Warning:

This document is being maintained for historical purposes, but is now out of date. To view current guidelines please visit:

• HIV/AIDS Guidelines and Recommendations   at http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/guidelines/index.html

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Guidelines for Health Education and Risk Reduction Activities

April 1995
                
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Atlanta, Georgia

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                              Special Events

Special events such as street fairs, job fairs, health fairs, World AIDS
Day activities, and local celebrations in communities sometimes can deliver
public information to large numbers of people and can gain media exposure.  

Community Involvement and Support

Community groups and organizations can play an important role in
implementing special events.  Libraries, schools, churches, businesses, or
social groups provide leadership in communities and are able to pool
resources and inspire citizens to join their efforts.

The types of events that can be organized are unlimited and can be as
original and varied as the ideas and resources of the people organizing
them.  Networking can heighten the visibility of events, resulting in
greater public awareness when interested persons are identified and
contacted.  Efforts can begin with one or more of the following types of
organizations:

  - Schools, colleges, and other educational organizations, such as local
    PTA chapters and nursing schools.

  - Civic associations, fraternal organizations, social sororities, and
    clubs. 

  - Community-based organizations including the National Association for
    the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the American Red Cross, the
    National Urban League, and the Young Men Christian Association/Young
    Women Christian Association (YMCA/YWCA).

  - Neighborhood associations.

  - Churches and other religious institutions.

  - Businesses such as shopping malls, health and fitness clubs, drug
    stores, laundromats, bars, bookstores, and groceries where members of
    the target audience can be found.

  - Media outlets such as newspapers, television, and radio stations.

Creativity is an important aspect of successful special events.  A number
of innovative ideas have been implemented across the country.  For example,
The Condom Resource Center whose goal is to reduce the incidence of
sexually transmitted disease, including HIV/AIDS infection, sponsors a
yearly event entitled "National Condom Week."  (See References for contact
information.)  To distribute pamphlets and condoms, information tables are
set up in public areas and in more secluded locations for self-conscious
people or people who are shy about sexual matters.  Additional public
events are staged, such as the following: 

  - A contest for prizes in which people design posters with condom
    messages.

  - A contest to guess the number of condoms in the jar with the person
    with the closest guess winning the contents of the jar.

  - An annual "media conference" for high school and college newspaper
    staff to provide accurate information and to encourage coverage of
    National Condom Week.

Planning Special Events

  - Identify persons and organizations in the community interested in
    planning an observance or event.

  - Consider what types of activities will draw the target audience to an
    event (e.g., different people may be drawn to music, dance, art,
    sports, celebrity events).

  - Agree to sponsor an activity or a group of activities making sure that
    each will contribute to public information objectives with the
    designated target audience.

  - Discuss resources needed, such as a guest speaker, financial sponsors,
    and publicity materials.

  - Get members of the target audience involved in planning.

  - Create a planning schedule and set a date for the activity.

  - Delegate responsibilities for work by assigning persons to be in charge
    of specific aspects of the planned activity; put people in charge of
    location, special attractions, hospitality, publicity, and media
    according to their skills and interests.

  - Develop a publicity plan to assure attendance; publicity is crucial for
    the success of any event.

  - Decide on the most effective way to publicize the events, e.g.,
    announcements in the media and at meetings, flyers, public service
    announcements, posters, or mass mailings.

  - Track planning progress: use the planning schedule and publicity plan
    as a guide to make sure that the event is a success.

  - Evaluate the success of the event by comparing the number of attendees
    expected with actual attendance; identify how many of the target
    audience attended and what they thought of the event; review media
    coverage and other publicity that supported prevention objectives;
    identify increased awareness of the program as a result of publicity
    (e.g., through pre- and post-event surveys); compare effort involved in
    developing the event with the value of the outcome.

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