Newsletters and other fun stuff

I've been researching how to set up a newsletter for Re-Evolve. We've been thinking that we need to reinstate it as a communication tool and that we want it to be better designed and more eye catching than ever before. However, to do that we need to have a system set up so I've been researching all the different options. Incidentally if anyone knows of a free newsletter distributor which gives users the ability to subscribe and unsubscribe automatically I'd love to hear about it!

The newsletter stuff is all very well of course but it isn't the most fascinating thing to look at. I could show you my research, although I doubt many people would find it all that riveting. Useful maybe. So instead here is a little sketch I did to keep in practice.

It was done using black watercolour paint (because I hate using ink and watercolour is easily available) and a paint brush on a piece of A5. The rules were that it had to be a quick painting with no guide lines. Every line I drew had to remain visible because I can't erase paint and no touch ups to make it neater on the PC. Additionally I wanted to test my ability to draw movement. It also helps that it's quite fun to paint this way :)

Volunteering for the RSPCA

I've been volunteering to the East Finchley branch of the RSPCA for a couple of months now as part of their newly created marketing committee. The branch does do a lot of good work in the area and runs a clinic to provide reduced rate pet care for people on income support as well as working with fostering and rehoming programs. Since vet fees can be very expensive it's an important resource for the community how have them around.

However, there are also a lot of issues with people not knowing exactly what it is that the branch does and how they work. Their clinic is small and they can't keep animals over night, much less run an animal shelter! The main thing I've been doing for them recently is to create a couple of different flyers for them to distribute in their clinic and for more general publicity. It's a simple project, but has given me good experience in communicating information and presenting it in an attractive way. I also drew up a little dog graphic for use on the flyers, which makes me happy. I want to do some other animals as well, but the dog is all that's needed for now.

Presentation

We at Re-Evolve have been working on a presentation recently to send to companies we'd like to make partnerships with.  In the future we hope to have a group of affiliated companies that will be able to provide our volunteers with work experience.  This way our volunteers will be able to get practical work experience and our careers resource will grow exponentially with quality resources!  We also hope that the system will benefit the companies by giving them the help of a volunteer in their company.

Of course this needs presenting to the companies and that's what the presentation is for.  The last few weeks have been spent organising and debating the best way in which to write out and present our information.  As part of this I've made up some graphics to help convey what we do.

I did want to add an image of my graphics but for some odd reason the computer and Blogger are conspiring against me.  This is annoying, but I'll try and add the picture in later instead.  Basically my graphics look like DNA exploding out of the test tube in the Re-Evolve logo.  It's meant to be a bit like a spider diagram, but more attractive.

Jack and the Careerstalk!

Long time, no blog. I should do something about that. Mainly this is because we haven't been in the office much over the holiday period, and we were mainly writing up information. As important as this is talking about writing up careers resources and interviews does not make for a particularly interesting blog entry.


However, I haven't spoken yet about the presentation Re-Evolve did for Vital Regeneration's Award Ceremony which attempted to explain the goals of Re-Evolve through the medium of panto. The basic concept is that Re-Evolve can help a young person's career grow like the beanstalk in Jack and the Beanstalk. So Jack and the Careerstalk was born!
With the volunteers dressed as fairies to symbolise how we are enabling young people and volunteers representing the young people the beans were changed into growing flowers to symbolise the potential of the young person to grow and follow their chosen career.

Sadly I was unable to attend the event, due to a prior commitment with the RSPCA. (I was volunteering though, that must prove my dedication!) I do enjoy dressing as a fairy from time to time so it was a little disappointing. I was involved in making all those props though, so I was happy enough. I love crafting :)

Questionaire

Anybody out there who wants to fill in one of ReEvolve's careers questionaires? Feel free to contact me to get hold of one. They don't take very long to fill out and you get to be part of ReEvolves project. Since we mention your name you could think of it as free advertising!

I visited the RSPCA Finchley Branch yesterday to talk about doing some volunteering for them. It went really well and I'll probably end up doing some marketing for them. All this is completely separate to the stuff I'm already doing for Re_Evolve, but I think it would also be a much smaller time commitment so I should be able to take it on.

I am actually very fond of the RSPCA anyway. When I was sixteen I volunteered at their Southridge Rescue Centre, which is one of the main places the RSPCA rehomes animals from. I spent most of that time cleaning out animal cages and grooming cats, but it was a good experience. Besides I like helping charities.

10 Tips for NaNoWriMo

Yes, I will keep on going on about it :)

So NaNoWriMo is one of may favourite events of the year and pretty much the only reason I look forward to November. Of course, many people many be dubious about whether they really can write 50000 words in a month. I know that I was when I first tried it. Now that I've managed the goal twice I can almost convince myself that I'm qualified to give others advice. So without further ado here's a quick list of things that I found useful.

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1) Write whenever you get a free moment. It sounds obvious but you'd be surprised what you can write in fifteen minutes if you put your mind to it.

2) Keep a running word count. The NaNoWriMo site encourages you to do this anyway and they display your results in graph form. It is incredible to watch that little graph grow as you feed more into it.


3) Listen to NaNoWriMo's podcast. It gives you focus and lots of little tips on how to write, which brings me to...


4)Sugar is your friend. Unless you're dieting or diabetic of course. Then it probably isn't. However, sugar will give you a great rush and inspire faster writing. You can also use food as a reward for reaching a certain target.

5) Don't let writer's block happen to you. Especially with NaNoWriMo when the aim is to reach a certain number of words rather than to create a master piece, writing the first thing that comes to mind can be really effective.

6) Listen to your characters. I always find that my characters evolve as the story goes along. Don't fight it; this will make you write slower and waste precious time. If your character decides that he wants to do something you didn't plan because it makes more sense to him go along with it. Just don't complain about your characters talking to you too much in public, people will give you weird looks.

7)Use NaNoWriMo's forums. You need to procrastinate every once in a while, so you might as well do it by talking to other people who are torturing themselves. They might eventually guilt you back into writing.

8) Don't watch any TV at all. Well, maybe not at all. I certainly don't keep this rule very well! What I have found is that the less TV or film I watch the more original ideas I have. But maybe that's just me.

9) Keep busy. If you have other things going on it will focus you on writing. Or drive you slightly insane. Either way you will get things done and it's more fun than sitting blankly in front of a computer.

10) Tell everyone you know about NaNoWriMo. This will help you write, mainly because once people know what you are doing you'll have to finish it to save your reputation. Remember, friends who know you failed are friends who will never let you forget it (in the most affectionate way of course). Being able to tell people that you completed your goal is the best motivation there is. Post your word count widget everywhere so that they can watch your progress.

So there you have it, my take on NaNoWriMo. Seriously give it a go, it's never too late to start writing.