PRESQUE ISLE, Maine – The efforts of three Northern Maine Community College students to increase the visibility of a local animal shelter will help the regional non-profit organization.
Led by two students in Pam Crawford’s marketing class, the fall semester project developed a promotional campaign for the Central Aroostook Humane Society, located on Cross Street in Presque Isle’s Industrial Park. When the ground thaws next spring, a new sign will be erected on the corner of the animal shelter property facing Central Drive.
The new sign was the first of two phases of the project undertaken by Todd Willey, of Presque Isle, and Amanda Gagnon, of Van Buren, to assist CAHS with getting the word out. It features the humane society’s current logo, which displays the slogan “Help Us Help Them.”
“We wanted to do something that would promote the location of the physical site of the Central Aroostook Humane Society, and what better way than to create a double-sided sign for all to see. The Central Aroostook Humane Society has a small sign over the entrance; however, this sign is larger, has the logo with the slogan on it and will be placed near the road for all to see clearly,” said Gagnon, who made the sign.
Gagnon turned to her brother, Nick Gagnon, also of Van Buren and a freshman in NMCC’s residential construction program, to assist in creating the sign. Supplies for the project were donated by S.W. Collins Company, Rathbun Lumber and MPG Ace Hardware.
The sign was presented recently by the students to Christine Robinson, president of the CAHS Board of Directors.
“This sign is a wonderful way to draw attention to where we are located and will hopefully make people think about the Central Aroostook Humane Society and adopting a homeless pet from us, as they notice the sign,” said Robinson. “The more advertising we have, the more animals find homes.”
For his part, Willey focused on another way to promote the work of the Humane Society.
“I wanted to get the word out on what CAHS does and how people can help through volunteering and donations. I decided to create a flyer that promotes CAHS and tells how people can help support CAHS,” said Willey.
Support for this phase of the project was provided by Staples, which allowed Willey to copy the fliers for half price. He now hopes to circulate it through the local paper and plans to post it around town in heavy traffic areas.
“We greatly appreciate all the hard work that went into developing this project to help the animals. It is a great way to tie the shelter into the ‘educational world.’ This has been a wonderful partnership,” said Robinson.
According to College officials, the Humane Society is not the only beneficiary of the students’ work.
“This project gave marketing students an opportunity to apply theoretical marketing concepts from the text to a real-world need. Not only did Amanda and Todd develop and hone marketing ski9lls that will serve them well in future employment, they also contributed to the community by donating their expertise and time to CAHS. Service learning helps students become active community citizens while still enrolled at NMCC, and our goal is that they continue to support local non-profits upon graduation,” said Crawford.
