vitamin^®

Public Relations Program

The 2008 economic crisis has surged into 2009, leaving millions of Americans suffering in its wake. Painfully aware of this fact is the United Way of Central Maryland (UWCM), which has witnessed staggering numbers of Marylanders struggling to afford food, shelter, and electricity. Faced with 20,000 calls for help in a single month, along with assistance requests from its frontline nonprofit agency partners, UWCM realized the urgent need to act. Their solution - the Emergency Response Fund (ERF) aimed at raising $1 million in direct assistance - required an immediate media relations strategy.

Vitamin was brought on board less than 48 hours before UWCM announced the fund at a press conference. Vitamin was tasked with ensuring the news would be heard loudly and clearly among potential donors. Targeting local, regional, print, online and broadcast media, Vitamin’s aggressive press outreach underscored the economic conditions driving the ERF and positioned UWCM as a leading assistance provider. The strategy generated coverage by major media outlets the day of the press conference, including WBFF-TV, WBAL-TV, and The Baltimore Examiner. Post-event media outreach is underway, with Vitamin driving press outreach across regional and community outlets in order to help make United Way’s ERF goal a reality.

About United Way of Central Maryland

For more than 80 years, UWCM has been the region’s human service leader. Its mission is to improve people’s lives by mobilizing the caring power of our communities. UWCM supports programs and initiatives in the city of Baltimore, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford and Howard counties. UWCM is dedicated to education, income and health & safety—making sure children get the early child care they need to succeed in school, that young adults graduate, that families have the means to access affordable and stable housing and that people are free from violence and abuse at home. By encouraging all people in central Maryland to give, advocate or volunteer, UWCM wants to show the power of living united. It’s about connecting people and creating communities. www.uwcm.org

Project Contact

To get your project started, call Amanda Karfakis today at (410) 732-6542 or email her at info@vitaminisgood.com