Sharing Works
This past summer, people who live in Southern California saw a unique series of ads in area publications, and heard them on the radio. Though sponsored by Sempra Energy, each of the first three ads (more are planned as part of the series) focused on a charitable group and one of the people who adds to its success:
- A woman who lost a leg, but found The Challenge Center, a group that helps people recover from severe injuries;
- A local teacher who volunteers at Mama's Kitchen, helping to feed the children of parents who are sick with HIV and AIDS; and
- A 94-year-old woman who volunteers at the Senior Community Centers of San Diego, helping to provide food and health services to needy seniors.
Something different
Not your standard energy ads, right? "This was
definitely something different for us," confirms
Dennis Arriola, Sempra Energy's vice president
of Communications & Investor Relations.
Arriola, who directs the company's communications efforts, explains that the ads offered a unique chance to shine a spotlight on a few of the many nonprofit groups the company and its employees support."
"Naturally, most of our advertising is related to energy," he said. "We want people in the community to know what we are doing to meet energy needs now and into the future. But, Sempra Energy is also people, not just power plants and pipelines. As a company, and as individual employees, we're very involved in organizations as volunteers and donors, and we'd like others to see that side of us as well."
Positive support
And see it they have. "We've had a pretty phenomenal
response," reports Jeanie Booth-Rex, director
of development at the Challenge Center, featured
in the first of the "Because Everybody Counts"
ad series. "We've gotten amazing, positive support."
For Booth-Rex, her passion for the Challenge Center is both personal and professional. The Challenge Center has made a huge difference in her own life as she recovers from the loss of a leg, because it provides the kind of physical and rehabilitation therapy that's hard to find anywhere else. Now, she's dedicated to helping to make sure others can get that same type of post-acute-care therapy, and that requires gaining attention and support. "We're proud that Sempra Energy is 'partnering' with us to help make a difference," she notes.
A privilege
"It's a privilege for us to be able to help
build awareness of what these groups do, because
we know that sharing works," Arriola explains.
"The ads have provided the groups with exposure
that they wouldn't otherwise have, because they
don't have money or resources to devote to building
visibility."
