In the Fall of 2022, I had the opportunity to partake in PRoBono, a hack-a-thon style communication charity event hosted by Boston University’s PRLab, a student-staffed public relations agency. Students volunteer to stay overnight at the College of Communication to work on creating, developing, and designing deliverables for non-profit organizations. The annual event was held on November 4, 2022 from 6pm-10am and featured five different Boston local charities.
Students are assigned to teams of approximately eleven students and then given a client to work with. The groups are also overseen by two to three students, from PRLab and the PRoBono leadership team, who serve as account executives. My team was given the Dress For Success Boston Nonprofit as a client. Dress for Success is a worldwide organization whose purpose is to help give women the tools they need to become financially independent and break the cycle of poverty. They primarily provide professional attire and interview preparation to those in need.
At the beginning of the night after the opening ceremony, we were able to meet with our client to discuss what they were looking to get out of this experience. Dress for Success wanted to primarily focus on their social media strategy and media relations coverage to increase their nonprofit awareness to reach women who may need their services. The client was also interested in developing a newsletter for their investors in order to thank and maintain a positive relationship with their donors. Each organization and PRoBono experience is unique depending on your client and their needs. The other non-profit organizations featured at the event were Boston Cares, Food for Free Boston, Minds Matter Boston, and the Science Club for Girls.
While we worked, the 16-hour day was packed to the brim with guest speakers, prizes, and activities at every hour to keep us alert and awake. The event also provided participants with plenty of delicious food such as banh mi sandwiches, pizza, and ice cream for dinner and then catering Canes fries and chicken tenders as a midnight snack.
In between the events at the start of every hour, our team was further divided into subcommittees to work on the different deliverables we were going to present to the client. Then the next morning at 8:00 AM we met with “coaches” or working professionals in the communications industry who gave us constructive feedback on our presentations before we presented to the client at 9:00 AM.
Overall, PRoBono was an incredibly rewarding but exhausting experience. Seeing the reaction of our outwardly grateful and appreciative reaction of our client during the presentation made the entire experience worthwhile. Knowing in such a short amount of time that my team truly helped make a difference in this organization that does so much for others, is what PRoBono truly is about. I am incredibly thankful for my PRoBono experience and I cannot wait to do it again in the fall.
