When I started my postgraduate studies in Integrated Marketing Communication, I promised myself I would use my knowledge for something good and create positive change.
Right now, I am using what I have learned to help the Salvo’s raise awareness and funds to assist Australian homeless youth, with QUT’s own version of the Salvo’s Couch Project.
Here’s how this window of opportunity opened for me.
Last semester, I took the unit AMN425 Digital Strategy; reading the outline and talking to the lecturer, Professor Kerr, I thought “This looks fun!”. After taking AMN401 Integrated Marketing Communication, I felt I really needed to get some further knowledge and skills to help me to work in this digital age.
{Word to the wise: AMN425 is not a unit to take in your first semester. It is an incredible experience, but to really succeed you need a couple of semesters’ study of prior Advertising, Marketing or IMC knowledge to apply all that theory to practice.}
Our client for the semester was The Salvation Army (The Salvos for short). Our first assessment was a Digital Audit, and mine was one of the lucky few to be offered to the Salvo’s as feedback on how to improve their digital presence. I was speechless when I received the email from my Lecturer – I found watching a lot of The Salvo’s content quite emotionally moving whilst I was creating the Audit, and was keen to help more.
After the Digital Strategy and Semester 1 was done, Professor Gayle Kerr contacted me to say I’d been chosen to be a part of this years’ AMPLIFY team. This team is run by the School of Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations and selected students get to work with real world clients. This Semester our mission is to raise awareness (and much needed funds) for the Salvo’s to continue their incredibly hard work to help out Australia’s homeless youth.
The Couch Project was set up a couple of years ago, but more word of mouth exposure was needed to get people involved by donating or participating in the night on the couch.
I feel so fortunate to be able to help the Salvos; they’re an amazing charity with a long history of helping people all over the world.
The Couch Project is where you stay at home and sleep on your couch, with your family and friends ‘sponsoring’ you with much needed donations. All the donations and fundraising is handled online, and your sponsors get a receipt via email right away they can use for tax purposes.
AMPLIFY created a team on the Couch Project’s everyday hero page, and we are currently fundraising and arranging events, creating content and having fun around campus in grey Salvo’s onesies.
Fundraising and participating in the #couchprojectQUT is so easy, you can do it in your sleep! I am sure the students out there reading this would agree a good night’s sleep on the couch would be a welcome break after all the mid semester assessment cramming!
Please help us reach our team goal of raising $10,000 – visit our webpage for details on how to donate.
Every donation counts, and donations over $2 are tax deductible – so its win-win!
Keep an eye out for the AMPLIFY team and our events this week and next week on campus, and join us on Friday September 23 for the pre-sleep celebrations at Gardens Point campus!
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to stay up to date with what’s happening on and off campus in the next week or so!
1 Comment
I’d sleep on a couch any day – just to see our students inspired and applying their advertising, public relations and digital skills to make a difference to Youth Homelessness. Am so proud of Tania and the AMPlify team!