After completing your Pregnant and Parenting Resource Guide, you may be wondering—“What do we do now?” Having a packet of information is no use to your peers if it is not being effectively promoted on social media and on campus. Moreover, your guide needs to be distributed on campus and shared by the school’s faculty and staff.
If you have not yet created a plan for promotion and distribution– never fear! Here are some steps that you can take to better advertise your guide and to strategically distribute your guide on campus.
Advertise your Resource Guide
Use your social media accounts to advertise your resource guide. Post on your Facebook and Twitter reminders that this is an available resource.
- Sample post: “Pregnant? Parenting? Contact Students for Life to receive a copy of our Pregnant and Parenting Resource Guide! Email us at ______”
Embed your resource guide on your group’s website, or provide a link to download the guide. This will make your guide more accessible to the public. You can also create a unique pregnancy resource website, or work with your school to place pregnancy resource information on the school’s website.
- Examples of Student Group websites: Bama Students for Life Pregnant on Campus webpage, Bama Students for Life Pregnancy Resource Website
- Examples of University pages: University of Notre Dame “Assistance for Pregnant Students“
Table regularly! Reserve a consistent, regular time to table on campus. In addition to recruitment and advertising your group, this allows for an opportunity to be available to students who may need your assistance. Have your guide available for students.
Whenever you host an event, have copies of your resource guide available for attendees to review and take. When you do announcements at the beginning or end of the event, be sure to mention the availability of this guide and how students can access it.
Simplify It
Take your resource guide, and divide the resources into categories. (SFLA’s customizable resource guide does this for you by providing sections for Schools Contacts, Housing, Adoption, etc.) Next, create smaller pamphlets to advertise particular categories of resources. These pamphlets will be less overwhelming, and it will allow for you to more directly respond to particular requests.
Partner with Faculty and Staff
Create a list of target people that you want to partner with on campus. When creating this list, consider where you would go if you found out that you were pregnant.
- Recommended partnerships include: Health Center, Women’s Resource Center, Residence Life, Campus Ministry, Childcare Center, and Dean of Students.
Set up meetings with your target list to build your relationships with these people and to propose a plan for better serving your pregnant and parenting peers. Share the information and resources that you have collected, and recommend places and opportunities to distribute this information (e.g. on a brochure rack, on the school website, in counseling sessions).
Make a Plan– and Stick to It!
Creating a plan for the effective use of your Pregnant and Parenting Resource Guide is a smart way to ensure that you are actively seeking change on your campus. Consider these abovementioned steps and activities, and work with your group to write down a plan of action. By writing down your plan, you will be able to hold your group accountable to completing each task.
If you need help with creating a plan of action, or if you have questions concerning these tasks, please contact your SFLA Regional Coordinator. You can also email Beth O’Malley at [email protected] with Pregnant on Campus questions.
