Farewell LASC..We did it!

It seems absolutely crazy to me that I have actually completed my Public Relations concentration here at Georgia College. It feels like just yesterday I declared my major, and was sitting in Bob Lee’s Principles of Public Relations class. Although the last few years have flown by I have definitely learned a lot. After countless press releases, newspaper articles, interviews, group projects and lots of events I can say I am much more prepared for the real-word than I could have imagined. Ending my PR classes is definitely a bittersweet feeling, but there are a few things I will definitely take away from this experience.

1. Never trust people…without a written agreement! (I think Ladies Lawn night can agree we learned this the hard way.)
2. You can not procrastinate in Public Relations, and waiting until the last minute is never a good thing. (You can’t do an interview in the middle of the night and deadlines will always sneak up on you.)
3. Never be afraid to talk to people. (What’s the worst that can happen?)
4. People are almost always willing to help you. (So don’t be afraid to ask!)
5. Always introduce yourself to people. (It helps build your network, and it couldn't hurt, right?)
6. Details are important and you can never be over-prepared. (Especially when it comes to event planning!)
7. Don’t sweat the small stuff. (Something will always go wrong the day of event, but not freaking out is imperative. Take a deep breath and figure it out!)
8. Delegation is key! (You can’t always do everything by yourself.)
9. Write everything down or you might forget it! (My planner is my life saver.)
10. LASC is the best J (Never EVER have SC at an event!!!!!)

The Magic of Macy's

My mom has worked for Macy's for the past 30 years. She always talks about all the great things they do, but I never really knew exactly what she was talking about. When I started looking up Macy's Corporate Social Responsibility I was pleasantly surprised on all the information I found.

When I was younger my sisters and I would wake up early at least one Saturday a month to go do events for "Partners in Time." We would do fun things like Habitat for Humanity, Special Olympics, helping the elders, Susan G. Koman Race, AIDS Walk, feeding the hungry and much more. I got to meet all my mom's work friends, and I had a great time volunteering too. "Partners in Time" is just one of the many things Macy's does to help out the less fortunate. Corporate and store employees are encouraged to spend some time on the weekends doing projects to make a difference.

Macy's is also heavily involved with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Currently, they are running the Believe campaign. Kids can bring letters to Santa over the holiday season and drop them in special mailboxes inside their local Macy's. For each stamped letter to Santa Macy's received they will donate $1 to Make-A-Wish, up to a million dollars.

Another program they are involved in right now is the "Thanks for Sharing" campaign. Macy's shoppers are encouraged to pay a one-time enrollment fee of $25. For each enrollment, Mac’s will donate $10 to many local and national charities. Once enrolled in the program 10 percent of every purchase until the end of the year is accumulated into a voucher. In February, Macy's will mail the vouchers in the form of a “Thanks for Sharing” card redeemable at any Macy’s or macys.com.

Other than charity evolvement, Macy's also is doing their part to keep their company eco-friendly. Some of their recent accomplishments include:

- Increase our use of renewable power sources (solar, wind, etc.) eight-fol by 2010 (from 2006 levels)

- Reduce the amount of paper we use by at least 20 percent by 2010

- Increase the percentage of recycled (10 percent PCW or higher) and/or third-party certified paper we use by 20-fold by 2010 (from 2006 levels) to at least 50 percent.

As you can see Macy's really does to their part in helping out. They are a huge company, and maintaining good CSR is vital to their survival. Even in these tough times it is still priority for them to continue to share and give.