1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

On May 21, 2008 at 4pm in Yellowstone National Park, there will be a fundraising project to promote and support children’s education in the country. It will be a walkathon named The UNICEF Walkathon which aims to raise 21,000 dollars to be able to provide schools all over the world with basic school supplies and facilities.  We will be inviting families, students, celebrities and athletes from all over the Metro to walk for a cause giving $10 per kilometer completed.  Last May 21, 2008, they walked the talk.

Converging at the Yellowstone National Park, they all took part in UNICEF’s “Take a Walk on the Child’s Side” Walkathon. Individual walkers, groups of friends, whole companies – even pets – were given the choice to walk any of the 2.5-, 5-, or 7.5-kilometer segments of the walkathon. And their donations, ranging from $5 to $10 and more, poured in in support of children’s education. This will be organized by the 2^nd batch of Volunteer Interns from UNICEF; the half-day event aims to raise more than $20,000 to aid UNICEF’s efforts around the world, focusing primarily on improving the quality of education especially in the rural areas(What we do). 

2. INTRODUCTION and EVENT BACKGROUND
   • VISION AND MISSION STATEMENT

The vision of UNICEF is for all children around the world enjoy their rights and have a bright future within caring and protective families and communities (wwww.unicef.org).

This vision can be attained through:

• Advocating that all children around the world have the optimal conditions necessary for growth, development and security (Help the Homeless).
• Widen the community of actors engaged in securing the maximum level of care for children and fulfillment of children’s rights.
• Demonstrate principles of transparency, effectiveness and accountability as managers of resources for all children.

UNICEF work with various governments at the national, regional, and local levels (how to help the children in need). Through this system of cooperation, UNICEF seeks also the support and cooperation of NGOs and the private sector. This conglomerate encourages governors, mayors, and local leaders to build child-friendly communities. Effective communication is implemented with parents and community leaders about the rights of their children. Training of daycare workers, teachers, and health workers is conducted.

Legislative actions and policy making directed towards the empowerment of children is encouraged by influencing the police, lawyers, and judges to set up a justice system sensitive to the needs of children (Brown, N., & Bayer, E. 2000). UNICEF aids in developing infrastructure such as build daycare centers, child-friendly schools, and health centers. We construct sanitary toilets and water systems. With the help of UNICEF, organizations are able to reach out to children — living in the streets, working in hazardous conditions, broken the law, abused and neglected, and those caught in armed conflict and affected by strife and disasters. We offer children the chance to speak out and be heard (What is Unicef?).

• PURPOSE/GOAL/ OBJECTIVE
  • Unicef Walkathon (walk on the child’s side)
    • To generate $20,000 for the “Promise for children’s dreams” Project, through:
      • Walkathon participation
      • Ticket sales from different Activities
      • Concessionaires/Food Booths
      • Bazaars in the event area
    • To increase active participation in advocating for children’s rights
    • To increase awareness about UNICEF and its goals
      • That all children have dreams
      • Children’s rights
    • Variety Show

Youth for the Youth – UNICEF invited different young amateur and professional performers to grace the event and showcase their talents. As successful and goal-driven members of the youth, they will be performing for the benefit of the less-fortunate youth in order to help them achieve their dreams and live a happy and contented childhood. They will be giving messages of hope and dreams, and ultimately become role models.

3. OVERVIEW OF THE NATURE OF THE EVENT
   • Variety Show
     • Mass
     • Opening Ceremonies
     • Variety Program
   • Variety Program
     • Features
       • Song Numbers
         • Amateur:
           • Michelle Ferriols
           • BLD Music Ministry
           • Trivent
           • Splitcide
           • Professional/Main Performer: AKAfellas
         • Dance Numbers
           • Escola Brasileira de Capoeira
           • Company of Ateneo Dancers
         • Into the Woods Play Excerpt: Blue Repertory
         • Raffle Prizes
         • Awards Ceremony
       • Host and Performers
         • Host: Bianca Gonzalez

4. OVERVIEW STATEMENT OF WORK REQUIRED
   • WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE (Stuckenbruck, L. C., 1981)
     • Participant’s mechanics
       • Walkathon participants
         • Cost of entrance for pre-registered participants
         • Cost of entrance for walk-in participants
         • Nature and kind of freebies to be given to participants
       • Walkathon
         • Walkathon slogan
         • Route
           • Number of rounds for the route
           • Management system
         • Prizes for the winners
       • Walkathon Activities
         • Concessionaires for activities
       • Food concessionaires
         • Food Booths
         • Big Sponsors’ Booths
         • Simple Booths: (Taho, Dirty Ice Cream)
         • Organizations’ Stalls
       • Volunteers and Logistics
         • Registration system
           • Location
           • System of registration for participants
         • Sound System and Stage
         • Floor Plan and Wattage
         • Volunteers’ and operators’ food
       • Promotions strategy (Special Event Publicity)
         • Pre-event advertisement

1. News Release : Unicef Invites Public to Walk on the Child’s side
   • Announce the event and its significance. Invite participants, supporters and sponsors (if needed). Explain the mechanics and what’s in it for joiners.

For: sports pages, 9 dailies + selected tabloids

Timing: 1^st week April

2. News Feature : Unicef Mounts Walkathon for XYZ
   • Focus on the reason behind the walkathon. Expound on UNICEF projects for children that need support and the public’s understanding. Invite more support and participation.

For: Lifestyle pages, dailies

Timing: second week April

3. Feature: Try The Walkathon – It’s New, Healthy and Fun!
   • Try to arouse more interest for the sport by explaining the mechanics of the sport. Why do both feet always have to touch the ground in this sport? What are the health benefits? Include trivia about walkathons past that would arouse interest. Underscore the significance of the project and introduce the beneficiary – why it needs support.

For: Lifestyle or Sports pages, dailies + weeklies

Timing: 3^rd week April

4. News Releases / Photo Releases : Updates on the

                                 Walkathon Event

• Give final call for registrants; announce venue, time, prizes, mechanics, special guests, celebrities, etc. (there will be a series of straightforward news announcements about these details of the Race before the actual event.

For: sports sections of dailies and weeklies

Timing: From 3^rd week April to just the day before the

   Race

• Event advertisement

                        Provide:

• TV Coverage
• Print Media Coverage
• Photo Coverage

Invite:

• Key government officials or civic personalities to attend
• Celebrities with their child actors and actresses to attend
• Sports Media to cover the event

Conduct:

• A Walkathon Clinic or clinics in strategic areas before the event to familiarize the mall-going public with the sport and the event.
• On-the-spot “lectures” or tip-giving by sports experts about Walkathon racing just before the event on the day itself.
• Set up Registration Centers for the Walkathon before the event in malls and other crowd-heavy places (including schools; i.e. summer schools, cooking schools) where interested participants may sign up. Prepare token rewards (a sticker? E.g. “I Walked My Talk with UNICEF”) to give to all participants who show up at Yellowstone National Park on event day.

(Optional) Stage:

• A Program with some entertainment numbers before the announcement of winners and the awarding of medals (To be discussed separately)

• Post-event advertisement

1. TV
   1. News Footages of the Project in Selected TV News Programs
   2. Short Features of the Project in Selected TV Sports/ Magazine Programs
2. PRINT

1. News Stories with Photo : Winners of Unicef

                                                   Walkathon

1. Photo Spreads : Montage of Walkathon Scenes

       And Personalities, UNICEF

       Officials, people

1. Personality Features: Choose one or several key personalities who joined or watched the Walkathon and write feature articles about them. Place the articles in lifestyle sections, sports magazines, women’s magazines.

5. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

6. TIMELINES
   • Gantt Chart (Badiru, 1993)
     • April 11-16
       • Finalize marketing letter to sponsors (packages)
       • Finalize operations
       • Finalize registration form/flyer
       • Finalize letters to companies for pledges
       • Finalize letters to celebrities
       • Finalize the logistics requirements
       • Send out letters to companies (for pledges and sponsorship)
       • Send out letters to celebrities
       • Start distribution of flyers/registration forms
       • Coordinate with PR and promo
       • Ocular (mapping)
       • List target companies for sponsors
     • April 18-22
       • Start promotions of the program
       • Ongoing roll out of letters
       • Follow-up with companies we sent proposals to
       • Set up meetings with interested companies.
       • Coordinate in getting volunteers
       • Contact City officials
       • “Logistic hunting” (i.e. sound system, tents)
       • Finalize mapping and placement (log)

• Food Flow

7. RUNNING SHEET (running sheet)

8. MANAGEMENT PLAN
   • Event Area

• Traffic management plan (traffic management – venues and events)

DROP OFF POINTS FOR THE PARTICIPANTS

9. EVALUATION, CONTROL AND MONITORING SYSTEMS

• Garbage disposal system (waste management plan)

Baggage Counter

            Two small tables will be put up at the entrance of the Administration Building; one “in” and one “out”.  The participants who wish to have their bags put in the baggage counter/claim their bags from the baggage counter should fall in line outside the building

            Ten long tables, which will serve as storage area, will be put up inside the Administration Building.  Each table is assigned twenty bags—ten on either side.  The same also follows for the area below the table. [400 baggage]

            A minimum of four volunteers is required of this system.  One would be assigned to each of the tables at the entrance while two would be the “claimers”, one for incoming bags and the other for the outgoing bags.

Garbage Disposal

            Garbage cans will be placed near the water stations: 5 stations * 2 cans = 10 cans.  Also the water station volunteers per station should each take turns to make rounds (0.5km stretch only) at 30-minute intervals to check for trash as well as to remind people to dispose their trash properly.

10. BUDGET

• Walkathon expenditures (Funding the budget)

• Promotions strategy (Guide to Special Events)

Conclusion:

Projects as critical as the Unicef fund raising project for their projects and programs has truly benefited from the utilization and effective implementation of events management theories and methods. By using the prescribed guidelines in effective events management, most if not all of the elements needed to effectively implement the project were identified and addressed (Sargeant 2004).

As proper events management would entail, it is important to clearly identify the project’s purpose and objectives for making the event. By being able to define the objectives of the fundraising project of Unicef, the events group is able to identify necessary and unnecessary items needed for the event. This greatly narrows down the needed work to be done and makes sure that all the elements of the events being implemented are value-adding activities that help in achieving the project’s objectives and goals. After by being able clearly identify the objectives of the project, the group can then move on to events planning and effective implementation.

As prescribed in effective events management, there is a need for a clear creation of an organizational structure. A clear organizational structure makes sure for an effective and efficient implementation group and would imply effective communication within affected groups of people. As would conventional events and project management would demand, it is important for effective communication. IN addition, by having a clear structure, there is a systematic approach to the implementation of the event; there is a clear identification of duties and responsibilities and what he/she is supposed to deliver.

In the Unicef event, the group was able to clearly plan as well the promotional strategy for this event. As fund raising events clearly need publicity, it was important for the group to identify and to plan out an effective means of how to strategize the effective utilization of publicity in order to attract more and more participants. Other parts of planning prescribed in events management is the use of a running sheet.

With this the group was able to clearly identify the time lines on pre-event, event and post-event days and address as much as possible all areas that were needed to be addressed. Everything in the running sheet was needed to be checked and to be verified in order to assure that everything will run smoothly on the event day.

Food was also one of the issues addressed in planning stage by creating a food flow for all volunteers involved as it would be important to provide food to the hundreds of volunteers supporting the event. A key point also addressed in effective business management is managing potentials areas for risk and how to alleviate it. For instance, in the Unicef event, this was done by creating an effective traffic management plan and a clear garbage disposal program.

Lastly, one of key points of effective events management is effective budget planning. This is ever so critical as it is important to be prudent in spending as this project is a fundraising event, therefore it is important for the event to earn money as it is implemented. If there is no earnings, then there would be no use for the project.

Effective events management has truly aided in the implementation of this project. Without effectively managing this event this event would not be able to amass funds for the projects of Unicef and at the same time would be negative publicity for the organization. However, due to effective events management there is a large possibility that the Unicef walkathon would amass much needed funds for the projects of Unicef and at the same time publicity for Unicef’s advocacies and programs.

References:

1. A running sheet in relation to project management? Available at http://www.faqs.org/qa/qa-20485.html
2. Badiru, A. B. 1993, Quantitative Models for Project Planning, Scheduling, and Control. Westport, CT: Quorum Books.
3. Brown, N., & Bayer, E. 2000, Advocacy in Action: Perspectives from UNICEF. Childhood Education, 76(5), 316-.
4. Business Knowledge Center. Gantt Chart. Available at http://www.netmba.com/operations/project/gantt/
5. Funding the budget. Available at http://www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/whatson/planning/organising/funding.asp
6. h & f. traffic management – venues and events. Available at http://www.lbhf.gov.uk/Directory/Transport_and_Streets/Roads_highways_and_pavements/Traffic_management_-_venues_and_events/54909_Traffic_management_venues_and_events.asp
7. Help the Homeless. Available at http://www.helpthehomelessdc.org/
8. Running sheet of breakout session (draft 1). Available at http://www.nihs.go.jp/dig/ich/apec/BRS1Program.htm
9. Running sheet. Available at www.hollows.org/upload/3372.pdf
10. Sargeant, A., & Jay, E. 2004, Fundraising Management. New York: Routledge.
11. Stuckenbruck, L. C. (Ed.). 1981, The Implementation of Project Management: The Professional’s Handbook. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
12. Traffic Management. Available at http://www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/whatson/planning/organising/traffic.asp
13. S. Department of Transportation. Traffic Management System. Available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/tfhrc/safety/tms.htm
14. Unicef HK. How to help the children in need. Available at http://www.unicef.org.hk/docs/new/frame.php?lang=e&page=help_corp.htm
15. Unicef, What we do. Available at www.unicef.org
16. University Communications and marketing. Guide to Special Events. Available at http://www.kent.edu/ucm/PoliciesStandards/Events.cfm
17. University Communications and marketing. Special Event Publicity. Available at http://www.kent.edu/ucm/PoliciesStandards/SEpublicity.cfm
18. Walk on the Child’s side. Available at http://www.unicef.org/philippines/support/sup_14.html
19. Waste Management plan. Available at http://www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/whatson/planning/organising/wastemgmt.asp
20. What is Unicef? Available at http://www.sil.org/linguaLinks/literacy/ ReferenceMaterials/GlossaryOfLiteracyTerms/WhatIsUNICEF.htm