Wellington Sexual Abuse HELP approached the collective seeking a website usability assessment in June 2017. After this was successfully completed, HELP’s Chief Executive, Conor Twyford, asked for a volunteer to develop a communications plan.
Volunteer Nicola McFaull accepted the resulting brief, and far exceeded the client’s expectations for communications plan delivery. At the time of writing, nearly nine months later, Nicola remains happily engaged with HELP.
Conor said the relationship with Nicola developed “quite magically”.
She said Nicola’s excellent fundraising and communications plan was of immediate benefit due to its quality. For example, Conor said it made writing the annual report easier, and it supported effective engagement with the Board over communications.
Conor said Nicola’s media planning for HELP’s major events paid off, achieving a Dominion Post story the week of its major art fundraiser exhibition.
“I really value the skill, energy, passion and creativity Nicola brings to helping us at HELP. We bounce off each other and generate new ideas. Nicola has truly become part of the Wellington HELP whanau. When Nicola talks about HELP she talks about ‘us’ and ‘we’ – and we really do feel like she is part of our team.”
Nicola said Conor, who she considers an inspiring leader, is appreciative of her efforts.
Nicola said she felt privileged to work with HELP, and had gained significant personal satisfaction from supporting an organisation clearly making a difference. Professionally, she said she had gained insight into a different sector that the one she works in.
“As I work fulltime, I can contribute only so much time to HELP but Conor saw the value of communications and she has now formed a Fundraising, Communications and Development Sub-committee, pulling in other volunteers. As a team we can all make a difference to the organisation. This makes it more sustainable to continue to help them,” Nicola said.
Conor expressed her gratitude for the collective, saying its processes serve community organisations well. She said the collective had progressed the societal outcomes HELP seeks.
“With Nicola’s support I am confident we will maintain a strong strategic focus that will both help us raise the funds we so desperately need as well as engage the community in talking about sexual abuse – in so doing raising the profile of HELP and bringing us one step closer to creating a world free from sexual violence.
Nicola said the collective filled a “real need”.
“So many community organisations are doing really important stuff that make a real difference to people’s lives and they do this on very limited funds. They often can’t afford to employ a communications person.
” Helping them develop communications that reach their audiences and get their messages across can be the difference between these organisations continuing to help people who are vulnerable and the organisation folding or unable to meet the demand for their services.”
Wellington Sexual Abuse HELP works with survivors of sexual abuse and their whānau – of any age, gender or ethnicity. It provides a 24 hour crisis line. It also provides support and counselling services for anyone who has experienced rape or sexual abuse, or who is concerned about a friend or family member.
HELP has been working with survivors of sexual abuse in the Wellington region since 1985, and in Porirua since 2005. It also covers the Kāpiti coast. HELP is a charitable trust which relies on government and philanthropic grants for its operation, as well as donations from the public.
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