I know a charity that has changed the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, of people over the years. I know this because I have attended some of their events. And because they have changed the life of someone I love.
You probably haven’t heard of them. And you probably won’t.
I could be talking about one of thousands of charities across the UK, quietly working hard to change lives for the better.
One of the reasons I started the Good News Shared website in April 2014 was to highlight the positive impact charities were having on our lives.
I was working for a small charity and I was frustrated about the fact that people didn’t know about the amazing service (free coach holidays!) we were providing to isolated older people across the country. I was frustrated about this because it meant some older people who would have loved to have taken advantage of the service we were offering were not able to because they had no idea it was on offer. People not knowing about us meant we weren’t helping as many older people as we could have.
Since I started Good News Shared almost five years ago, I have noticed more and more positive and charitable stories being shared in the media. Huffington Post, for example, started their ‘What Works’ initiative in 2015, and just over two years ago The Guardian launched a pilot project to see if their readers would enjoy reading stories about the good things happening in the world (they did!).
Back then, it felt as though most of the newspapers and radio stations didn’t care about getting stories like ours out there. It felt as though there was nothing we could do to improve this situation and we would always be fighting to be heard.
I have since realised that there were some things that we could have done better as a charity, which would have given us a better chance at being given some column inches in the publications we were targeting. We could have put together better case studies, taken more photos and even made some videos!
We were working with a vulnerable group of people, and it would not have been easy to do these things, but it would have been possible.
Regular training and development would have helped us see this, but there are so many barriers to get through to access good training when working at smaller organisations.
That’s why, to celebrate Good News Shared’s 5th birthday in April 2019, we are excited to offer a free place (worth £195 +VAT) at a fantastic day of training to someone working at a small charity.
Social Media Exchange on Monday 11th February 2019, run by Sounddelivery, is a one-day event for anyone working in the charity sector with an interest in the power of storytelling in raising awareness, changing perceptions, inspiring action, recruiting volunteers, engaging supporters and generating funds.
Through a series of bite-sized and interactive masterclasses, practical creative surgeries and networking opportunities, you will leave the event having learnt new storytelling techniques and the confidence to put them into practice immediately.
“Hugely beneficial. There are elements I can put into practice straight away and build into strategies. “ Paula Morgan, Toonspeak, Social Media Exchange 2017 delegate.
A Free Place For Someone Working For a Small Charity, from Good News Shared
Good News Shared are offering one free place to someone working for a small charity (annual income of under £1 million) who has not attended the Social Media Exchange event before.
For a chance to win this free place, all you need to do – before the deadline of 5pm, Tuesday 8th January 2019 – is:
- Share a post on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter telling us why you would like to attend the event and why we should pick you. Make sure you tag Good News Shared in the post so we see it (our social media links are below).
- Email us at news@goodnewsshared.com with a link to your post and the name of the person entering (if it has been done via your charity account). The winner will be announced via email by 11th January 2019.
Make sure you tag Good News Shared in your post- you can find us here: