Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Identifying effective features of a volunteer profile ...
In your community-based writing project teams, discuss the profiles from Project Angel Heart’s newsletter and letter of appeal. Identify the three most effective features or moments in either the client or volunteer profile and describe them in your comment to this post. Then, reflect on how you might apply these in your own writing for this project.
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The strategies that are more successful utilize a more creative writing perspective. The title “The Tao of Fundraising” is a Pun, creating a link between the name of this boy to a way of looking at life.
The column is succinct and focuses on how one boy can make a difference. The author does not beat around the bush, and presents the most remarkable facts. Through specifics, the writer is able to emphasize how great this individual is.
The article is an easy quick read that conveys a light-hearted mood. It is almost motivational and calls to the reader to help out or get involved as well. If a seven-year-old boy can raise over $5000, what is your excuse for not participating or helping the cause?
There is also a focus on tradition, where the history is integrated into the message. The Colorado AIDS walk has taken place for 20 years, and this creates credibility and tradition.
The layout also has a critical influence on the perception of the article. The formatting (double-spacing) makes the article seem like it will be an easier read so it is more inviting to the reader. Pictures and colors also enhance this sense of ease. The pictures also create a sense of sentiment. People identify with what they can see.
In our own article, we will attempt to utilize all of these strategies of creative writing. We will try to work in pictures that tell a story in and of themselves, and appeal to readers. We will employ the rhetorical techniques used in order to create an emotional and heart-touching character profile.
Jake and I are in different groups, but we reviewed Project Angel Heart's newsletter and agreed on a few aspects. We both appreciated the emotional appeal in the "Holiday Seasonings" Letter. It works well in providing a foundation for the organization's purpose. Reading this piece, the public is emotionally pulled in to the generous services Project Angel Heart provides for those in need. A major tactic used is the perspective of one of the organization's clients. Through the description, we understand that the services are of top notch and greatly appreciated. For example, a part in the letter reads "no matter sweltering heat, snow, ice, or blizzards, my meals come with a big smile from the the delivery volunteer." Beth (the client) continues to go on to say that Project Angel Heart's promise has been kept, and continues to provide her with food as she lives with multiple sclerosis.
We additionally found it useful that on the right side of the newsletter, is a list titled in big letters, "Ways to donate". It is positioned to be read after the appeal, so that the audience feels more involved, and is more likely to volunteer, because they now know what Project Angel Heart is about. Options for people who want to help a lot, or just a little are provided. The different ways to provide help to the organization are clearly structured and explained, eliminating any possible confusion one might experience.
We can learn from Project Angel Heart's strategies and incorporate these ideas into our project. We will work to, like the letter, use emotional appeal through including words and ideas of clients. We will get a hold of these ideas through interviewing and volunteering with the program. Moreover, we will in mind the structure of our writing, in order to effectively gain audience's attention.
These profiles are supposed to be inspirational. They are written to intrigue the audience. One way that this is seen to be effective is in the style of the stories. They are meant to be stylistically original and make the reader want to read them. Our favorite sentence is its own paragraph, “And, he’s 12 years old.” This is in the story about the young volunteer Tao, and this is the first time we learn about his age, what makes him an interesting volunteer case.
These stories have effective use of pathos trough the pictures of Tao as well as a brief family history and motivation to volunteer. The story written by Erin Pulling also has vast emotional appeal as she shares the story of Beth, a client with multiple sclerosis, Beth’s gratitude for the services of Angel Heart and the support they have given her. Beth would especially like to say, ‘THANK YOU for promises kept.” This is an inspirational idea, and is meant to make the reader relate to the clients and really want to help. Quotations are amplified throughout the newsletters, highlighted and placed special emphasis on because they make the stories more real. The quotes are effective because they appeal to the emotional sense of the reader, who coincidentally is also the donor.
Including the personal stories of the clients and their motivation is very important to include in the stories, without these aspects the stories would be very dry and straightforward, simply stating the mission of the organization and stating again why they do what they do, these stories are much more effect with personal influence.
In our volunteer profile, we want to include all of these techniques so our piece is the best it can be. It will be important to formulate our questions so they provoke thoughtful responses that will not only add to the piece but make it even better and personally involved.
The appeals to pathos in the client profile of Donna are very effective. Specifically, her passionate quotes are very emotional and when they are combined with the science of her condition it provides a complete picture. The use of color in the quotes also works. The color blue in the quoting is effective because it is a cool color, often associated with health. The volunteer profile is effective because they play off his name Tao. In Chinese, this is the right way of living. This is a good way to tie together the volunteer and what the organization is about. The fact that he is a nontraditional volunteer also shows that anyone can be a volunteer. Also in the newsletter, information about Project Angel Heart is strategically included. The profiles are very concise, which is helpful. In our own writing, we will utilize quotes and think carefully about how we structure the profile. We want to make the profile not seem too dry and we feel that appeals to pathos are most effective.
The Project Angel Heart newsletter is one that draws heavily on appeals to ethos and pathos.
The story on the front page introduces a dedicated volunteer with the twist that this success story is about a boy that is only twelve years old. In an inspirational way, it's somewhat of wake-up call to those of us who are not doing everything we can to make a difference. If a five year old is capable of changing lives, what excuse do we have for not doing the same? The language is an easy-read and carries an uplifting message that helps to pull in those who know that they should do more to help those less fortunate.
The profile of Erin Pulling, the executive director, uses syntax much more indicative of an executive than a volunteer. She uses a much more formal tone to inform the audience of not only the kind of work the PAH does, but to emphasize the quality of their service as well. She uses insight from clients to make the claims more personal, helping readers to feel the importance the organization holds in people's lives. From the introduction of Erin's piece, she establishes a very strong ethos of someone who is very aware and grateful of all the things that she is blessed with in her life.
Reading these pieces helps us to understand the tone and language we should use in order to write our own volunteer profiles. We need to be straight forward with the reader and present the facts of the organization or of the volunteer to the reader in a way that appeals to them, but is still kept simple. The language we use for profiles is quite different from the formal tone of our papers, it will be important to make sure that we reflect the tone and audience of the pieces we have read here.
The Project Angel Heart newsletter is one that draws heavily on appeals to ethos and pathos.
The story on the front page introduces a dedicated volunteer with the twist that this success story is about a boy that is only twelve years old. In an inspirational way, it's somewhat of wake-up call to those of us who are not doing everything we can to make a difference. If a five year old is capable of changing lives, what excuse do we have for not doing the same? The language is an easy-read and carries an uplifting message that helps to pull in those who know that they should do more to help those less fortunate.
The profile of Erin Pulling, the executive director, uses syntax much more indicative of an executive than a volunteer. She uses a much more formal tone to inform the audience of not only the kind of work the PAH does, but to emphasize the quality of their service as well. She uses insight from clients to make the claims more personal, helping readers to feel the importance the organization holds in people's lives. From the introduction of Erin's piece, she establishes a very strong ethos of someone who is very aware and grateful of all the things that she is blessed with in her life.
Reading these pieces helps us to understand the tone and language we should use in order to write our own volunteer profiles. We need to be straight forward with the reader and present the facts of the organization or of the volunteer to the reader in a way that appeals to them, but is still kept simple. The language we use for profiles is quite different from the formal tone of our papers, it will be important to make sure that we reflect the tone and audience of the pieces we have read here.
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