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TheBuzz
Erika Engle
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Coveted free ad campaign seeks nonprofit recipient
IT IS best-foot-forward time for Hawaii's nonprofit organizations, as Ad 2 Honolulu is accepting applications for its annual public awareness campaign.
Each year Ad 2, comprised of advertising professionals ages 32 and younger, pours its heart and soul into about $1 million worth of marketing, advertising and public relations work -- for free -- for a nonprofit organization.
The idea of $1 million worth of anything is still mind-boggling to many of us, even in an age when a few pen strokes can make a teenaged golfer a multimillionaire. Previous campaigns have helped the Boys & Girls Club of Hawaii, Hawaii Meals on Wheels and Hawaii Literacy.
Last year Ad 2 selected
AccesSurf Hawaii Inc., a startup nonprofit seeking to make Hawaii's beaches accessible for people with disabilities and which helps people with disabilities enjoy the ocean using special equipment.
In addition to Web site enhancement and print work, broadcast public service announcements have hit the airwaves -- and now more volunteers are helping more participants hit the ocean waves at AccesSurf's Day at the Beach events.
Ad 2's work "has been amazing," said nonprofit founder Mark Marble.
The campaign has boosted AccesSurf's "efforts on education, our awareness, as well as making a difference in our community," he said. "It has caused us to reach a higher standard for education with our volunteers and participants."
"The learning ... and sharing of aloha is evident in both volunteers and participants."
Lest an organization view the freebie campaign through a you-get-what-you-pay-for-colored lens, Ad 2 Honolulu pro bono campaigns have earned the National Ad 2 Public Service Campaign of the Year Award in five of the last six years.
Application forms are available online or via e-mail through public service co-chair Amanda Donlin at publicservice@ad2honolulu.org. The deadline is Aug. 10.
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin. Call 529-4747, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210, Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached at:
eengle@starbulletin.com