Written by Meggie Stewart, Communications and Program Expansion VISTA.

Concrete Jungle’s gleaning events at farms, orchards, and vineyards outside the city of Atlanta are called Adventure Picks. These are day-long events that typically involve a few hours of harvesting followed by an “adventure” to nearby places of interest such as a swimming hole, hiking trail, tourist attraction, or restaurant. Planning a successful Adventure Pick requires coordination with farmers, outreach to local food pantries and volunteer organizations, research about activities in the area, as well as Atlanta-based volunteer recruitment and communications. This guide includes a checklist for the individual or team at Concrete Jungle (CJ) responsible for communications and volunteer outreach, from the early planning stages until after the event. 

Purpose: 

Our supporters, both existing and new volunteers, find out about, sign up for, and spread the word about an upcoming adventure pick.

Objectives:

1. Communicate the essential details of the pick including: location, date, and timing, agenda
2. Build excitement
3. Recruit new and existing volunteers
4. Maintain good relations with farmer and local orgs

Outcomes:

1. Fill all sign up spots for the pick
2. Maximize the amount of produce we harvest
3. Be invited back next time by the farmer

Reverse Timeline

4-6 weeks before the pick:

• All involved CJ staff decide on essential details, create an internal google calendar event
  • Date (try not to conflict with other volunteer events)
  • Schedule of the day 
  • Adventure afterwards, 
  • Equipment needed, etc. 
• Publish the pick to the Airtable volunteer calendar, write a description which can be re-used on Facebook (FB) and Instagram (IG)
• Make FB event
• Announce the pick on Social Media using pictures and video from the pick last year and/or an event flyer. If it’s a new farm and there are no existing photos, use photos from a different, similar event and stock photos of the fruit/vegetable to be harvested.
• Announce in the Newsletter in the big section at the top of the newsletter
• Update Social Media Linktree with sign up link
• Create a promo kit in a folder on Google Drive to share with partner organizations. Include: Description of the event (press release), IG post with pictures and caption, FB post with a link to our FB event page, CJ logo, and CJ mission, printable flyer for the event.
• Send Promo kit to contacts on the press list. Press list includes news outlets, magazines, and partner nonprofit organizations. 

Reaching out to Local Organizations, As Soon as Possible (3-5 weeks before the pick)

• Contact local organizations near the pick so they can plan to send volunteers or spread the word to their community, including: rotary club, scouting orgs, volunteer orgs, religious orgs, schools, libraries, gardeners, etc. 
  • Phone calls get best results, builds relationships with local folks 
  • Send promo kit to local orgs
  • Follow up with more info as required
• If local orgs are organizing their own volunteers, such as in the Sumner Corn Pick, organize a virtual meeting to determine the start time and schedule for the day, record notes. Distribute these notes the week of the event.

2 weeks before the pick:

• Highlight pick on social media, co-author posts with any relevant orgs when possible, including:
  • The farm we’re picking at
  • Volunteer orgs we’re partnered with for the pick
  • Anyone who donated supplies (example: Atlanta Botanical Garden)
• Tell Atlanta Fruit Pick leaders and Farm leaders to mention the upcoming adventure pick to their volunteers during reflection time

Week of the pick:

• Final Social Media posts, include info about the adventure afterwards, etc.
• Outreach to local organizations should be done, focus on following up with anyone who had questions, and helping them get volunteers signed up on Airtable
• Check for questions from volunteers at the CJ email and social media comments/messages every day. Common questions include: 
  • How to sign up
  • Can children come (yes, with an adult present)
  • What is the rain plan
• Send reminder email with all event details to the volunteers
• Recruit a photographer. This can be a communications committee member, pick leader, or staff member to take high quality photos and videos at the adventure pick to use for a social media/newsletter pick “recap” and use for next year’s promotion.

During and After the Pick:

• Post a story on Social Media during the pick if possible
• Send a thank you email to volunteers, including a link to upload their own pictures to share. Include “save the date” info for the next adventure pick coming up.
• Create a pick “recap” for social media and the newsletter using photos and videos. Include: 
  • thank you to the farmer who donated their produce
  • total pounds harvested 
  • number of volunteers 
  • where the food is donated if appropriate to share