Event(s) Summary
Number of Events Organized During Brain Awareness Week:
2
Year:
2015
Type of Events Held:
- Lecture/ Briefing
- Other: Dissemination of BAW promotional packets
Target Audiences:
- Elementary school students(1-5)
- General Public
- Middle school students(6-8)
- Other
- Patients & Caregivers
- Professionals
- Other: Native American community
Approximate Number of People Reached:
200
Details of Major Brain Awareness Week Events/Activities:
Our goal is to promote Brain Awareness Week and spark an interest in learning all things brain. Mini lectures focus particularly on aspects of brain health related to substance abuse and aging. Promotional BAW packets are distributed with DANA materials, flyers for mini lectures and BAW dates, Rainbow stress brains with our agency logo, gummy brains, and additional brain related articles targeting the audience of the packet. Other brain novelties are given away as door prizes at mini lectures. Models and posters of brains are displayed for the month surrounding BAW to stimulate conversation and questions. DANA materials are also set out for random client pick up.
Event Planning & Publicity
Publicity Methods Used:
- Emails
- Posters/Flyers
- Social Media
Other Publicity Methods:
To promote BAW in general I used a different Brain picture each day as my profile photos. I also "Shared" any DANA BAW posts to my friends, posted a daily brain tip for the week, and wore brain t shirts to prompt discussion with anyone I came into contact with.
Which of These Publicity Methods Was The Most Successful?
Resources
Of the Dana Foundation publications/resources distributed at your event(s), if any, please indicate the three most popular. Please choose up to three. If "other," please indicate below:
- It’s Mindboggling!
- More Mindbogglers!
- BAW Pencils and Erasers
What downloadable materials from the Foundation did you use for your events?
- BAW Bookmark
- Puzzles: Adult/high school
- Puzzles: K-12
- Puzzles: BAW Favorites
- Mindboggling Coloring Sheets
What other downloadable materials would you like the Foundation to provide?
- Fact Sheets
- Activities/Experiments
- New Coloring Sheets
Which BAW graphic materials did you use in publicizing your events?
- BAW Flyer
- BAW Logos
Feedback & Keys to Success
How do you feel BAW participation benefited your organization and the local community?
BAW participation allows our substance abuse prevention agency a novel way to approach substance abuse through brain health….a positive entry point! Educating about the brain engages all ages on a different level for personal reasons and opens the door for so many more conversations. It also plants seeds that keep communication open all year long.
Please share any suggestions or lessons learned that may help others plan future events:
Start promotion early! Each year I integrate something new…this year I added the BAW dates on my email signature.
Did/do you like our Facebook page?
Yes
Was the information provided on Facebook useful?
YES! I LOVE being able to share posts! It also helps exemplify what people hear me talking about and they know it is a real thing that many are participating in. I think any educational content is helpful….digestible tidbits that spark interest and prompt a search for research.
Quotable comments which capture successful aspects of your event(s):
Not so much a comment, but people in our community now refer to me at times as "the brain lady."
