Divine in Purpose and Plan
Jane Tuttle
Lawrence KS USA
Robin Rziha
Hoisington KS USA
From: LEAVEN, Vol. 42 No. 1, February-March 2006, p. 10.
The saying "many hands make light work" is one that captures the essence of collaboration, with each
person doing what she can to make a dream come to reality. The World Breastfeeding Week Celebration (WBWC) in the
USA is an example of many Leaders doing what they can to make the national celebration a success. All of the
individual efforts contribute to the overall success.
Success can be measured in many different ways. If the event was a fundraiser, success can be measured in the
profits brought in for the effort extended. It can also be measured by increasing the donor base for the event. If
the event's purpose was to raise awareness of breastfeeding in the local community, success can be measured in
people at the event or the number of media exposures. Was a Web site used to advertise the event? If so, the number
of hits to the Web site might be a good measure of effectiveness. If the event's purpose was to develop a deeper
sense of community among the mothers and their families attending the Series Meetings, success could be measured in
terms of increased memberships sold, greater attendance at meetings, or even a willingness to take on Group tasks.
If the event was intended to raise awareness of the local Group, asking new mothers at the Series Meetings how they
found out about the local meeting might be an ideal way to measure success.
Measuring the effectiveness of any event can be done in many ways and knowing the purpose of the event is key to
measuring if the events met its goals. In other words, did it do what was intended? If the event was not intended
as a large fundraiser, it might be demoralizing to compare the total income to an event that was intended to raise
large sums of money. If the event was not meant to increase the community's awareness of breastfeeding, it would be
inappropriate to evaluate the event in terms of new mothers at the Series Meetings. The variety of events used
around the US to celebrate World Breastfeeding Week indicates that the purposes are just as varied.
Candace Hill of Evanston, Illinois, USA shared that the Natural Baby Fair that their Group exhibited at as part
of World Breastfeeding Week was designed to publicize the local LLL Group, to highlight the materials available
from LLLI, and to network with the other organizations at the Fair. While disappointed about the low book sales at
the exhibit, the true purpose was to raise awareness of LLL and network. Candace also used colorful donation flyers
to post on the walls when someone donated a dollar. The visual was very effective at raising some funds as people
could see what their dollar did immediately: it got their name or the name of someone they loved on the wall for
others to see. The funds raised will be used to support the local Group's operations. This event can be considered
successful because of the number of mothers Candace talked with and materials she distributed, plus the funds she
raised a dollar at a time.
KeeNan Engstrom of LLL of Weber County in Utah, USA used balloons as a focal point of their local Group's Walk
around the local dinosaur park. Participants could walk through the park at their leisure any time after checking
in and receiving a balloon to attach to their stroller (push chair), baby carrier, or person. This passive
publicity drew attention to the participants who could easily identify one another and/or share about "the
balloon" with anyone who asked. The success of the use of balloons to draw attention to breastfeeding babies
could be measured by counting the number of people who inquired about the balloons. As with any walk, counting the
number of sponsored walkers and what they raised can produce a ratio that expresses success or not -- depending on
the goal of the walk.
Barb Gabbert Bacon used balloons in Wichita, Kansas, USA one year and attached a breastfeeding fact tag to each
balloon to reinforce the importance of breastfeeding. The fact tag provided education as well as another adornment
to the balloons.
An integral part of the World Breastfeeding Week Celebration for Ginny Wilkinson, of Danville, Pennsylvania, USA
is the covered dish dinner that their Group holds before their walk with a Series Meeting following the WBW
Celebration. The camaraderie generated by the meal seems to set the stage for families to want to participate in
the Walk and stay for a special couples' meeting.
World Breastfeeding Week Celebrations in the US use many formats. No event is more important than another to the
overall success of the celebrations. Rather, it is the collective effort of small and large events with
fundraising, awareness raising, or community development purposes that make the World Breastfeeding Week
Celebrations a robust and diverse event.
It is not too early to plan what purpose your 2006 WBW Celebration event will have and how you can make your
dreams become a reality to help mothers and babies breastfeed. To learn more about the USA's Celebration of World
Breastfeeding Week visit www.lllusa.org/wbw.
Page last edited Sun Oct 14 09:32:16 UTC 2007.
