To be 'FRANK'
On Thursday 22nd February, ‘Talk to FRANK’ operated a marketing campaign at the Idlewells Centre, a shopping mall in Sutton-In-Ashfield. This was co-ordinated by Claire Bowler, part of the DAAT team based at Sherwood Park, Mansfield. The event was specifically organised during the half-term holiday, in the hope of attracting students.
The aim of the event was to promote the ‘FRANK’ 24-hour helpline and website. Several volunteers were summoned to distribute information packs containing booklets, leaflets and various treats.
Pictured are Emily Jones, Connexions' Team Manager for Hucknall and Eastwood, and Daniel Blake, a young person helping with the campaign.
Prior to this, representatives from The Forster Company, a social change communications consultancy based in London, attended a meeting at the DAAT centre. This was highly significant as they offered training to the teenage volunteers involved in the scheme. The training involved the teenagers being placed in unfamiliar situations, people asking for advice on drugs and addictions. Many different scenarios were created, preparing the volunteers for the marketing campaign.
The volunteers were able to distribute the majority of supplies for the campaign, attracting many people to view the information available. Conversely, the campaign was not a complete success; the Idlewells Centre may not have been the correct choice of venue, due to its limited shop capacity. This was personified by one of the volunteers: “We all felt that the event may have been better-suited to a larger shopping mall, such as the Four Seasons Centre in Mansfield or the Victoria Centre in Nottingham. Although it [the event] was organised during a holiday, Idlewells seemed quite empty. But, the event was a positive experience for me as I got the chance to interact with people that I wouldn’t normally socialise with. The people that we spoke to seemed interested in what we had to offer them.”
Daniel Blake
Age 18
The Holgate School
(on work experience 2nd - 5th April 2007)
