Engaging with the media can be a great way to boost your fundraising or Action at Home activity, and raise awareness of ICS and the fight to reduce poverty at the same time.
Local newspapers and radio stations love to hear about local people doing interesting things, so they will love to hear about you doing ICS. It’s really important to keep the local angle though, so make sure you always make it clear you’re a local person, or that your event is happening locally, or that you’re helping the local community.
1. Create your press release using one of the ICS press release templates. A press release is a statement you send to the paper to tell them about your story. There are a few different templates on the ICS website, so choose the one that suits you best.
2. Read it out loud – does it make sense?
3. Make sure you have a clear, good quality photo of yourself to help sell the story – see ‘How to... take a great newspaper photo’
4. Make a list of your local newspapers and radio stations. If you’re not sure how to find them, just
Google ‘[Your town] news/radio’. Remember to look up your local BBC Radio station as well.
5. Give each paper or radio station a call and ask for their news desk email address
6. Send your press release and your photo – put the title of the press release as the email
‘subject’, write a brief intro email, copy and paste your release into the email, attach the photo and send!
7. If you don’t hear anything after a couple of days, give them a call to find out if they’d like any more information or an interview.
Don’t be worried about calling – news desks always want to hear about good local stories!
If you’re worried about what to say, explain that you’re calling because you have a story they might be interested in. Explain your story
(e.g. your fundraising event, or your upcoming placement), and ask if anyone has already picked up the press release you sent. If not, offer to send it over again.
8. If you’re having any problems – get in touch!
We’re more than happy to help. Contact the media contact at your agency, or email icsmedia@vso.org.uk

Newspapers need great photos. Taking one is easy, just follow our top tips:
• There shouldn’t be too many people in the photo, you should be the main subject
• Make sure you’re looking at the camera
• Make sure it’s related to the fundraising, placement or Action at Home activity you’re talking about in the press release – and make it as interesting as possible!
• If you have an ICS t-shirt - wear it!
• If anyone else appears in your photograph make sure you have their consent to send it to local media
• Follow up – if your local paper or radio station cover your story before your placement, they’ll probably want to hear about how you got on!
You can use one of the post-placement ICS press release templates to let them know.
• Don’t give up – if your story doesn’t get covered first time round, try again! You can send a press release about a different fundraising or Action at Home event, or try again after your placement
• Let us know – if your story gets into the paper, or you’re invited to appear on the radio, let us know! We love to see volunteers sharing their experience in the media. You can tell your
Fundraising Support Officer, the media contact at your ICS agency, or email icsmedia@vso.org.uk
Once your local paper and radio station have seen your press release, they might want to interview you. This isn’t anything to be nervous about – they just want to find out a bit more about your ICS fundraising or placement. They might want to hear about how your fundraising is going, how excited you are, what you achieved or hope to achieve during your placement, what it was like on placement or what your plans are now you’re home.
If you’re invited for a radio interview, get in touch with the media contact at your ICS agency. They can help you with key tips for radio interviews.