Trainings

Organizing a National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week
Every year, the week before Thanksgiving is designated as National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. Over 400 campuses nationwide organize a week of events to educate the campus population about the issues and make a difference in the community. The National Student Campaign staff offers a training that will provide students with dozens of ideas for how to run a fantastic Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week on campus and give students the skills to implement the events. The following is a list of topics covered in the training that will increase your ability to organize a great week of events.

  1. What is Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week
  2. Brainstorm events
  3. Basic how-to of planning a successful Week
  4. Practice: Planning the Week

 

Running a Successful Hunger Cleanup
The Annual Hunger Cleanup is a one-day community service fundraiser that makes a significant impact on your community. The Cleanup encourages participants to volunteer at community kitchens and homeless shelters while raising funds through sponsorships to support local, national, and international hunger relief efforts. In this training, the National Student Campaign staff offers students training on how to organize all aspects of this amazing event. Over it's 20 year history, the Hunger Cleanup has mobilized more than 130,000 volunteers and raised more than $1.5 million for anti-hunger and homelessness relief programs. Whether your school has run the Cleanup before or it's your first year, this training will enable you to make a huge impact on the issues of hunger and homelessness. The following is a list of topics covered in the training:

  1. Volunteer Recruitment
  2. Fundraising
  3. Coalition Building
  4. Goal Setting
  5. Practice: Planning the Hunger Cleanup

 

The Food Salvage Program: Waste Not, Want Not
Each year, more than 96 billion pounds of good food is thrown out every year, while millions of people suffer from hunger. Through the Food Salvage Program, students arrange with their dining services to collect the uneaten food and deliver it to agencies that can use it to feed people who are hungry. In this interactive workshop, the National Student Campaign staff provides a training that will teach students how to work with your campus dining services to salvage this food and feed the community. The following is a list of topics covered in the training:

  1. The need for campus run food salvage programs nationwide
  2. Volunteer Recruitment
  3. Legal Issues
  4. Logistical Details
  5. Practice: Making it happen - power-mapping your campus

 

Running a Grassroots Campaign for Systemic Change
In an ideal situation, our elected officials would know all of the facts concerning the issues of hunger and homelessness and would subsequently act in the interest of ending these unnecessary social problems. However, this is not always the case. In order to educate our elected officials about the issues, we need to send them the message loud and clear. One way in which you can do this is by working to educate and influence your elected officials. National Student Campaign staff provides students with a training that focuses on the basic principles of influencing the government. The following is a list of topics covered in the training that will increase your ability to influence your elected officials:

  1. Why run a grassroots campaign?
  2. The tactics of a grassroots campaign
  3. The basic how-tos
  4. Tips for running a grassroots campaign - the proper etiquette
  5. Practice: meeting with an elected official

 

Organizing Large Events
Organizing an event on campus or in the community can help you educate students, recruit new volunteers and forward your project goals. There are a ton of types of events, ranging from a table to collect petition signatures to a large educational forum. Whatever type of event you organize, the key to its success is in the planning and preparation for the event. National Student Campaign staff provides students with a training that focuses on the key elements of organizing a large event. The following is a list of topics covered in the training that will increase your ability to organize large events:

  1. Why have big events
  2. Picking an event that is appropriate
  3. Steps to organizing an event
  4. How to develop a plan
  5. Practice: planning an event

 

Think Globally, Act Locally: Assessing the Community's Needs
Every year, ambitious student activists develop a plan of action without knowing their local community's needs. In an effort to increase your effectiveness, students should work with local hunger and homelessness providers to determine the extent of the problems in their community. The National Student Campaign staff offers a training for students to learn how they can ensure their groups' efforts are most useful to the individuals they are working to assist. The following is a list of topics covered in the training:

  1. Assessing the Needs of your Community
  2. Principles of Goal Setting
  3. Creating a Plan of Action
  4. Practice: Setting Meaningful Goals

 

Building an Empire: Recruiting and Retaining Volunteers
Recruiting is a building block and source of power for all citizen and student based groups and is thus one of the most important things you can do as a student activist. You are recruiting to build the movement. The more volunteers you have the more you can accomplish. National Student Campaign staff offers students a training that focuses on the basic principles of recruitment. The following is a list of topics covered in the training that will increase your ability to effectively recruit volunteers:

  1. Why recruit?
  2. Methods of recruitment
  3. How to recruit
  4. Steps for effective recruitment
  5. Pitfalls
  6. Practice: recruiting students at a tabling event

 

Publicity and Visibility on Campus
Visibility is an extremely important tool for any project or organization. Visibility builds your credibility on campus, and therefore can build your volunteer base and support for your projects. National Student Campaign staff offers students a training that focuses on the basic principles of building visibility on campus. The following is a list of topics covered in the training that will increase your ability to create a buzz around your campaigns and your group:

  1. What do we use visibility for?
  2. When to use visibility
  3. Elements of good visibility
  4. Ways to create visibility
  5. Tips for building visibility
  6. Practice: brainstorm for visibility event on your campus

 

Working with the Media: Spread Your Message Across Campus and the Community
The media is one of the most powerful and influential institutions in our society. By choosing which stories get covered, the media can define what issues are important and shape the opinion of the public. Generating media allows you to educate and influence thousands of citizens and educate decision makers. Therefore, getting media coverage should be a priority for all of your campaigns. The National Student Campaign staff provides students with a training that focuses on the basic principles of working with the media. The following is a list of topics covered in the training that will increase your ability to work with the media:

  1. Why work with the media
  2. Principles of working with the media
  3. Media jargon
  4. How to work with the media
  5. Tips for working with reporters
  6. Tips for talking to reporters
  7. Practice: press calls

 

Planning 101: Organizing a Semester of Projects
As a student activist, your campaign is a way for you to make an impact on the issues in your community, and on a larger scale, and create lasting social change. Obviously, you want to run a semester of projects that is going to make the biggest difference possible. However, running a successful semester takes a lot of planning. The National Student Campaign staff offers students a training that focuses on the basic principles of planning and running campaigns. The following is a list of topics covered in the training that will increase your ability to effectively run a successful semester of projects:

  1. Why plan?
  2. Steps to planning a successful semester
  3. Assessing your communities needs
  4. Practice: planning an event

 

Two Heads are Better Than One: Building Coalitions
Coalition Building is important for any project. By building relationships with other organizations, you increase your power and your resources. The National Student Campaign staff offers students a training that encompasses the basic ideas of building coalitions. The following is a list of topics covered in the training that will increase your ability to build coalitions:

  1. Why build coalitions
  2. Types of coalitions
  3. How to build coalitions
  4. How to use coalitions
  5. Tips for coalition building
  6. Practice: coalition calls

 

Show Me the Money: Fundraising on Campus
Fundraising is a fundamental part of fighting hunger and homelessness. You need funds to run certain events, produce materials and support local and national organizations in their work to alleviate immediate community needs and work for systemic change. The National Student Campaign staff provides students with a training that focuses on the basic elements of fundraising. The following is a list of topics covered in the training that will increase your ability to effectively raise money for your group.

  1. Why is fundraising important
  2. Why people give money
  3. The different ways to raise funds
  4. Principles for planning a fundraiser
  5. Principles for requesting funds from an organization or department
  6. Tips for fundraising
  7. Practice: requesting funding from the student government

 

Leaving a Legacy: Leadership Development for Long-term Success
The most important element of any project is the leaders driving it. The more leaders you have working on your project, the more effective it will be and the more you can do simultaneously. The National Student Campaign staff offers students a training that focuses on the basic elements of leadership development. The following is a list of topics covered in the training that will increase your ability to develop new leaders:

  1. Why do we need leaders
  2. The qualities of potential student activist leaders
  3. The process for developing leaders
  4. Tips for developing leaders
  5. Practice: meeting with new leaders

 

Public Speaking
As a student activist, public speaking is a skill that you will often use. Whether you are talking about your project to fellow students, administrators, faculty or media, you will need to have well developed speaking skills. Therefore, learning to become a good public speaker will only enhance your capability to communicate your project. The National Student Campaign staff offers students a training that focuses on the basic principles of public speaking. The following is a list of topics covered in the training that will increase your ability to be an effective public speaker:

  1. Principles of public speaking
  2. Tips for public speaking
  3. Basic outline for a speech about your project
  4. Practice: 2 minute speeches

 

Running Meetings
As a student activist, you will run many meetings during the year. You may run a meeting with volunteers, coalition partners or a big kick-off meeting. You need to have meetings to discuss issues, projects, campaigns, events, etc. Without meetings, it would be very hard to coordinate a group or the project it is working on. The National Student Campaign staff offers students a training that focuses on the basic principles of running a meeting. The following is a list of topics covered in the training that will increase your ability to run a good meeting:

  1. Types of meetings
  2. Reasons for meetings
  3. Principles of running meetings
  4. Setting an agenda
  5. Pitfalls
  6. Practice: running a meeting
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