Client Help a Young Person
Job description Recruiting new donors for HYP, Help a Young Person
What are we doing?
We need to develop a Christmas mailing pack, which will recruit new supporters for a
charity called Help a Young Person.
Help a Young Person works with young people aged 8-30. HYP reaches out to young
people at times of greatest need and offers them opportunities to develop mind, body
and spirit. Ultimately, they give vulnerable young people the support they need to
become independent, gain qualifications and earn a living.
This appeal will be mailed in November and focus on the work HYP do at Christmas –
rescuing vulnerable young people from the street, offering them a safe, place to stay
and the chance to start a new life. When a young person arrives at a HYP hostel, they
are given a box with essentials like a jumper, shampoo, soap, tea etc.
As a result of this appeal, we want new supporters to buy a Christmas Box for
a disadvantaged young person staying at HYP hostel on Christmas Day.
This pack should address donor needs:
Engage me – The person receiving this letter will get many requests for help and the
first challenge is to get the envelope opened. As well as asking them for a gift of £30,
consider other non-financial ways they could show their support for a young homeless
person.
Combat helplessness – Although there are many young people in need of help, we are
asking the new donor to help just one individual, covering the cost of the box of
essentials they will be given at an HYP shelter.
Help growth – Giving to charity helps a person to define him/herself. Create materials
that will make the new donor feel proud to be a HYP supporter.
To help – We are hard-wired to help others, but barriers to giving may include – the
Government should do this, I don’t have time, this young person is the author of their
own troubles. Make sure these barriers are overcome.
What are we trying to achieve?
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Firstly, a gift of £30. But we will also want to develop a relationship with this new
supporter. So our pack needs to:
Build emotional commitment to homeless and disadvantaged young people
Give a reason to give more in the future
Build respect for and recognition of the charity
Who will receive this communication?
The creative should appeal to people aged 55+. They are broadsheet readers. Interests
include gardening, the home, visiting National Trust properties. Family comes first,
although they will be empty-nesters now.
What do we know about them?
Inundated with charity appeals, they are becoming slightly tired of all the requests on
their limited resources. It will be a challenge getting them to give to a new charity,
particularly one that they have never heard of.
However, these people are caring. They consider giving to charity an important part of
their life – their social duty. They respond to emotional appeals, particularly those that
focus on children and animals who they consider blameless and victims of adult cruelty.
They will want to help homeless young people. They will be devastated that they are
cold and alone on the streets of our cities. They will also be aware how vulnerable they
are – after all, the streets are not a safe place. A young person will be at risk of falling
into bad company, getting hooked on drugs and maybe even getting involved in
prostitution. They will want to save them before their innocence is taken away.
They will want to give to this appeal because:
It’s Christmas – a time for giving.
While most young people are enjoying a loving family environment, a vulnerable
young person could be completely alone.
The Christmas box is a real product and each item will benefit the young person.
They may feel guilty about the money they have spent this Christmas.
For just £30, they can make a big difference to a young person who has nothing.
What are the barriers to participation?
This is the Government’s responsibility.
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People should be able to sort their own problems out.
I’ve survived, why can’t they?
I can’t afford it.
I don’t have time.
I can’t be bothered.
I’ve spent my money on my family/friends already.
Their own families should be helping them.
I don’t believe anyone will actually receive a Christmas box.
What is the single most important thing this communication should convey?
Give £30 and buy a Christmas box for a disadvantaged young person who is staying at a
HYP hostel on Christmas Day.
How do we prove this?
Show Need:
Let’s get it clear. No one wants to be homeless. It’s cold and dangerous. A young
person may well have become homeless through no fault of their own – their parents
might have kicked them out, they may have been abused or have been living in care.
Christmas will be an especially sad and lonely time for them. And when they arrive at a
HYP hostel, they will have nothing.
Offer a short-term solution:
By giving £30 to buy a Christmas Box, the supporter will provide a young person with
the essentials they need to start a new life. Just as importantly, they will give them a
gift to open on Christmas day and show them that someone cares.
Back this up with a long-term solution:
Help a Young Person doesn’t just provide accommodation. They can also help a
homeless young person get training, qualifications, a permanent place to live – so by
supporting HYP, the supporter will help someone put their life back together.
Help a Young Person is a charity which means this work is only possible because of
supporters like you.
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Develop emotional commitment:
Tell the supporter a story that touches them. This will build a bond between them and
Help a Young Person.
Show rational evidence:
Help a Young Person has been around for 57 years.
They are experienced and knowledgeable.
They offer accommodation, training, a helpline – everything a young person needs to
start a new life.
What is the personality?
Compassionate, straight talking, intelligent and uncompromising.
Other information
Casestudy:
Fifteen-year-old Kirsty arrived at a HYP hostel, last Christmas, with nothing. She was
extremely distressed and it was clear that she was in pain. It was only later that she
was able to talk to us about what had happened to her.
Three Christmases ago. Kirsty’s mother had attempted suicide. Because her mother was
unable to care for her any more, Kirsty was forced to go and live with her father. He had
a history of violence and it wasn’t long before he began to beat Kelly. Just recently, he’d
hit her so badly that she’d had to go to hospital. Too frightened to go home, she’d
ended up on the streets...
Christmas box contents:
Box, coffee, tea, biscuits sugar, phone card, stamps, wrapped present, socks, scarf,
gloves, hat, soap, flannel, tooth brush, toothpaste, towel, Christmas card, deodorant,
hairbrush.
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