OAK BROOK, IL--(Marketwire - May 5, 2010) - Donors and supporters of Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) around the world logged on and showed their support for its Ronald McDonald Care Mobile (RMCM) program during a six-week online campaign earlier this spring. Leveraging the power of the growing popularity of social media networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, the Charity created an interactive user experience campaign to build awareness of and raise funds for the program which delivers quality health care to 150,000 children in vulnerable populations each year around the world. The result was an unprecedented response to a call to action to vote for a Ronald McDonald House Charities Chapter to receive a $5,000 grant to support health education services. With more than 53,000 votes cast, the winner was Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Bluegrass and its Hazard (KY) Ronald McDonald Care Mobile.
"This campaign provided us with a wonderful opportunity to build awareness of our services and raise funds at the same time. Partnering with the one and only University of Kentucky, our clinical service provider, as well as with media outlets to spread the word, we had an amazing show of support. This $5,000 grant from RMHC is being matched by our local Board of Directors. Now, even more children will receive critical health education to help them lead healthier lives," said Sarah Warner, executive director, RMHC of the Bluegrass.
By integrating digital and social media to this powerful campaign, RMHC was able to deepen relationships with and engage its network of supporters and communities through online conversations on its Web site, Facebook, Twitter and blogger posts. Through this campaign, the Charity reached more people than ever before, building awareness of the organization's services on the global, as well as local, level.
"With this initiative, we established two-way conversations under a powerful and unified voice and continued to build trust, knowledge and excitement among the community and supporters," said Jennifer Blanchard Smith, senior director of Communications and Special Programs, RMHC. "For participants, this was more than just another interactive campaign. It was an opportunity to change the lives of children and families around the world by making a pledge to support RMHC."
Social media networks continue to grow exponentially. With Facebook recently reaching the 400-million user mark, eight million new users joining Twitter each month, more than 133 million blogs worldwide, and more than 4.5 billion mobile applications to be downloaded this year, digital and social media offer non-profit organizations powerful and cost-effective tools for building awareness and generating support. In addition to educating and informing, the digital and social network world allows people to connect to each other and issues and causes that are important to them.
Based on the success of this campaign, RMHC will continue to integrate digital and social media as part of its overarching communications and marketing strategy to maximize the impact of its campaigns, continue to create awareness and build relationships with donors. Currently, the Charity is using social media to spread the word about Kasey Kahne's Drive to Care initiative where he is helping RMHC raise $500,000 to get a new Ronald McDonald Care Mobile on the road.
About Ronald McDonald House Charities
Ronald McDonald House Charities, a non-profit, 501 (c) (3) corporation, creates, finds and supports programs that directly improve the health and well being of children. Families and children being cared for at seventy-three percent of the most prestigious children's hospitals in the world benefit from one or more of the RMHC core programs. Its programs are grassroots-driven to enable the Charity to offer help where children need it most -- right in their own communities. RMHC makes an immediate, positive impact on children's lives through its global network of local Chapters in 52 countries and regions and its three core programs: the Ronald McDonald House®, Ronald McDonald Family Room® and Ronald McDonald Care Mobile®. RMHC and its global network of local Chapters have awarded millions of dollars in grants to support children's programs around the world. These programs and grants provide a bridge to quality health care and give children what they need most to heal, their families.
Contact Information:
For more information, contact:
Clara L. Carrier
RMHC
(630) 623-6573 Office
(630) 209-7617 Cell Phone
www.rmhc.org
