Cause related non-profit organizations are always seeking to publicize their cause, bring stakeholders in the community together, inform the general population, and gain political support for their cause or issue. One very effective vehicle to achieve all these goals is to hold an awareness campaign.

An awareness day or week is a particular day or week chosen by an organization or group, dedicated to focusing a community's attention on a particular cause or issue. Attention is focused through events that all take place within one day or week and are designed to educate the public, raise funds, garner media attention, bring stakeholders together, and place the cause or issue in the political agenda. Awareness days and weeks may take many forms such as luncheons, round table discussions, fairs, workshops, or conferences and may discuss a variety of causes and issues such as homelessness, hunger, public health, sexual health, and many others.

Knowing the best practices for awareness days will make a successful and effective awareness day. They include:

Organizing a committee or task force of dedicated and enthusiastic individuals. These individuals may be found in local organizations, local elected political representatives, and anyone from the community who is devoted to creating awareness about a particular cause or issue. The National Coalition for the Homeless provides a sample checklist of some questions to be answered once a committee has been formed.

Participation by representatives from local service providers and support organizations. These are important participants for an awareness day or week because they can provide fact sheets, statistics, and important first hand experiences on their area of expertise. As an example, the City of Greater Sudbury hosted a Homelessness Awareness Day which included representatives from AIDS Committee, Youth Centres, Canadian Mental Health Association, Red Cross, John Howard, Elizabeth Fry, local Mission groups, local churches, YM-YWCA, and the Salvation Army.

Providing a venue for the exchange of information between organizations or with the public, such as in a conference or fair, will add to a successful awareness day. Providing the opportunity for individuals to write down their ideas or suggestions for local elected political representatives may also be helpful with getting decision makers attention and evoking a response.

Special guest or keynote speakers can provide an awareness day's public event with a point of focus for the public and media. Ideal candidates include someone who works as a community information provider, is well known in the community, someone who is experiencing or has experienced the particular cause or issue you are focusing on, or Executive Directors of local organizations who have seen the problem firsthand. Having local political representatives speak at the event on how they feel about the problem or plans to address the problem allows the public the opportunity to hear from a public official and to voice their questions or concerns. The National Coalition for Homelessness offers the idea of a Faces Panel, which provides an opportunity for dialogue between homeless or formerly homeless persons with those who want to learn more about homelessness. An example of a Faces Panel is available in the coalitions online homelessness awareness week resource.

Attention and stories from local media outlets on an awareness campaign is an important part of the success of the awareness day. It may be helpful to provide the local media with a press release and blueprint of your awareness event that will allow them to create a complete and accurate story. The National Coalition for Homelessness provides a sample press release and helpful information about advertising your activities.

For examples of Homelessness Awareness Week visit National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week.

For examples of Sexual and Reproductive Health Day visit Canadian Federation for Sexual Health.