Facilitating Leadership in Youth
Prepared to take their organization to new heights, Facilitating Leadership in Youth (FLY) reached out to Cause Consultant Sherie Winston for strategic communications.
Brief Background
FLY, is an eight-year-old, nonprofit organization that supports youth aged 9-18 in the Anacostia neighborhood of Barry Farm. FLY targets the whole person, helping each student to achieve his or her educational goals, expand artistic talents and develop leadership skills. Participants are matched with a trained American University volunteer tutors who works with the student several days per week. In addition, high-school aged students receive study sessions for the SAT and other college preparatory tests.
Areas of Improvement
Although FLY has enjoyed success in attracting and retaining students and volunteers, as well as a commitment from the community, it wanted to expand upon their success by developing a strategic communications plan. The plan would help them strengthen and leverage their connections with their volunteers, donors and alumni.
Taking Flight
Cause Consultant Sherie Winston helped FLY’s leadership create a structured, comprehensive, and efficient communications plan.
Along the way Sherie Winston:
- Developed message platforms, which served as the foundation for all written and oral communications materials
- Conducted interviews with key stakeholders, analyzed their statements and goals, and developed key messages for use in communicating with the media
- Designed a long-term sustainable communications guide to assist FLY with further media and donor outreach.
Sherie Winston is a graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia. She worked as an award-winning business and political reporter in Washington, D.C. for more than 20 years. Sherie also served as Director of Communications and Marketing for the International Ironworkers Union. After she graduates from the MPS program, she plans to continue her career with an emphasis on Corporate Social Responsibility and integrated communications and marketing.
