Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network and San Jose Public Relations Win Gold and Silver
For the second consecutive year, the Publicity Club of Chicago has honored Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network for its community outreach and media relations efforts in the Hispanic market. Together with San Jose Public Relations (SJPR), its multicultural public relations agency of record, the not-for-profit organ procurement organization was recognized with two awards: the Golden Trumpet for the National Donate Life Month campaign, as well as a Silver Trumpet for its campaign for National Donor Sabbath.
“There is an urgent need for people, particularly Hispanics, to donate and register with the state organ and tissue donor registry. The main goal of our efforts in the Hispanic community is to debunk the myths and misconceptions through education about the donation process,” said Raiza Mendoza, Hispanic Outreach Coordinator for Gift of Hope. “Once they know the facts about donation, their response is positive and generous. The successes of these two campaigns, and the recognition of the Publicity Club of Chicago, are true triumphs for our organization.”
Each April, Gift of Hope celebrates National Donate Life Month, dedicated to recognizing the generosity of organ and tissue donors, their families, transplant recipients and the healthcare professionals who enable the gift of hope through donation and transplantation. SJPR employed a six-week community outreach and media relations campaign to increase the number of registered Hispanic donors, and to dispel common myths about organ donation, particularly that diabetics and young children cannot be organ donors. A recipient of the PCC’s Golden Trumpet, Gift of Hope’s National Donate Life Month campaign is its most successful to-date in the Hispanic market, achieving unprecedented media coverage and increasing the organization’s goal of Hispanic organ and tissue donor registrations.
Gift of Hope was also awarded the PCC’s Silver Trumpet for its National Donor Sabbath campaign that aimed to dispel misperceptions around faith as an obstacle for donation. The month-long program launched in late October 2010, and concluded the weekend of the annual commemoration (Nov. 12-14, 2010). Building upon and establishing new relationships with key Chicago Hispanic religious and community audiences, in addition to securing editorial coverage, the campaign brought the lifesaving and life-enhancing benefits of organ and tissue donation to the attention of faith leaders, and reached thousands of congregation members of all denominations with the message that all major religions support organ donation as a gift of life.
“We are thrilled to partner with Gift of Hope to continue educating the multicultural community about organ and tissue donation as we know that the process is very different in their countries of origin than it is in the U.S.,” said George L. San Jose, president and COO for The San Jose Group. “Each person added to the organ & tissue donor registry is a victory for our joint efforts with Gift of Hope, and the cause overall.”
