Newsletter Proposal for Big Brothers Big Sisters To: Sara Jane Maaranen, Bilingual Enrollment and Match

Support Specialist Big Brothers Big Sisters of Utah From University of Utah Professional Writing Students: Hillary Hansen, James Kirklow, Joshua Perez, Neil Xia Date: February XX, 2014 Subject Big Brothers Big Sisters Monthly Newsletters for March and April Introduction Big Brothers Big Sisters initiative on helping children achieve success in life is highly respected, because it creates hope for an improved and safer community in the future. As students at the University of Utah, we would like to assist the organizations need by developing a monthly newsletter for its volunteers. We hope that this project will help the staff, volunteers, and parents become aware of activities and service opportunities within the community, as well as build a sense of community among the volunteers of Big Brothers Big Sisters. Background Big Brothers Big Sisters of Utah has a large number of Bigs that help kids of all ages get involved in worthwhile activities, and to help guide them towards their goals. There is a newsletter that goes out to all of the Bigs each month. This newsletter includes ideas of events and activities Bigs can do with their Littles. The information contained in these monthly newsletters is important because it allows Big Brothers Big Sisters to coordinate their meetings. Sara Jane Maaranen is the current manager of this project; however, she is busy with other projects and would like someone to take on this project so that she may focus on her other responsibilities. Previous monthly newsletters have included the following sections: Events, Recurring Events, Craft Ideas, and Food for Thought. Bigs rely heavily on this newsletter when planning things to do with their Littles, so our group will need to include numerous entertaining, yet cheap events and activities in the newsletter. Objectives

The final project will consist of a newsletter for the months of March and April. These newsletters will be directed towards Bigs, and advertise activities they can do with their mentees. Our goal is to ensure that the Bigs have a wide variety of activities to choose from throughout the Salt Lake Valley.

The Events section will include information on where events will be located, the cost, and the recommended age-range. The Food for Thought section will include thought provoking questions to help build and strengthen the bond between Big and Little. The Agency section will summarize last months events and spotlight exceptional Bigs or Littles from Big Brothers Big Sisters.

We plan on delivering a well-organized and informative newsletter that not only meets the needs of the Bigs, but also gives a lasting positive impact on the community. Methods

We will access resources such as city and county library calendars, the Salt Lake Tribune, and the Office of Diversity Affairs, as well as other miscellaneous resources. It is essential that we take the time to find quality events throughout the Salt Lake Valley. This will allow us to create a well-rounded document that doesnt cater to just one subset of people, and instead, offers a options for all ages, personalities, and interests. The Food for Thought section will need to address engaging issues that are both interesting to the youth but also relevant to todays issues. It is vital however that these questions do not provoke topics that are overly controversial. We will follow the format of previous months newsletters with no significant changes to the other sections. Our group will stay in close contact with Ms. Sara Maaranen to receive important updates on the status of last months program and potential Bigs/Littles they would like to spotlight for the Agency section. We will send an initial draft to Ms. Maaranen for any necessary revisions before sending a revised, final newsletter for publication. Schedule Submit Proposal February 20 February 21 February 27

March Newsletter(First Draft) March Newsletter(Final Submission) April Newsletter(First Draft) April Newsletter(Final Submission) Qualifications

March 11 March 25

Our professional writing team consists of four individuals who are highly involved on the University of Utah campus. We offer a wide variety of ideas and perspectives to this project because of our different experiences and professional goals. We are driven and hold ourselves to a high standard of work. We acknowledge the impact of Big Brothers Big Sisters on the community and hope that the monthly newsletter project can effectively contribute towards this organization. Budget We do not anticipate needing a budget for this project. All work will be done digitally and Big Brothers Big Sisters will be responsible for distributing the newsletter. Should funding be necessary, we will submit a proposal ahead of time detailing the necessary budget and how the funding will contribute towards this project. Conclusion We are honored and excited to assist with this project. Our goal is to deliver high quality writing under the aforementioned time frame, and to create a template that will be applicable to future newsletters. We are happy to support Big Brothers Big Sisters in helping the children in our community. We hope that our contributions will assist in the programs success by giving the programs volunteers productive resources to better interact with their child.