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Creative mums create promotional items to help schools

Two mums from Bournemouth have created some promotional items to help raise cash for local schools.

Kirsty Sedgwick and Hayley Parfett, who both have children at Hayeswood First School in Colehill, came up with their School Mug Scheme when they learnt that the school had to stop swimming lessons because of funding cuts, reports the Bournemouth Daily Echo.

Their idea is simple: get some branded items, like promotional mugs and printed keyrings, and print children's' self-portraits onto them.

They then sell them to parents and give £2 back to the school association for each promotional product sold.

It's a great way to raise some much-needed money for schools and give parents something to remember their children by.

Parents bought more than 300 promotional mugs, it was reported, helping pay for school trips, drum courses and building a garden pond.

Kirsty, who has two children, Daisy, seven, and George, four, told the newspaper she and Hayley were "just two mums" who came together and came up with a great business idea.

"We just got our heads together and wanted to raise money for our school," she said.

"Because of the cut backs we do feel that every Parent Teacher Association is always trying to think of ways to raise money, and with this you get a unique keepsake rather than just handing over the money."

The pair work in Hayley's garage for hours at a time, trimming the children's artwork and using a heat press to produce the promotional merchandise.

Kirsty said: "I think as a parent it is really nice to have something my son has drawn."

Now a host of schools and nurseries in Bournemouth are interested in the scheme, wanting items like promotional bags, printed keyrings and chopping boards.

"Colehill mums get creative to raise cash for schools". Bournemouth Daily Echo.

Bradford kids use promotional keyrings to go Fairtrade

A group of youngsters in West Yorkshire have been spreading the Fairtrade message with some promotional keyrings they've created.

Pupils at Springwood Primary School, Bradford, created the snazzy printed keyrings as part of their school's three-week initiative to promote the importance of fair trade in developing countries, reports the Bradford & District Advertiser.

Springwood was one of the first schools in West Yorkshire to be granted Fairtrade status three years ago.

As part of the project, the busy little team of six pupils created promotional items, ran a chocolate and bun shop and hosted a tea party.

Learning mentor Susan Little told the newspaper: "It's important they realise not all children are as fortunate as they are.

"Our children are very interested in children in other countries, particularly where school isn't available to all."

Great news this – and a fantastic example of how promotional products can be used to spread positive messages and raise awareness.

Have you thought about how you could use printed products as part of your school initiatives?

Posted by Carl Blackshaw

University looks to its history for promotional mugs campaign

While it is popular to come up with some high-falutin' concept for a merchandise campaign, Bristol University has looked somewhere a little different for its latest project – its history and heritage.

The institution, which was founded in 1876, has launched a new range of promotional mugs featuring iconic buildings and symbols connected to its history.

Susan Taylor, a local artist, was commissioned to come up with two designs to celebrate the history and popularity of the university.

One features Bristol Students' Union's sweeping staircase and the other incorporates key images associated with the university and the city – including halls of residence and The Victoria Rooms – where the first conversation about the formation of the university took place.

Leanne Bramall, merchandise co-ordinator at the University of Bristol's Students' Union, said: "We first introduced the tea towel just before Christmas and it's proved to be really popular.

"Susan's wonderful design has lent itself well to the mugs too, which make a great souvenir and showcase just how many of the city's sights are linked to the university."

The promotional mugs will go on sale at the Students' Union – a great way to use branded merchandise to raise some cash.

"Fancy a cuppa? New mugs available in Icon Range". www.bristol.ac.uk.

Posted by Carl Blackshaw

Education and Learning News: Social Media Goes to the Top of the Class

	For most people, particularly the younger generation, Facebook, Twitter® and Wikipedia are an indispensible part of everyday life. These tools make it easy to connect and communicate with others who share our interests. If your school is looking for new ways to share its story with interested supporters, families, friends and former students, social media tools are something to consider. They are all designed to be easy-to-use, so getting started shouldn’t be difficult even for complete novices. Before you set up an account, decide how you are going to use the particular media, who will be involved in maintaining it, how much time they will devote to that effort and how frequently they will do so. Facebook Fan pages If many of the parents, volunteers, staff members and community supporters in your school use Facebook, this can be a great way to communicate news and updates with them. You’ll want to set your school up with a Facebook Page (rather than a user profile, which is designed for individual use when communicating via Facebook). Facebook offers a step by step guide to creating the page, recruiting fans and using it to engage them. You can use your school’s Facebook page to tell your fans about achievements at your school, special programmes, fund-raising events or other happenings that may be of interest. Engage with them by posting on their walls and asking for their feedback and input. Promote your Facebook presence both online and offline to encourage families and alumni to become Fans. Add a Facebook badge with a link to your Facebook page on your school’s website. Include your Facebook presence in your school newsletter or e-newsletter. Add ‘Find us on Facebook’ and your school logo to the Wave Screen & Keyboard Cleaner and hand them out at Parent-Teacher Evenings. Sports fans can help you spread the word when you hand them a Foam Hand or a MP3 Player printed with your logo and the phrase ‘Become a Facebook Fan.’ Wikipedia articles on your school or district Whether your school is already the subject of a Wikipedia article or you’d like it to be, you’ll want to carefully review Wikipedia’s information for new users before making any contributions to your school’s article. Wikipedia maintains a strong Conflict of Interest policy that discourages users who are very close to a subject from writing articles on that subject. The goal is for each Wikipedia article to contain neutral, reliably-sourced information. You’ll need a Wiki account to participate in the site, so creating one is the first step. • Existing pages – If you want to contribute changes or request edits to a Wikipedia page about your school, the best way to do so is by requesting edits on the article’s ‘talk pages.’ Doing so eliminates any potential conflict of interest while allowing you to submit information and data that other editors can review and consider adding to the article. • New pages – If your school is not currently included in a Wikipedia article, you may propose the topic for an article in the WikiProjects section. When 5-10 editors sign on to the project, your team can begin work on the article. While you wait for editors to sign on, you may build an article sub-page and ask other Wikipedia editors for assistance on it. This allows others to help you make sure that your tone is neutral and you aren’t violating the conflict of interest policy. ‘Tweet’ your updates The microblogging tool Twitter allows you to send followers updates up to 140 characters in length. Schools may find this useful for communicating if the school is closed due to bad weather, reminders about early finishes or late starts or even forthcoming events. Your Twitter use can even be far more interactive – as you post photos, polls or ask your Twitter ‘friends’ to volunteer or provide feedback on school issues. When you sign up, you’ll get a Twitter ‘handle,’ which is the name for your account. Like your Facebook page, you’ll want to promote your Twitter presence both online and offline. Online, add your school’s Twitter handle to your email signature and include it on your Facebook page (if you have one). Give away Bic Media Clic Pens with your Twitter address at school events. Promote specific types of updates your Twitter followers receive. For example, promote weather updates by printing the Mini Ice Scraper Keyrings or Childrens Umbrellas with your school’s logo and Twitter handle. Or, if you plan to use Twitter to provide parent updates, imprint your logo and Twitter handle on the Rainham A4 Document Wallet, which parents can use to send print communication back and forth to teachers. Schools will find many different uses for social media tools like Facebook, Wikipedia and Twitter. When you’re ready to dip your toes into the social networking waters, promote your presence both online and offline. You’ll be amazed what you can do – in fewer than 140 characters!

Promotional items and energy schemes

A firm has used promotional products to help it drive a campaign to encourage its staff to save energy.

The company, Western Power Distribution, launched a competition in which school children were asked to devise a simple energy-saving design and slogan that could be used in all its depots and offices across the UK, reports Wales Online.

It was part of a wider campaign to reduce on-site energy usage, urging staff to turn off lights and power down computers.

Siobhan Pocock, from Afon Taf High School in Merthyr Tydfil won the competition, claiming £500 for her school, a promotional bag for herself and a framed print of her design.

The 13-year-old said she hoped the poster would encourage people to switch off lights to save energy, which was important both to save money and for the environment.

Posters are now on display to more than 6,200 WPD staff.

Cliff Smith, head teacher at Afon Taf High School, told Wales Online: "It's really nice to recognise a pupil's achievement; it lifts their morale and the school's morale.

"Siobhan was highly delighted with the fact that she won the competition for designing the best poster."

"Schoolgirl’s poster wins job of urging staff to help save energy". Wales Online.

Posted by Carl Blackshaw

Promotional products and health initiatives

Have you thought about the part promotional products could play in councils' community health initiatives?

Promotional mugs, printed pens and branded keyrings are all great ways of generating interest in such campaigns.

Take a recent initiative run by Stoke-on-Trent City Council and transport charity Sustrans to get children interested in cycling.

A competition in schools was launched to write a letter Stoke-on-Trent's lord mayor, describing their ideas to get more people to travel to school by bike.

The winner was 11-year-old Thomas Hollins, from Eaton Park Primary School, who suggested a bike hire system.

Thomas won a bike and helmet and the runners-up were all presented with cycling-themed promotional bags as a reward for entering the competition.

The mayor, Terry Follows, told This is Staffordshire: "We received a number of fantastic ideas which made it really difficult to decide on an overall winner.

"I want to offer my congratulations to Thomas and the other winners."

"Pupils aim to give pedal power a push". This is Staffordshire. 

Posted by Cheryl Jackson-Leafield

Birdwatchers get promotional bags

Promotional bags will be given out to families attending a birdwatching event in Newmarket later this month.

The organisers of the day, the RSPB, are to make effective use of promotional items for the free day at a nature reserve in Lakenheath.

Designed to commemorate the anniversary of the charity's Big Garden Birdwatch, the free event will see a range of indoor and outdoor activities taking place all aimed at getting people more interested in birdwatching.

Guests at the drop-in event on Sunday, January 22, will also get guidance on identifying some common garden visitors, with all the youngsters taking part receiving a goody bag.

David White, information officer at the reserve, told Cambridge News: "This event is a great way to learn more about the Big Garden Birdwatch.

"You can learn how to take part and even to identify some of those pesky birds you only ever seem to get glimpses of."

"Watch birdies for free". Cambridge News. 

Posted by Cheryl Jackson-Leafield

How promotional items could help you implement your e-learning programme

E-learning is becoming an increasingly popular teaching platform in schools, colleges and universities across the country.

It's taken a while to catch on, perhaps – after some initial scepticism, but now many places are opening up to the possibilities of switching learning tools, resources and teacher and tutor contact online.

E-learning systems enable education providers to store huge amounts of information in one single place, they allow students to work more flexibly, and they allow those students to enjoy greater contact with their teachers, lecturers and support staff.

According to Grainne Conole, director of the Beyond Distance Research Alliance at the University of Leicester, e-learning programmes offer a "huge potential".

"They enable learners and teachers to connect, communicate and access information in an unprecedented way," she said.

"For example, through tools like Twitter you can get access to a global network of peers and get advice, links and answers to queries in amazing ways."

Opting for a complete overhaul of how you offer learning tools is always going to be a difficult task – there's a lot to think about, from buying in new equipment to whether students and staff will actually take to it.

One way to ease the transition is to use some promotional merchandise – equip your students and teachers with some printed USBs with your school or uni logo printed on. They'll be able to use the USB stick to store documents on, using the branded merchandise at home, in school and on the go.

Posted by Carl Blackshaw

Pupils hope promotional mugs come up trumps in business comp

A group of school pupils in Staffordshire are using a promotional mug as the core business idea they hope will help them win an Apprentice-style competition.

Young entrepreneurs from the de Ferrers Academy Sixth Form, in Horninglow, have entered this year's Young Enterprise competition, in which young people run their own companies for a year, the Burton Mail reports.

They've called their venture Qualitea and for their entry they've have come up with the concept of creating a humorous printed mug which also holds biscuits.

The year 13 students, who all study business, are really proud of the idea. They've managed to raise nearly £100 to put toward the project by running Christmas fairs in their community.

Hamza Orta, 16, who is managing director of Qualitea, told the newspaper: "After lots of brainstorming, we finally thought of a funny mug that holds biscuits.

"We think it's a great product because it’s something that everyone can enjoy and it makes a great, fun present."

"Cuppa team are hoping to make mugs of rivals". Burton Mail. Saturday December 17th 2011.

Posted by Carl Blackshaw

Promotional items part of road safety initiative

Promotional items have been used to help drive a road safety initiative in Lancashire.

More than 1,000 school pupils in the town of Hyndburn were given fluorescent bags as part of an initiative to help keep them safe this winter, reports the Blackburn Citizen.

Funded by Hyndburn Community Safety Partnership, the bright bags will help the children remain visible to motorists in the dark winter evenings.

The four and five year-olds were also given reflective key rings and colouring pencils as part of the campaign to reduce road injuries and casualties.

Police have also been visiting schools across the borough, talking to youngsters about how to stay safe during the colder months.

PC Rob Flanagan told the newspaper: "Young people who carry these bags will be seen more easily and if it saves one person from getting injured on the roads this winter, it will be worthwhile."

Rolling out a similar safety initiative for winter? Why not arm yourself with some promotional merchandise – think printed keyrings and promotional bags.

Posted by Carl Blackshaw

Promotional items used to keep uni students drugs aware

Police in Staffordshire have been using promotional items to spread the word about the dangers of drugs to students.

Officers have been on campus at Staffordshire University during its Drugs Awareness Week, handing out promotional merchandise to help them think twice before they use illegal substances.

While promotional items are often used in fun and carefree ways, this story also highlights how they can be used to drive serious campaigns, such as drugs awareness.

StaffsLive reported that officers met with students, handing out promotional pens, promotional mousemats and wristbands.

The Student Union has also set up points on campus where students can get advice and enjoy an interactive quiz to see how much they know about drugs, the website said.

This is a great example of how promotional merchandise can be used to deliver such campaigns.

If you're thinking of how best to deliver your message, why not think about using promotional items?

"Police highlight drugs danger to Staffordshire University students". StaffsLive. November 19th 2011.

Posted by Carl Blackshaw

Bolton brass band uses promotional items to fund US tour

A school brass band from Bolton is making the big move to the States – and it's using promotional merchandise to fund its quest.

The time often comes when many bands take the leap and try to 'crack America' – but can Smithills School Senior Brass Band succeed where Oasis and Robbie failed?

Actually, the band is already quite popular in the US, but needs funds urgently if it is to embark on its 2012 tour in the country.

To gather the required funds – they need £60,000 – the band has taken the unusual step of opening up a pop-up shop in Bolton, where CDs, promotional products and artwork are on sale.

Chris Wormald, assistant headteacher and director of arts at Smithills, told the Bolton News: "The band is massive in America but next year's tour will cost £9,000 per person. We have to raise funds like there's no tomorrow."

4imprint wishes the band well – and feels sure their promotional products will do the trick and see them set sail for the US!

"Smithills Brass Band sets its stall out for USA tour". The Bolton News. Thursday November 3rd.

Posted by Carl Blackshaw

Education and Learning News: Fundraising for Special Educational Projects

	Every once in a while an exceptional educational opportunity arises unexpectedly – a great deal on a trip, special event, extracurricular experience or even the opportunity to purchase some new technology. Unfortunately, more often than not you aren’t in a position to take advantage of these great deals because they weren’t previously budgeted for and there’s no spare cash in the pot. But, before you write off such opportunities as ‘not happening,’ consider making them possible through specific fundraising with all cash earmarked for that particular project!Rather than competing with current fundraising activities such as Fun Days, Bring and Buy or Cake Sales, get back to fundraising basics, keep things simple and cost-effective:  Get students involved. Host a talent show (you’ve got talent!) or a Battle of the Bands, and charge a nominal entry fee for non-participating students and their families. Be sure to advertise the event as a fundraiser for the particular project to increase interest and attendance.       Purchase promotional items in bulk to sell at sporting events, parent evenings, Christmas fairs etc as well as community events. Recruit older students, volunteers or the PTA to co-ordinate sales. It’s best to keep to products that’ll be useful for everyone such as trolley coin keyrings, promotional mug, printed pens or cotton bags.       Team up with local businesses. Many well-known high street brands have established funds available to assist local schools. To help you identify companies who may be sympathetic to your project and offer funding support check out Company Giving where for a small subscription you can access over 500 companies with details of their giving criteria and how to approach them.       Hold raffles or fundraising competitions for students and other stake holders, and find a local organisation willing to match donations. Raffle items could include Wine Glasses or MP3 Players while prizes for most successful participants could include personalised items such as Parker Pens.       Reach out to alumni. Ask that past football players support current football players, or former choir members donate to the current choir, in order to make these special opportunities possible. Alumni can recall and relate better than anyone to the experience and memories that special events and opportunities can provide.       The Institute of Fundraising has thousands of links, guides and articles covering all aspects of fundraising events and initiatives, including a great site: How2fundraise which has loads of practical ideas and ‘How to’ guides such as how to organise an amateur football match or tournament using sponsored volunteer players.       Recycling of clothes and other household items has become increasingly popular and it’s well worth checking out the EcoKids project which pays a whopping £550 for every tonne of unwanted good quality clothing donated to them for recycling. All bags and posters are supplied free by EcoKids and they arrange collection of the bags once filled, so the scheme shouldn’t cost you a penny to administer.   Once you’ve settled on a tactic, communicate to students, parents and the local community the plans to fundraise and why extra money is needed. Place emphasis on both the tangible and intangible benefits to those students participating in these special opportunities. If the opportunity truly is exceptional, support is likely to come naturally. Also be prepared with a contingency plan – what if only partial funds are raised? Where will the additional money come from or where will the unused funds go? Don’t let students miss out on fun events or opportunities just because the budget falls short! Get creative and rally the community to get back to the basics and jumpstart fundraising efforts.

Promotional products could help children to THINK!

Promotional products could accompany a new government campaign to help children stay safe on the roads.

A new £700,000 THINK! initiative has been launched by road safety minister Mike Penning.

Running on television and in cinemas, the project is aimed at children aged between six and 11 and aims to make them more aware of the danger of not taking proper care on the roads.

In addition to the TV and cinema campaign, the government may find promotional products – such as promotional pens with road safety messages printed on – useful in running the project.

TV ads will highlight the importance of finding a safe place to cross the road while the cinema campaign will remind children why it is important they make sure they can be seen when they are out after dark.

Mr Penning said: "Britain's roads are among the safest in the world and the number of children killed or seriously injured is 72 per cent lower today than twenty years ago. However, every death on the roads is a tragedy and we are determined to reduce these numbers further."

"The television and cinema advertising campaign we are launching today will help to give children the skills and knowledge they need to stay safe as they grow more independent."

"Reminding children to THINK!" Department for Transport. October 14th 2011.

Posted by Carl Blackshaw