Emerson public relations students partnered with Soldier On, a Pittsfield-based nonprofit, in planning an event to raise awareness about veteran homelessness. 

The event, held on the Boston Common on Friday, March 29, had two locations: one near the Park Street T-station and the other by the Earl of Sandwich stand. Event attendees and passersby were invited to decorate a canvas “brick” corresponding to a particular donation amount. The “bricks” were then taped onto cardboard houses as a visual representation of each donor’s support. 

Casey DiCicco, who serves as Soldier On’s communications director, noted that the non-profit’s ultimate mission is to eliminate veteran homelessness by increasing access to wraparound resources and programs. 

“Every individual is assigned a case manager that works on an individual service plan for each veteran,” said DiCicco. “Whether a veteran’s needs are centered around food security, credit education, mental health services, or end-of-life services, we focus on implementing wraparound services.” 

Dr. Maria Scott, who teaches the media relations class that planned the event, said that this is the fourth year that students have worked with real clients. 

“The first thing the students do is assess the needs of the client, and they come up with a plan,” said Scott. “Students then pitch the plan to the client. This particular client is Soldier On, and they picked this particular project for us to do.”

Scott noted that when choosing particular clients for the semester-long project, she has multiple conversations with potential clients before the semester starts. 

“The reason Soldier On got selected was that I had already done a campaign with them for my  Campaigns Capstone class, and they were such an amazing client to work with,” said Scott. “Knowing that their Tewksbury location opens in November, we wanted to do something that involved an art installation and fundraising, so this was a win-win opportunity.” 

According to Scott, the planning of the event involved many tactical elements, and each student in the class played an important role in ensuring its success. 

“The different divisions for the event corresponded to a different tactical element,” said Scott. “Some people worked on the press releases and securing media contacts, others did social media, graphic design, event management, and making the schedules.”

Sofia Sarmanian, a sophomore public relations student, was part of the team whose initial event pitch was chosen by Soldier On. 

“We started planning our event pitches on the second day of class and I’m super blessed that my team’s event was chosen,” said Sarmanian. “It was a lot of work but a very rewarding process.” 

Sarmanian added that she chose to be part of the tactical writing division to sharpen her skills. 

“I wanted to be a part of the tactical writing division, not only to get a sense of what my future career will be like but to explore the tactical piece to public relations,” said Sarmanian. “I was able to write press releases and communicate with the press, and it is extremely important to have those skills.”

Elle Baray-Forgét and Sophie Rodrique, both sophomore public relations majors, served as members of the social media design division. Their team generated promotional material for the day of the event and graphics posted on social media leading up to the event. 

“We’ve been working on this specific event since around the third week of the semester,” said Baray-Forgét. “We hit the ground running right away.”

Scott emphasized that a majority of her teaching is based on experiential and service learning, the event with Soldier On being just one instance of this in practice. 

“I want the students to have this memory in their head and say, ‘This is something I did. I came up with the idea. I participated in the event. I pitched to the media,’” said Scott. “I want them to look back on this and say, ‘When I was a student, this is one of the things that I got to participate in and create.’”

Reflecting on the event, DiCicco hopes that attendees remember that homelessness has no zip code and can happen to anyone. Furthermore, DiCicco pointed to permanent housing as a more long-term solution. “Homelessness has no zip code, and it can happen to you and me,” said DiCicco. “These individuals need a community. Building a community is critically important, and that’s why we’re building a lot of permanent housing.”