Partnering with area schools for your awareness campaign is a natural fit. Be sure to make the most of your efforts and reach this target audience.

Prior to any planned activities, set up a meeting with administrators and staff to introduce them to your campaign, explain its scope and intent, and inspire them to take part. Be sure to provide suggestions for how to partner, including event ideas and how members of the faculty can get involved. Suggest that it could be a schoolwide campaign focused on the diversity of student and staff “geeks” or interests.  And, be sure to ask permission to distribute materials to parents ̶  this is where you can make the connection to funding.

Ideas to consider:

• Contact the media and ask them to cover events or activities that include the campaign at the school
• Offer appropriate materials, such as posters, fliers, bookmarks, and other materials to display around the school and distribute at special functions
• Distribute material at a talent show or school play, offer library card sign-ups at a school-sponsored festival or fair, or invite the football team to crash through a ”We [geek] football!” arch as they run onto the field
• Offer to make a brief presentation to the school board, local teachers association, or PTA/PTO meetings
• Mention the partnership and promote mutual activities on the library web site, on social networks, and include information in your newsletter.
• Work with school administrators and teachers to create a special campaign-themed week at the school that could include specific campaign messaging and help inspire classroom activities
• Make it memorable and adopt the theme for homecoming or yearbook pages.  For example, In Sandusky, Michigan, a high school band purchased custom tees and used them as an alternate uniform during a “I geek Homecoming” parade and football game.  Additionally both school and community parade floats used the “We geek” theme!
• Use the campaign theme as an icebreaker in new classrooms  ̶  help connect students when a new quarter or semester begins
• Conduct a door decorating or bulletin board contest among classrooms or simply decorate the hallways in the campaign theme
• Ask students to create and submit a 90-second or less video, centered on the campaign theme and post it on social media to garner votes.  Work with a local restaurant to offer the winner(s) a gift card
• Conduct an essay contest, art contest or bookmark contest and ask your local mayor, chamber of commerce, or a local celebrity to be a judge. Too, invite your local media to feature the winning entries
• Consider featuring a “geek of the day/week” and include a blurb about that person’s geek/passion (or ask your local newspaper to do this)
• If you have a teen advisory board, encourage the students to brainstorm how they can solicit support and raise awareness among their peers