Nurturing Our Retired Citizens		Replication Guide

NORC Newsletter

Mission

To educate residents of the community about resources and opportunities for seniors.

Program Description

The NORC newsletter is a quarterly publication for community residents. Each newsletter contained special interest stories and information about programs and resources for seniors to help them maintain their independence.

Community Goals Met  

• Educate residents and service providers about existing resources.
• Provide options for health promotion, exercise, volunteering and other vital aging activities.

Program Leadership

This project was a NORC team effort. Each member of the staff, Steering Committee and Senior Consumer Advisory Committee could recommend articles for the publication. Articles were written by the persons who submitted them for publication and were edited by the NORC staff. Layout was done by the Jewish Family and Children’s Service PR department. Printing was outsourced to a local printer. It was distributed by insert in a local newspaper and a bulk mailing sent to a limited group by the NORC administrative assistant and agency volunteers.

Impact

Through our distribution process, the newsletter had the potential to reach all households in the community. The information was intended for seniors and their caregivers and family members. It was also intended to inspire young people to volunteer in the community and to encourage neighbors to get to know one another better.

Planning Timeline

• Plan months of publication one year at a time
• Contact local newspaper for insert requirements, deadlines, and cost.
• Three months in advance, begin planning articles
• Two months before publication, submit the articles to agency PR department for layout
• Plan at least two weeks of editing time for layout changes
• One month before publication, contact the local community newspaper and request the date of insert.
• Three weeks before publication, submit the disc to the printer and request a proof.
• Two weeks before publication, deliver the newsletters to the local community newspaper
• Two weeks prior to publication, print mailing labels for bulk mailing
• Two weeks prior to mailing, begin work with volunteers to prepare the bulk mailing
• Two days before mailing, verify that the post office account has sufficient funds for mailing.
• One week prior to delivery, bring newsletters to bulk mailing post office.
• Pay bills related for printing and postage
• Begin the process for next newsletter.

PR Marketing & Dissemination

This entire project is PR and marketing.

Process and Outcomes

This project was initially conceived as a newsletter to be mailed to every household in the community. We were unable to acquire the names and address of every resident. We were unwilling to buy that information from a for-profit mail house. The city did have access to the addresses of all the designated senior apartments, without the names of the residents. The following was our process:

• 13,000 inserted into the local community newspaper that gets delivered to all single family homes in the community
• 790 mailed to designated senior apartments
• 790 mailed to members of the local Senior Program
• Copies were distributed also at City Hall, the Community Centers and religious institutions

As part of the community collaboration we only accepted bids for printing from printers located in the community.

Future Recommendations:

• Find a local business that would donate the cost of printing or mailing as a way to advertise their products or services.
• Contact a local high school and request journalism students to create and write the articles for the newsletter.
• Identify a volunteer senior with writing or journalism experience to edit the newsletter

Budget

Summary

The NORC newsletter was a successful communication method designed to keep seniors informed about resources and activities that could help them maintain their independence. It increased NORC visibility as indicated in our survey results, encouraged people to call us about specific programs and services and built community as people read about their neighbors.