Posts Tagged ‘community outreach’
Share with your network!
March 9th, 2010
by Carol
In this age of online social networking, it seems like everybody wants to stay connected and in the know. Social networking really isn’t new: people have depended on trusted family members, friends, neighbors or colleagues for centuries to help them keep up with the latest news and information. For people who like to take a leadership role in their own networks or communities, the FTC has got a myriad of free resources to share – in both the real world and the virtual one. 
For example, you can host an event to alert others to some practical ways to mitigate identity theft. The FTC’s toolkit, How to Plan & Host a ‘Protect Your Identity’ Day, can help you alert your network to how to minimize the risks and consequences of identity theft. The kit includes a video featuring identity theft victims telling their stories, a guide to talking about the crime, and tips to deter, detect and defend against it. The guide features sample materials, including a speech, presentation and templates for materials in English and Spanish. Suggestions for how to organize an event, reach out to partners and promote the event to your local media are included, as well. Consider hosting a “Protect Your Identity” Day in conjunction with your local library, house of worship, PTA or neighborhood association, and — or — posting the video and the Deter-Detect-Defend tips on your blog or website.
Order or download a copy of the ID Theft kit today.
Tags: community outreach, identity theft, library, outreach
Posted in Identity Theft and Privacy, NCPW | 5 Comments »
Online Safety for Kids and Parents
February 5th, 2010
by Julia
Kids are using all kinds of platforms and tools to communicate and connect online: social networks, photo and video sharing sites, IM, email, blogs. But is your computer wiz kid whizzing around the web safely? Net Cetera: Chatting with Kids About Being Online is a new free guide from OnGuardOnline.gov that helps parents, teachers, and other mentors navigate this landscape and start the conversation with kids about living their lives online. It’s available in Spanish at AlertaenLínea.gov.
Since the booklet’s release in October 2009, schools, PTAs, police departments, and libraries across the country have ordered over a million copies of Net Cetera to use in their online safety programs. There are lots of ways you can share the guide with your community, too. Here are just a few:
- Order free copies for friends and family, or for a school, scout troop, or soccer team. Hand them out at a PTA meeting, or pass them on to teachers in time for parent-teacher conferences. Visit bulkorder.ftc.gov to order as many free copies as you can use.
- Grab the Net Cetera button from OnGuardOnline.gov to use on your own website.
- Include information from the guide in your blog or newsletter, or send it to your list serv.
- Co-brand it with OnGuardOnline.gov – there’s even space on the back for a sticker with your organization’s logo or seal.
Net Cetera is in the public domain.
Have other ideas for outreach? Leave them in the comments! And if you’ve used the guide, let us know.
Tags: children, community outreach, computers, internet, kids, outreach
Posted in For Kids | 5 Comments »
Libraries and the FTC — Check it out!
January 20th, 2010
by Carol
At the American Library Association’s conference last year, a delightfully enthusiastic gentleman was the first to approach the FTC’s exhibit, even before the hall officially opened. He cheerfully explained that he regularly uses FTC resources to help the patrons of his public library. I was flattered to learn that we were one of his “must see” stops (circled in red on the program). He carried off a load of free materials — and bricks of jazzy-looking bookmarks with tips about being a savvy consumer.
As my new friend at the ALA conference had discovered, the FTC and libraries are a great match. We’ve got free brochures, websites, videos and bookmarks — on consumer topics like credit, privacy and health — with information that can help meet your community’s needs and make your job a little easier.
Are you in Young Adult Services or a school library? Check out Net Cetera, a new booklet that covers the issues kids face online — social networking, cyberbullying, sexting and more. Or take a look at You Are Here our site that takes elementary and middle school kids on an experiential journ
ey through a shopping mall to teach them how to be smarter consumers.
Work in a public library? Host a “Protect your ID Day” with our identity theft education kit which has sample talking points, presentations, reference materials and tips to organize your own event. Or display brochures — or play videos — on mortgage foreclosure, annual credit reports, debt collection, or job scams. Cut and paste FTC content for your newsletters, use interactive quizzes in your programs, download buttons for your website, and order free copies of publications to hand out.
And don’t forget to stock up on those bookmarks!
Tags: community outreach, identity theft, kids, library
Posted in NCPW | No Comments »
Embracing the “Old School” in Reaching the Masses
January 17th, 2010
by Lisa
Today, the country recognizes what would have been Dr. Martin Luther King’s 81st birthday. Some of us will celebrate through volunteerism, attending commemorative events, or simply enjoying the day off. But, wherever we are, let’s take a moment to reflect on Dr. King’s mission, messages and methods in the context of achieving economic empowerment and financial literacy.
Advancements in technology and the proliferation of informative consumer education materials give us – as organizations and individuals – the ability to reach consumers in staggering numbers. With a keystroke, mouse-click, broadcast or podcast, we can connect with thousands—even millions, to offer the tools they need to make informed buying and money management decisions, to protect themselves from fraud and to prepare their children to be the next generation of smart consumers. But here’s the even better news: As we gear up for National Consumer Protection Week, we have the opportunity to mix advanced communication vehicles with low-tech, high-touch tactics that penetrate and resonate with all segments of society – including disenfranchised and low-literacy communities. So, not only do we have powerful technology at our disposal, we still have the timeless power of human contact as we take our information to community centers, churches, street festivals…and to the guy on the bus.
Thinking about Dr. King’s potent “old-school” style of reaching people reminds me of the Frank Laubach credo, “Each One Teach One,” a phrase and concept widely used in the adult literacy movement. I can think of no better mantra to carry out the important mission of National Consumer Protection Week in the spirit of Dr. King and other pioneers who helped change the world one rally, one gathering, one person at a time.
Tags: community outreach, low-literacy communities, Martin Luther King, MLK, NCPW 2010, outreach, teaching
Posted in NCPW | No Comments »