Building Effective Community Relations

Public Relations Can be Key

Being able to partner with the community is often the first step in effective mentoring. Every relationship is built on trust. This is especially the case when working with young people. Both the potential mentees and their guardians want to make sure that they get the best possible help that will help build the foundation of their lives. Being able to foster this trust while growing your mentoring group can put you in a better position to help future clients.

Proper community outreach starts from the top and ends with every part of your organization. Every person in the group that interacts with the public has a role to play and can help burnish-- or diminish-- your standing in the community. Making sure that every part of the organization has the right training to be able to discuss vital topics is a necessity.

Training is Vital

There are many ways that you can ensure that every member of your group is ready for the spotlight, big or small. Regularly scheduled training sessions can reinforce your central message. It is important to also use common partnership training, including teambuilding. This way the trust and familiarity with each other can reflect on your clients and members of the community.

This training can be done in conjunction with other local groups. Being able to partner with as many trusted groups as possible can help build cooperation between organizations and learn from their experiences. Some of these groups will share mentees with you, as well as common problems and solutions. These training chances also allow you to further spread your message and credibility.

In addition, the use of a specialized part of your group to carry out public relations can dramatically increase your effectiveness. Finding a PR manager that is experienced in the field is a good first step. A person that is skilled in various mediums, including social media, television, radio, print media, and others can allow your message to get to as many people as possible.

A PR manager can help craft press releases, interviews, and topic stories about the work your mentoring organization is doing. They will also be able to reach out to government agencies and other orgnaziations. This can allow your mentoring association to be able to find and apply for additional grant opportunities and seek contacts that can help you in the future.

All of these strategies and more will allow you to gain the insight and notereity needed to better assist young people in need.