Community Outreach is all about building relationships with the audience you want to serve outside of your own business. If you are a community hospital, for example, you need to educate your local community on what services you provide.
When I worked for a community hospital and we opened a new Emergency Room, we hosted a series of events. We had a variety of audiences, This included physicians, staff, paramedics and the community including children (tours of an ambulance and coloring books were a hit!) to show them what the Emergency Room was all about. Each event met the needs of that audience. The physicians’ event was a bit high end. The paramedics’ event was more casual. The community event was a health fair with free gifts, games, and booths explaining what we did and what services were provided.
For another community outreach campaign, we held a special series of events on the importance of prenatal health care by inviting local pregnant women to a special baby shower. We played games and gave them gifts. We celebrated them when most often they had never even been to a baby shower. Educating them on the importance of health care was key.
At a behavioral health facility where I worked, we hosted mental health screenings for depression and eating disorders. While we were providing them a free and important service and support, we were also further educating them on the organization in case they needed it in the future
- These types of community outreach programs are crucial and fundamental for building awareness, education, and relationships.
- News outlets also LOVE community outreach events! All of these events landed spots on the news.
Community Outreach is a vital part of being a business or organization.
