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Exposure Through Media:
Increase awareness for your cause or organization by getting in the media! Pitch your story to your local news station or other media outlets that relate to your organization and get the exposure you need. By getting the media’s attention your exposure could be exponential. Watch the video and read about Je’net Kreitner of Grandma’s House of Hope to see how she got exposure for her non-profit through the media.
PR Client:
Je’net Kreitner, Founder of Grandma’s House of Hope
Successful PR Topic:
Using her past experiences from being homeless to helping the homeless now
Why is this PR story relevant:
This is a touching story about a woman who was once homeless who went on to build 17 homeless shelters in Orange County. This story is relevant because it share with the community what this population is dealing with and how they can help. This is a great story about taking past experiences and using them to help others. It is intriguing and informational.
Why this pitch appealed to the media:
People love to hear emotional and inspirational stories. This story has a little bit of both. By pitching her story about her own experience with homelessness along with the story about her cause and Grandma’s House of Hope, she gave the reporters a story that had multiple layers to it. Making sure that people will be able to connect or empathize with the story you pitch is a good way to succeed.
Media outlet that was pitched:
Free PR Interview Transcript
An Orange County woman who knows about the struggle of homelessness firsthand is making a choice to do something about it. In tonight’s life connected NBC 4’s Vikki Vargas and photo-journalist Kevin Dahlgren. Take us inside a place called Grandma’s House of Hope.
Je’net Kreitner says there is a sense of respect among these women. They know each other’s pain. They know each other’s challenges. “I wasn’t doing well. I was sleeping in a car.” And they know they have a place to call home. Kreitner founded Grandma’s House of Hope 15 years ago because she was there once too. A failed relationship left her alone caring for her young son, living in motels a few days at a time.
“It was a moment of utter despair.” Security came before food. I could smell the hamburgers cooking from Carl’s Jr. And I didn’t have 99 cents or $1.6 in order to pay for a hamburger from my son and that was probably my deepest low.
Her journey out of homelessness was slow. She met a man who taught her to trust again with these words: “Je’net you don’t belong out there.” She eventually married Patrick Kreitner and made another vow to help others. My connection to those women is that I see me in every one of them women like Crystal Street, a former client at Grandma’s House of Hope. She now coordinates services for clients among the 14 shelters. God put me in this position to, in a homeless position, to humble myself in order to be able to give back to others.
Grandma’s House of Hope has a number of connections among the adults, but there are programs specifically for children as well. The Cherry Orchard Community Center serves 44 formerly homeless families. Children learn life skills from Linda Turner who knew Je’net Kreitner before she was homeless. And I think it was a strong enough connection from way ago that when you pick up pieces years later what you have is a new story, but you have the anchor of the past.
As of today Grandma’s House of Hope has helped 2,700 men and women permanently improve their lives. You just learn to love each other as family, we connect as sisters. Je’net hopes that family continues to grow through the connections that encourage her clients to leave the past and plan their future. I can’t tell you how many of them say, “I want to do what you do one day.” And I’m like yes! Because we need more Grandma’s House of Hopes.
In Anaheim, Vikki Vargas NBC 4 News Ladies thank you so much. The shelter we feature in this story is known as the Legacy sheltered is funded mostly by Orange County. The rest of the programs are funded through private donations. If you’d like to know more perhaps donate you can go to our website NBCLA.com and search House of Hope.
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