Local nonprofit to begin alternate safety campaign
BRIAN MINK
Issue date: 10/9/07 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
A new round of alcohol awareness posters could be coming to a bar bathroom near you.
Safe Campuses Now, a local nonprofit focusing on crime awareness and prevention, soon will use a $36,000 grant from the Governor's Office of Highway Safety in a campaign featuring posters, magazine advertisements and billboards.
The grant program, in its fifth year, reaches out to schools, housing facilities, restaurants and bars in an effort to educate young people on the importance of drinking responsibly.
"We're getting calls from (other colleges) wanting these materials to help complement what they're already doing," said Keith Sims, executive director of Safe Campuses Now.
Tosha Roundtree, co-student director of Safe Campuses Now, said the organization works on the poster campaign for the better part of the year - narrowing many ideas down to 13 final selections.
The nonprofit works with Snowden Tatarski, a local marketing consulting company, to design and produce the finished products. Fairway Outdoor Advertising then provides billboard space for several designs.
Safe Campuses Now uses seven area billboards, and expects to gain two additional spaces for this year's ads, slated to be unveiled in March 2008.
In addition to student volunteers, Sims said Safe Campuses Now makes use of court-appointed volunteers in designing posters. Most of these volunteers have been convicted of alcohol-related offenses, Sims said.
"We love being able to incorporate their input and their insight," she said.
Sims expects Safe Campuses Now will distribute more than 40,000 posters in the next year. The organization, which also holds educational programs and events throughout the year, reached 123,000 students last year through 150 programs, according to a news release.
The $36,000 grant gives a monetary boost to the nonprofit, which Sims said has an annual budget of less than $100,000.
Sims said Safe Campuses Now submitted a 120-page grant proposal to the Governor's Office of Highway Safety, and has benefited from close relations with the state agency in the past.
"We absolutely are willing to jump through whatever hoops are necessary," she said.
Student representatives from Safe Campuses Now will attend a youth conference at Callaway Gardens this weekend to meet other students active in crime awareness and prevention, Sims said. Students will conduct a workshop and distribute posters there, she said.
"Having funding again to produce these posters is going to be huge because it helps us solidify our reputation across the state," Roundtree said. "I think that's a huge accomplishment for Safe Campuses Now."
Safe Campuses Now, a local nonprofit focusing on crime awareness and prevention, soon will use a $36,000 grant from the Governor's Office of Highway Safety in a campaign featuring posters, magazine advertisements and billboards.
The grant program, in its fifth year, reaches out to schools, housing facilities, restaurants and bars in an effort to educate young people on the importance of drinking responsibly.
"We're getting calls from (other colleges) wanting these materials to help complement what they're already doing," said Keith Sims, executive director of Safe Campuses Now.
Tosha Roundtree, co-student director of Safe Campuses Now, said the organization works on the poster campaign for the better part of the year - narrowing many ideas down to 13 final selections.
The nonprofit works with Snowden Tatarski, a local marketing consulting company, to design and produce the finished products. Fairway Outdoor Advertising then provides billboard space for several designs.
Safe Campuses Now uses seven area billboards, and expects to gain two additional spaces for this year's ads, slated to be unveiled in March 2008.
In addition to student volunteers, Sims said Safe Campuses Now makes use of court-appointed volunteers in designing posters. Most of these volunteers have been convicted of alcohol-related offenses, Sims said.
"We love being able to incorporate their input and their insight," she said.
Sims expects Safe Campuses Now will distribute more than 40,000 posters in the next year. The organization, which also holds educational programs and events throughout the year, reached 123,000 students last year through 150 programs, according to a news release.
The $36,000 grant gives a monetary boost to the nonprofit, which Sims said has an annual budget of less than $100,000.
Sims said Safe Campuses Now submitted a 120-page grant proposal to the Governor's Office of Highway Safety, and has benefited from close relations with the state agency in the past.
"We absolutely are willing to jump through whatever hoops are necessary," she said.
Student representatives from Safe Campuses Now will attend a youth conference at Callaway Gardens this weekend to meet other students active in crime awareness and prevention, Sims said. Students will conduct a workshop and distribute posters there, she said.
"Having funding again to produce these posters is going to be huge because it helps us solidify our reputation across the state," Roundtree said. "I think that's a huge accomplishment for Safe Campuses Now."
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