A good PR crisis counselor always thinks five steps ahead. Knox Richardson's mind was racing after terrorist attacks flattened the World Trade Center and ripped into the side
of the Pentagon two weeks ago. Relief organizations had already kicked into high gear, searching for survivors and collecting donations of blood, food and supplies. But what
would happen to the children who'd been orphaned in the wake of the hijackings? Within hours of the attacks, Richardson tapped into listservs hosted by PRSA and Yahoo to raise the
issue with other communicators. Three days later, the Twin Towers Orphan Fund (TTOF) was born at a press conference in Bakersfield, Calif. It collected more than $10,000 on its
first official day of operation.
TTOF provides evidence that Internet speed has forever changed the style and pace of grassroots communications. Not 24 hours after the attacks, TTOF had launched its own Web
site, was accepting credit card donations, and had recruited nearly 40 volunteer PR practitioners across the U.S. to help build media interest and community support for the
initiative. At press time, the network had expanded to 55 practitioners and counting, with representation in New York, Massachusetts, DC, California, Texas, Utah, Kentucky, the
U.S. Virgin Islands, plus London and Stockholm.
"Normally, we're out there fronting for clients, but here was an opportunity to demonstrate the power that we, as practitioners, can exert for a good cause on our own," says
founder Richardson. "We didn't have a big budget. Just legwork and contacts. It really does demonstrate that as a community, PR people can have a tremendous influence."
Spearheading the fund with Richardson (based in Bakersfield) are small shop practitioners Dana Victoria Sophia (New York) and Jon Boroshok (Boston). The organizers have never
met in person.
At its core, the endowment fund seeks to fill long-term education, healthcare and housing needs of children currently under age 21 whose parents were lost in the attacks on the
World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Given that the fundraising operation is entirely volunteer-driven and subsists largely on PR elbow grease, organizers have high hopes that
they'll be able to keep paid expenses at less than one percent of donations. The fund is being held in trust and administered gratis by San Joaquin Bank in Bakersfield.
Richardson was able to shortcut the fund's birthing process with help from sister-in-law Jeanette Richardson, a former TV public affairs expert. She was instrumental in
securing California-based Family-to-Family Mentoring (a nonprofit provider of volunteer training) as a tax-exempt "host agency" to collect donations on the fund's behalf. TTOF
organizers were able to overcome skepticism about online scams that marred early fundraising efforts by supplying ready evidence of the host agency's articles of incorporation and
federal tax ID number.
Since forming the fund, Richardson and Sophia have orchestrated a unified PR effort from opposite coasts, burning the midnight oil to prepare FAQ sheets, releases and
backgrounders for distribution to PR volunteers across the country. A logo, and donated radio and TV PSAs are set to begin running this week.
Coverage for the initiative has surfaced in influential news outlets such as MSNBC.com, The Los Angeles Times, Austin Business Journal, CNET and ZDNET - with a growing number
of local market outlets. After one organizer plugged the fund live on the ever popular "Dr. Laura" radio show, Schlessinger herself added TTOF to the top of her online "calls to
action" list.
The same viral tactics that led to the speedy formation of TTOF have propelled the fund into the sphere of other online campaign organizers who have posted information about
the endowment on message boards and email lists populated by mothers. Sophia estimates that roughly 8,000 online moms have since included TTOF information in their own email
signature lines, e-letters and posts to other news groups.
In California, students at Bakersfield High School organized a rally and candlelight vigil that helped recruit 100 local volunteers to man TTOF phone banks. The event also
raised more than $4,500 to seed the cause. The city's mayor (who joined the TTOF board) and local United Way officials attended the event.
In addition, BoRics, a hair salon chain with locations throughout Canada and the upper Midwest, held a "Cut-A-Thon" fundraiser expected to channel more than $100,000 into the
fund. Similarly, the semi-pro Erie (Pa.) Otters hockey team plans to donate proceeds from its October 6 game.
Ironically, the biggest unknown for TTOF organizers is not where donations will come from, but rather how many children have been orphaned in the wake of the attacks. Fund
headquarters have become a go-to source for media organizations seeking information about the fate of surviving children. Richardson says TTOF has been partnering informally with
NBC's "Dateline" and other media outlets to identify and locate orphaned children -- a tough charge, considering information about minors is confidential and many kids have been
taken into custody by child services.
"I wish we'd never had to establish this fund," says Lisa Zapata Cruz, a media
relations specialist at Southwest Texas State University who's enlisting additional
PR support through PRSA chapters around the country. "I have a ten-month-old
and the thought of him ever being without parents is heart-wrenching. I felt
I had to be a part of this and lend what talents I could." (Contacts: Jon Boroshok,
[email protected]; Knox Richardson,
[email protected]; Dana Victoria Sophia, [email protected]; Lisa Zapata Cruz, [email protected])
Get Involved
The Twin Towers Orphan Fund is seeking PR volunteers to drive media and community outreach efforts around the country. The fledgling organization also is looking for help from
communicators (especially in the Midwest) with expertise in Web site design, management and content development. For more information about how you can help, visit http://www.ttof.org. Or contact one of the TTOF leaders: Knox Richardson, [email protected], 408/499-7146; Jon
Boroshok, [email protected]; or Dana Victoria Sophia, [email protected], 914/968-3383;
Jeanette Richardson, 661/397-1488.
Find Your Community
"Online communities have really become an alternative news source," notes Dr. Sandra Braman, Reese Phifer professor of telecommunications at University of Alabama. "There's an
'informational cascade' that occurs as lists and individuals begin serving as independent gatekeepers, scouting the world for a greater diversity of perspectives." Want to broaden
your horizons? Tap into some of the most popular PR communities on the Web:
- PRSA PPC Online (http://www.prsa.org/prc/listserv.html)
- Yahoo PR Bytes (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/prbytes)
- I-Public Relations (http://www.adventive.com/lists/ipr/summary.html)
- PR Forum (Send email to [email protected] and type "subscribe PR Forum" in the body of the message)
- Yahoo Small Shop PR Agencies (Send email to [email protected])
(Contact: Dr. Sandra Braman, [email protected])