Quality Time with PR Minds

Quality Time with PR Minds is a complementary effort to PRSA-LA’s annual Don Perkins Grant. Founded in 2004 by PRSA-LA members Dawn Wilcox, APR, and Victoria Lelash, APR, Quality Time was created in response to the increasing number of applications the chapter receives for the annual Don Perkins Community Service Grant as well as the ongoing requests for pro bono assistance.

Quality Time is a one day event where teams of PR volunteers provide free assistance to local nonprofit organizations that may not have the funds or resources to retain professional PR counsel. Through one-on-one brainstorm sessions, PR teams and the organizations they are matched with identify opportunities and tackle challenges to build stronger communication between the nonprofits and their publics.

Quality Time is about giving our greatest assets – our time and knowledge – to the organizations that are supporting and improving the communities in which we live and work. We aim to inspire, encourage and empower nonprofit professionals to create and sustain successful communication efforts. In the process, Quality Time also provides PR volunteers the opportunity to grow as professionals through brainstorming, networking and mentoring. For many Quality Time volunteers, the event offers the chance to take their strategic and creative thinking to a new level.

Since 2004, Quality Time has become a movement within PRSA. Chapters across the country continue to adopt the event as part of their community service programs. In total, more than 20 events have been held and more than 2500 hours of counseling time have been donated to hundreds of nonprofits.

How does it work?

Quality Time is a one day event with two sessions. During each session, participating nonprofits meet with two PR teams for about 60 minutes each. The event also includes a either luncheon or refreshment for all participants and volunteers.

PR teams are designed to ensure balance in levels of experience and to expose volunteers to new people (in other words, we try to avoid teaming people from the same organization or firm). The teams are then matched to nonprofits randomly, with the utmost confidence that experienced PR professionals can handle any brainstorm challenge.

I’m a nonprofit, how can my organization be part of Quality Time?

Quality Time is open to all nonprofit organizations in the Greater Los Angeles area. Each organization will be asked to complete a short application to help us learn more about your organization and identify communication challenges that can be discussed at Quality Time. Due to high demand, space at Quality Time is offered on a first-come, first-served basis.

I’m a PR pro, I want to volunteer!

Quality Time is open to all PR professionals from any sector with at least two years of experience in a communications role. This is an amazing opportunity to give back to many nonprofits, all in one day! The success of Quality Time is directly related to the number of volunteers who register. The more teams we have, the more nonprofits we can include in Quality Time. Volunteers can choose to participate in just one session or stay for the entire day.

Rave reviews about Quality Time:

• “Thank you so much for including Special Olympics Southern California as part of your PR day.  I met some really creative people and reconnected with some PR folks I haven’t seen in years.  This is a wonderful service that PRSA provides and I would recommend it to any nonprofit who needs to find ways to connect with their constituents and donors.”
• “I brought two Board members from Connections for Children. Both of them thought the event was very worthwhile and did get a lot out of it. I was very impressed with both groups that we met with. We are putting together our notes and moving forward with the ideas we got from the event. We hope that you will invite us again next year. And thank you for bringing together such a wonderful and well-needed event.”
• “I’m spending the morning writing up my notes for the Haven Hills Board. I got great ideas from the six professionals who took the time to be with me Saturday. Please emphasize to them that their time was very well spent and much appreciated. I’ve never been to a professional event that produced such solid, practical ideas that I could put into immediate practice.”

To learn more about Quality Time with PR Minds, please email PRSA-LA office at executive.director@prsala.org