Habitat for Humanity team wins PR award

A team representing the Hamilton branch of Habitat for Humanity walked away with the top prize at the Best Not For Profit campaign presentation evening at Wintec this week.
As part of the Applied PR course, the team created an awareness campaign for A Brush With Kindness, a programme run by Habitat for Humanity.

The programme assists low-income home owners who need essential repairs done on an affordable repayment plan.

Team member Era Peihopa said she enjoyed meeting with the client to identify weaknesses and coming up with solutions to build awareness for their cause.

“Everyone pitched in, we utilised one anothers’ strengths to build a solid campaign.

“I enjoyed getting the creative juices flowing and coming with ideas that step outside of the box.”

HMC Communications Manager and judge, Jacqui Humm said their campaign was well structured and showcased good and clear research, target audiences, and smart objectives.

“The judges believe with a few tweaks they had the basis of a really effective campaign.”

The evening marked the end of semester for the students and gave them the opportunity to showcase their skills and network over drinks and nibbles.

The course tutor Debbie Page said she  was  pleased with all of her  students. “I am very proud of everyone!  They all presented their campaigns to the judges really well.”

Communications tutor Elna Fourie said the judges were great with their feedback, which provided an excellent learning experience for the students.

Fourie  said the best part of the night was seeing the students take ownership of their ideas and presenting them confidently.

“They kept calm in answering some tough questions from the judges.

“I also enjoyed seeing them be excited about the event.”

The judges said all the groups performed exceptionally, and it was good to see a talented group of individuals coming into the industry.