was The Big
Reveal, a campaign that involves
donations for artistic cubes to be
displayed in South Bend until ArtBeat,
a popular city event. The cubes are
combined to create a single mosaic
cube, generating awareness for the
Hospice art counseling program.
“Each of the four presentations was
excellent. The professionalism of your
students, the caliber of thinking they
put into their ideas, and the attention
to detail were outstanding,” said
Cyndy Searfoss, director of
communications and annual giving
for the Hospice Foundation.
Typically, one student group is chosen.
This year, the organization chose two:
Cycle at Sunset and The Big Reveal.
“This experience challenged me as a
leader,” said student Krista Keirnan.
“I learned so many new things about
myself and what I need to improve on.
I am grateful to everyone involved in
this semester and can’t wait to use my
experience in the professional world.”
“None of us had ever done anything
like this before so it proved to be a
very valuable learning experience
for each of us,” said student Kelsey
Sheets. “Creating something like
this is definitely a process. Our final
campaign was actually nothing like
what we had originally planned. But
I think that’s how we knew we were
really learning from the process and
growing as a group. The project helped
us realize what it would actually be
like to plan a PR campaign for a
professional company.”
Ashley Gilbert, member of the winning
Cycle at Sunset group, received a
summer internship with Hospice to
implement the winning campaigns.
Lecturer in Communications Kimberly
McInerney teaches public speaking.
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