How can I help you?

One hardship when working freelance PR is meeting with people who have no idea what they want. It’s like someone really wanting to play baseball but then having no understanding or skills so they never go anywhere. This is the reason I started providing pro bono work for local businesses and nonprofits. Everyone wants to increase awareness for their business weather it be through an intensive social media plan or an extensive marketing plan but most people have no idea where to start. That is where us PR professionals have to step in. There are three things I keep in mind at all times during these initial meetings:

1. How sustainable is this plan?

2. Could we substitute as public relations tactic in for that marketing expense?

3. Realistically, can the organization/business carry out this tactic?

These guidelines help me keep the client on track and curb the client’s imagination so they don’t end up flying off the handle. Getting started is all about throwing out ideas and getting a realistic list of tactics together. Making sure to follow these guidelines can help the pr and marketing team develop an easy-to-understand plan for the client.

Breaking Ground!

Two weeks ago, Kittitas County Habitat for Humanity was proud to break ground on House 17! Representatives from CATV and The Daily Record were present as well as 20 community members and KCHH staff.

With the help of community volunteer builds every weekend, KCHH should be finished building this house by the time summer starts.

Get involved! Contact KCHH about our weekend builds and other ways to volunteer at 509.926.5058 or visit our website at http://www.kchabitat.org

Just an inspirational quote…

We make a living by what we do. We make a life by what we give.

– Winston Churchill

Welcome to my blog

My name is Braden DenHerder and I am a 21 year old senior at Central Washington University. In June I will be graduating with a B.A. in Public Relations and a minor in Nonprofit Management and Leadership.

I am currently the PR Manager or Kittitas County Habitat for Humanity and have an extensive background in program planning, community outreach, volunteer organization and program management.

For three years while in college I worked at the Center for Leadership and Community Engagement as a Program Coordinator. I worked with a diverse group of student employees to plan programs that offered volunteer opportunities focused on local and global issues. Programs like our annual World AIDS Day Benefit Concert, an annual Yakima River Clean Up and Open Mic Nights focused on fundraising for global causes.

Over my time at the CLCE I activated over 3,000 student and community member volunteers, raised over $5,000 in donations and created sustainable partnerships with a variety of local, state and nonprofit agencies.

Now, during my last two quarters of college I am applying my public relations skills to support a great local nonprofit in the Ellensburg area. As part of my job I manage all media and business to business communication for KCHH, develop specialized marketing plans for the organization and the ReStore, develop press releases and manage press contacts. I have also been working on a promotional video that highlights volunteering and current facts about KCHH (Which will get posted here a couple months from now when it is finished).

During the two years it took my to complete my major and minor I was able to provide a variety of pro bono work for a few local businesses and nonprofits. I have developed marketing plans and PR materials for Ellesnburg Sealcoating, Crystal Healing Center, Habitat for Humanity and the Ellensburg Pet Center.

This blog will be all about my PR life, cool opportunities I will take advantage of, projects I am currently working on and random posts about my life. I hope you enjoy!