It All Adds Up To Cleaner Air - What is Community Outreach?

Community Outreach

What is "Community Outreach?"

Simply defined, community outreach is the practice of conducting local public awareness activities through targeted community interaction. It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air community outreach activities are those efforts that can directly affect the behavior of the driving public through local interaction. They are designed to educate the public about a particular issue using respected and locally relevant channels of communication.

Focus groups conducted for the It All Adds Up initiative found that friends and family are the most credible sources for delivering messages about transportation and air quality, followed by employers, businesses, and the media. Other local channels of communication range from civic organizations to environmental groups to healthcare organizations and associations. Successful community outreach focuses on the issue's relevance to the community and acknowledges the community's challenges in addressing the issue.

Samples of Innovative Community Outreach Activities

There are a wide range of activities that could increase visibility of transportation and air quality issues in your community, from media-based outreach to outreach targeted to specific organizations and audiences.

Note: Your community outreach activities should be guided by a local needs assessment. The fact that an activity has been effective in one community does not guarantee it will be successful in other sites.

Activities that Provide Direct Interaction with the Public

Information booths at state and county fairs, parades, and other community events: Strategy: Distribute promotional items, relay key messages, "What's Your Air Quality I.Q. quiz", and prizes.; Suggestions: Offer prizes for correct answers on quiz.; Further Info: See "Marketing Materials".
Fund raising events: Strategy: Meet and educate the public; raise funds.; Suggestions: American Lung Association, Washington State "Trek for Clean Air," "Climb for Clean Air"; fundraising cycling and mountain climbing events.; Further Info: Visit the American Lung Association of Washington web site.
Volunteer-Based Initiatives: Strategy: Mobilization of volunteers and youth groups to implement strategies/further goals.; Suggestions: Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District created the "Smog Squad," a volunteer-based, door-to-door initiative.; Further Info: Visit the Spare the Air web site or Sacremento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District.
Give-Aways: Strategy: Distribute pamphlets and innovative marketing materials to increase visibility and reinforce messages.; Suggestions: Post-It Notes or shopping list pads reinforcing the "Trip-chaining" message. The Chattanooga Lifestyle Initiative, "Household Eco Team Program," a peer-support approach to reducing single occupancy driving.; Further Info: See "Marketing Materials" or Visit the Empowerment Institute web site.
Mobilizing Local Business: Strategy: Create and promote opportunities for local business involvement.; Suggestions: Promote ridesharing by teaming with restaurants to offer free morning coffee for carpoolers. Ozone control programs have worked with automobile repair shops and gas stations to offer discounts on tune-ups.
Town Hall Meetings: Strategy: Speak directly to the community and receive valuable feedback.; Suggestions: Most valuable in small town settings.
Hot Lines/Toll free numbers: Strategy: Provide accessible, timely information.; Suggestions: Establish a dedicated phone line for information regarding local transportation and air quality issues. Staff member or volunteer fields media and citizen calls.
Street Signage: Strategy: Present brief, simple facts to the traveling public.; Suggestions: Variable message signs.
Pledge Cards: Strategy: Document individuals' pledge to actively participate in the initiative by taking specific actions.; Suggestions: To promote alternatives to driving alone during ozone season, one community created monthly calendars or "commuter cards". The commuters tracked transportation modes they used and mileage. Individuals were awarded prizes each month for miles not driven/emissions reductions.
World Wide Web Sites: Strategy: Reach the general public and link to other relevant sites.; Suggestions: One county Web site includes a questionnaire for commuters. Based on responses, the cost of commuting is calculated and money-saving alternatives (such as biking/walking, mass transit, carpooling) are displayed.

Activities Using Media Techniques

Speaker's Bureau: Strategy: Establish a speaker's bureau (coalition members, experts) who are available to speak about the issues and deliver key messages.; Suggestions: Schedule presentations at various organizations, company meetings and/or schools in your area.
Proclamations: Strategy: Develop an official proclamation designating a particular Transportation/Air Quality "Month" or "Day".; Suggestions: Work with the mayor's or governor's office. The proclamation could be published in a local newspaper and highlighted at a kick-off press event.
Special Days: Strategy: Identify national and local events and special days with related messages that you can tie into, providing a good media "hook".; Suggestions: "Try Transit Week" in September, "Car Care Month" in October, "Clean Air Month," "National Transportation Week," and "Bike to Work Day" in May. Cyclists have promoted Earth Day as a day to bike to work. Or create a day. Promote events in local newspapers and city publications.
Working with Weather Newscasters: Strategy: Encourage local media to deliver accurate and timely health messages about ozone pollution, giving residents the opportunity to take actions to reduce air pollution and limit their exposure.; Suggestions: The U.S. EPA produces "live ozone maps" using real time data from over 400 monitoring stations in 21 Eastern and Midwestern states. Convince weather newscasters to announce ozone alert days and promote the "10 Simple Steps" to reduce high ozone levels into the healthful range. The ozone coalition in the Washington, D.C. region provides the media with "live ozone maps." The U.S. EPA has worked with USA Today to display a special "alert" icon in the weather box on the front page on ozone alert day. Your local newspaper may be interested in providing the same community service.; Further Info: For U.S. EPA ozone maps, contact your state or local air pollution control agency or at visit the EPA Web site (see "Marketing Materials") For the Washington, D.C. program details, visit the Clean Air Partners web site.
Traffic and Weather Ad Sponsorship: Strategy: Sponsor traffic and weather updates provided by local radio stations.; Suggestions: A cost-effective way to disseminate your messages. Typically, the announcer acknowledges your organization's sponsorship, provides the update, and ends with a 30-word message of your choice.; See "Marketing Materials" and It All Adds Up live-read radio ads.
Producing PSAs specific to a local area: Strategy: Increase the relevance of your PSAs by making them community-specific; Suggestions: Use local celebrities in PSAs The PennDOT Clean Air initiative used Governor Casey and a well-respected physician to deliver a health message. A Bellevue, WA program focused media attention on "One-Less-Car Stars," recognizing community members for their efforts in carpooling and trip chaining.; Further Info: Visit the PA Department of Transportation web site . Visit the City of Bellevue, Washington web site.
Media Luncheons: Strategy: Encourage media attendance by holding a press conference or briefing over lunch or a reception.; Suggestions: A media luncheon on "ozone awareness" hosted by local initiative organizers resulted in a high turnout by the local press, generating many media stories. The luncheon was financed by local electric power and natural gas companies.
Theater Slides: Strategy: Encourage local movie theaters to show your PSAs before the feature film.; Suggestions: The Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) developed a 20-minute rotation of full-screen cinema ads on three mobile-source air pollution messages. The ads incorporate visual images and questions-and-answers on vehicle-related air pollution. DEP has created seven "Screen Seen" ads, which can be used as is or adapted by other communities.; Further Info: Call 207-287-2437 or visit Maine's Department of Enviornmental Protection's web site.
Arena Jumbotrons: Strategy: Encourage sports arenas to show the television PSAs on their jumbotrons.; Suggestions: One "hook" could be games that coincide with Earth Day. The Yankees ran the ads during seven home games and on their electronic scoreboards at Shea Stadium before the World Series.

Activities Targeting Employers

Vanpool Promotions: Strategy: Promote vanpools through advertising and direct contact with employers/employees.; Suggestions: One local program used advertising, information booths at transit fairs, and signage on vans to encourage vanpooling. Program reps visited area businesses to explain commuter and air quality benefits.
Employer Recognition: Strategy: Recognize and reward employers who are active members of your coalition or proactive in encouraging employee participation (e.g., by providing transit discounts, allowing flexible work schedules, etc).; Suggestions: In one city, initiative sponsors provided employers with certificates acknowledging that they were "founding partners" of the employer transportation and air quality coalition. The Wisconsin Partners for Clean Air worked with employers to award employees for each "clean commute." The Partners also produced a newsletter highlighting innovative employer activities and distributed it to all the employers in their coalition.; Further Info: Visit the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources' Web site.
Promotional Items: Strategy: Produce and distribute items that reinforce your key messages.; Suggestions: Work with large employers and/or local utility companies to include printed inserts with their invoices and paychecks. Distribute notepads printed with It All Adds Up messages to area employers. Produce a calendar with local scenes and information and key program messages. Highlight particular events, such as "Try Transit Week" or "Bike to Work Day".; Further Info: See "Marketing Materials" For calendar information, call 805-645-1400 or e-mail info@vcapcd.org.

Activities Targeting Youth

Mascots: Strategy: Use a 'mascot' to deliver your message to kids.; Suggestions: Send your costumed representative to county fairs, Earth Day celebrations, school assemblies, and community presentations.
Special Events: Strategy: Events and activities designed specifically to deliver your messages to a young audience.; Suggestions: The "Let Kids Lead - Youth VMT Initiative," was launched in Kansas City, Boston, and Tampa. The programs are educational, empowering and serve as a call to action. Involve local Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and 4-H clubs. Distribute informational material along with Girl Scout cookies.; Further Info: Call 202-8848000 or e-mail admindc@aed.org
Workshops for Teachers: Strategy: Provide accurate information that can be incorporated into classroom presentations and hands-on demonstrations.; Suggestions: Incorporate into the workshops an activity that encourages students to share the information with family and friends.

Activities Involving Transit Companies

Revamping and Distributing Route Maps: Strategy: Make transit a more desirable choice by providing clear, easy to follow route maps and directions.; Suggestions: The City of Boulder, Colorado, promoted their HOP and SKIP Shuttle routes by distributing brochures and two-color route maps in public locations.; Further Info: Call 303-441-3090 or visit the City of Boulder, Colorado's web site.
Trial Ridership: Strategy: Encourage commuters to switch to transit services by offering free or reduced introductory fares.; Suggestions: Incentives might include free rides or discounted fares for new residents on ozone alert days.
Bus Advertising: Strategy: Place advertisements on buses and distribute materials to riders.; Suggestions: LYNX, the Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority, hand-painted a CNG bus with the It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air tagline and messages. Pierce Transit, in Tacoma, WA, advertised on their CNG buses promoting clean air and distributed brochures describing the emission reductions achieved by CNG buses.; Further Info: (See photo in the Summary Report of the First Five Years Report). Visit Pierce Transit's Web site.
Provide clear, easy to use maps of bike routes and useful information to cyclists: Strategy: Distribute useful bike route maps and information to encourage cycling as an alternative means of transportation for short trips.; Suggestions: The Washington Area Bicyclist Association provides mentors and is working on a computer-assisted match program.; Further Info: Visit the Washington Area Bicyclist Association's web site.

Recognition of Program Partners

Recognize the contributions and support of partner organizations, coalition members, and media outlets: Strategy: Publicly and/or privately acknowledge the work and commitment of partner organizations and express appreciation.; Suggestions: Certificates, awards, thank-you letters and/or acknowledgement in newsletters, at meetings, and in the press.

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