Changing the world, one pair of jeans at a time.
Cotton. From Blue to Green denim drive - fall semester 2007 Our small, three-year-old chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America at Wichita State was selected to participate in a national, student-run campaign in 2007. An initiative of Cotton Incorporated, we conducted a grassroots denim collection campaign that was turned into environmentally friendly home insulation to help rebuild homes in the Gulf Coast region.
Handling a dozen volunteers, responding to requests from the media and public and keeping in constant touch Cotton's agency -- all while ensuring our chapter abided by Cotton's strict policies for the campaign -- was exhausting.
But in the end, we showed Cotton Incorporated and the nation big things can happen at small universities by surpassing their goal for us by 6,500 pieces of denim. Thanks to killer PR by our members (it's what they do best), we got a ton of media coverage in our seven week campaign:
That's enough denim to insulate 14 homes and more than half of the total amount collected by campuses nationwide in 2006. Cotton Incorporated donated $500 to our PRSSA chapter, plus a $400 bonus for going above and beyond expectations. Those funds will help financially support our chapter for years to come.
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As chapter vice president, I served as the contact between Cotton's marketing agency (based 1,300 miles away in New York City) and our volunteers. I was a media contact.
The media coverage we secured combined with hanging posters and infiltrating schools, businesses and religious organizations with donation boxes, allowed us to collect 7,056 pieces of denim.
©Roni Jean Ayalla 2008