A Richmond resident has put pen to paper to help non-profits and other organizations get the word out about their work.
In his debut book, Think Headlines: Turning Your Stories into Headlines, Douglas Woods draws on his experience engaging with the media during his work with non-profits in Winnipeg and Vancouver.
“I think a lot of small organizations have a notion that what is happening – even though an organization may be doing some really good and valuable things, that there would be no interest in mainstream media, television or radio or newspaper,” said Woods, who worked as the executive director of Siloam Mission in Winnipeg in the ‘90s and Mission Possible in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside in the 2000s.
“My understanding is the media is interested. And so, I outline in this book…why an organization should try to engage with the media. Then I outline how to do it and when to do it,” he said, pointing out that the media “needs stories fed to them.”
He said the media attention can help raise the profile of a non-profit organization, including showcasing the value of current volunteers’ work and drawing in new people, as well as having a positive financial impact.
“It would appear to me that when things are in mainstream media, that it seems immediately to be more authentic,” Woods said. “I think the public says, this story must be valid and must be true.”
Woods, who is now retired and a long-time resident of east Richmond near No. 5 Road, shares stories from his time at Mission Possible and Siloam Mission that drew media attention, to highlight what can make headlines.
He said one of the “really surprising” stories was when he was at Siloam Mission, which began serving Christmas dinners – the first served about 150 dinners to people experiencing homelessness and substance abuse issues.
He said the mission challenged those coming in for the meals to bring $1 to donate it to the famine in North Korea at the time. A federal program would then match that donation with $4. In the end, Woods said, the group raised $75.
Woods said he reached out to the Winnipeg Free Press about the effort and the story made the front-page news – and even drew a matching donation from a community member who saw the article.
“So that helped put Siloam Mission on the map. That’s probably one of the best stories that I was ever involved in getting headlines in a major media outlet.”
Another example is a story published in the Richmond News, when Woods and his wife invited new immigrants and refugees to spend Christmas Day with them, cooking up a traditional dinner and playing games.
While Woods said he has been working on Think Headlines off and on for around 20 years – taking notes, collecting newspaper and television clips and writing a rough draft – it wasn’t until the past year or so that he began working on the book in earnest.
He said the most challenging aspect was getting all the various permissions in order from news outlets whose clippings and photos he illustrated in his book.
Think Headlines was self-published through WestbowPress and is available on Amazon.ca or the book’s website.