Writing a news release to send out to local media is a good way of making sure that your latest and greatest actions get in to the spotlight.

1. Your projects are newsworthy so make sure to identify them as news: Announcement, News Bulletin, and News Release are good key words to use.
2. Look quickly at your release: can you immediately see the following?
WHO is putting on the event—be sure to identify yourselves as a Roots & Shoots group*; WHERE it is, and WHEN?
3. Put the most important information first—if they cut it off at any sentence, would the most important information get out? Apply that thinking throughout.
4. A boilerplate is the standard wording that organisations/groups use to describe themselves. It provides polish, context and credibility. Copy and paste this Roots & Shoots boilerplate (in blue) and attach it to your news release (usually as the last paragraph).
   About Roots & Shoots
   _________ (your group name) is a member of Roots & Shoots, a program of the Jane Goodall Institute. Roots & Shoots is an education program and global network of youth taking action in their communities to benefit people, animals and the environment. Roots & Shoots group projects range from beach cleanups to international campaigns on behalf of endangered species. Since Dr. Jane Goodall founded the program in 1991, more than 8000 groups have registered in 96 countries.
5. Start your article with the city and the date of the release. Make it ONE PAGE—no more, ever. End your article with "-30-" or "The End" at the bottom of the page.
6. Use a title or headline that grabs readers—what are you DOING (media want action and results—preferably that make interesting photos, so for example, don't tell them you had a meeting and talked).
7. Get ready! Now that you have sent a news release, someone may call. Have you added contact information at the top or bottom of the page? Are you ready to answer politely and with authority?

Last year, you told us that the current Roots & Shoots Coordinators' manuals were not working for you. This year we've been working on a series of guides for:
Youth
Classrooms (Gr. 1-3)
Classrooms (Gr. 4-8)
Community settings (community
centre, museum, science
centre, zoo, church,
Brownie/Cubs, camp, etc.)
Home

The guides are almost ready–for download and free in hardcopy for members. Here's a glimpse of the Roots & Shoots for Youth cover.
Watch your email and our website for them!