Storytelling for Success: Promoting your Programming

The Story of the Storytelling Party.

For Children’s Choice in Albuquerque, New Mexico, this year has been the Year of Storytelling. Children’s Choice Child Care Services provides high-quality, before-and-after-school programs in eight Albuquerque Public Schools.  

Mike and Chelsea Ashcraft, the co-founders and leaders of this organization, know that it is important for afterschool programs to invest in storytelling. Storytelling begins not with a crafted marketing message, but with the genuine culture of the organization. It begins with ensuring your story is worth telling. It begins with quality. 

Chelsea Ashcraft says, “Everyone in our organization knows that when you are on the job, everything you do or say is storytelling.  What you say and how you act and what you do defines who WE are. When you are part of our team, you are ALWAYS telling our story, so tell it very WELL.”

After you create true quality and value, storytelling can evolve into ensuring that others know you - who your organization is, what you do for the community, and what level of quality you provide. Now, storytelling can be about celebrating the work that you do in as public of a way as possible. Mike Ashcraft, co-founder of Children’s Choice says, “Becoming intentional and diligent about telling our story changed the nature of the relationships we have with our stakeholders and opened doors to new possibilities, new partnerships and new resources for accomplishing our mission.” 

It is about making sure that the classroom teachers, nurses, custodians, PE teachers, cafeteria managers, counselors, support staff, community leaders, and all the families in our schools know exactly who you are and what you do. Part of storytelling is about being able to articulate in a quick “elevator speech” exactly what you do, and why you do it. It is all about relationships – making and building connections that can help you in your work.

To Children’s Choice, storytelling means continuous “friendraising” – creating groups of people that care about your success and support you. If parents, schools, and the community know who you are, what you do, they will advocate for you and treat you as a professional. If the community knows your story, you will garner public support for your work.

Children’s Choice is dedicated to high quality, and the staff work tirelessly to meet the highest child-care standards possible.  They achieved a significant goal when all eight programs earned COA Accreditation this year. The staff understood that this tremendous accomplishment was worth celebrating, so they decided to throw a party - a storytelling party! And since the organization was also celebrating it’s 16^th year in operation, they decided to call it a Sweet 16 Birthday Bash. The party was a tremendous success at telling the story of the organization and celebrating the staff, the families, and their continual growth over the past 16 years. 

When it comes to throwing a family event, especially a celebration, there are three rules of success. #1 Feed them. If you FEED them, they will come. #2 Give everyone a ROLE in the event. Engage kids, parents, school faculty, and staff by assigning them important roles. #3 Invite Everyone. Be inclusive. Invite everyone who was, is, or might become a fan. Announce the event through paper newsletters and e-newsletters, through personal and constant contact. Look people in the eye and request their presence at the event. This Birthday Bash was a model of the three rules of success.

The Bash took over the whole theater and lobby of the North Fourth Art Center on a Saturday afternoon in March.  The event kicked off by releasing helium balloons, singing Happy Birthday and cutting birthday cake. 

A great birthday party needs a great birthday cake.  Chelsea Ashcraft, baked and decorated an amazing one, three tiers high. Staff volunteers solicited food donations from more than a dozen local businesses.  Students from Manzano High School Key Club International generously volunteered their time and cheerful service by mingling among the guests with trays of the plentiful culinary items. Another volunteer created free balloon animals for delighted children.

Staff decked out in event shirts made especially for the party, greeted partygoers. Current program participants and past kids quickly found staff to hug and talk with. Each new arrival was given a “bingo” card – a game card with trivia questions about the organization. “How many former CC children have been hired as staff?” (A: 10). “How many children received free enrichment classes through the United Way grant this year?” (A: 211). Partygoers found answers to the bingo questions as they watched, listened to, and read information presented through various storytelling displays in the venue.

Fans and friends of the organization attended in large numbers, pushing the capacity of the venue right up to fire code limits. Partygoers included current families and staff, many former staff and former children, and former children who grew up and became staff.  They all had their own stories to tell about their Children’s Choice experiences. A former child recalled “I will always remember being Frenchie in the production of Grease.  We made our costumes and did our hair – I wore curlers all day and bought hair spray for the first time.” Former site director Kathleen Brown said, “At CC, I learned that I could make mistakes and that we learn and teach each other through these mistakes. With time I developed a confidence that I sincerely attribute to my time at Children’s Choice.”

One story that was told very well was of the professional development of the staff. There was a remarkable display of staff training “passports” – a photo and description of the college degrees, training and professional development certifications each staff member has earned. Several partygoers exclaimed that they “had no idea” the staff had such extensive preparation and training.

Another well-told story was that of the curriculum. Proudly displayed on stage in the theatre was a gallery – an impressive display of recent enrichment activities from each of the eight sites. The displays were like a science fair exhibit, with photos, written descriptions, and physical objects to view and touch.  They were lesson plans that highlighted details of the activity, what the kids wanted to learn, and what they did learn.

Projected on a screen in the theater, was a loop of entertaining, inspiring, and often-hilarious videos that highlighted the environment, relationships, and experiences at Children’s Choice. This “edutainment” video was interspersed with humor, trivia, and factoids about the organization as well as occasional invitations for people to get involved and volunteer.

The story of Children’s Choice was chronicled through a beautiful display of the timeline of the organization from it’s founding to the present day – a photo enhanced history of relationships, growth, and continuous improvement.  As partygoers explored the displays and collected answers they exchanged their completed bingo cards for a raffle ticket.

A wide variety of raffle prizes, donated by more than 20 area businesses, families, and friends, were attractively displayed in baskets. Children and adults placed their raffle tickets in containers next to each specific prize they hoped to win.

Becoming great at storytelling creates new partnerships. This year Children’s Choice linked up with Blackout Theatre – a well-known Albuquerque theatric group that has won national awards for their innovative videos. Blackout has won the “Best of the City” awards for theatre companies from both the Alibi and Local IQ. The extraordinary members of Blackout Theatre include professional playwrights, songwriters, actors, technicians, and directors. Because of this partnership these amazing professionals personally instruct the drama, theatre, songwriting, playwriting, improve comedy, and film enrichment classes at Children’s Choice.

Another new partnership this year was with Children’s Choice and PBS television. To show support and tell the story of this collaboration, local PBS staff led hands-on activities with the kids. This new partnership makes possible technology-based enrichment camps in at-risk schools. The combination of both the high-quality curriculum of Children’s Choice and PBS will teach math, and literacy, as well as responsible and appropriate use of technology. Through this venture they will create amazing stories of learning, and PBS will help them tell their story through “proof of performance” spots on television.

At the party, some enrichment class students told their story and showed off their learning. The children in the guitar class played Happy Birthday. 

Children from the dance classes strutted their stuff for the cheerful partygoers. Children from the drama class performed skits. Some of the Blackout Theatre cast interacted with the partygoers in a bit of hilarious improv. 

Jeff Andersen, who typically wears the hats of both Children’s Choice and Blackout Theatre, donned a birthday cake hat and kept the crowd entertained as Master of Ceremonies.

At tables placed throughout the large lobby, volunteers led a wide variety of activities. Many parents took the time to sign their kids up for summer enrichment classes and camps. At other tables, staff teams from each of the schools led fun activities for children. Some led art projects like Shrinky Dinks, Print Making, and Duct Tape Creations.  Their activities allowed the staff to show and tell their own story as adult partygoers watched them do what they do best.

In another area the staff led children and parents through hands-on science projects like Instant Snow, Color Chromatography, and Polymer Worms. Other staff led children and parents in fun math games with dice. Other staff members painted kids’ faces. It was obvious to any onlooker that these people are naturals at working with children; they are well-trained, and they enjoy working with each other.

In one area, volunteers asked the partygoers to tell their own story by writing their “Hopes and Dreams” on sticky notes. One child wrote, “I want to work at CC and make the world a better place" (with a drawing of the earth).”  As the hopes and dreams sticky notes came together throughout the afternoon, the staff arranged them to create an image of the Children's Choice logo – nice touch!

A highlight of the event was the band Red Light Cameras (voted Albuquerque’s Best Band in the Local IQ).  The three band members also work at Children’s Choice. Musical theatre actress (and educator at Children’s Choice) Amanda Machon was the lead singer, with Chris Walsh (Associate Director and Video Storyteller at Children’s Choice) on guitar, and Kirsten Lopez (Dance Instructor at Children’s Choice) playing her drum box.

The grand finale of the event was the raffle baskets drawing and the grand prize drawing of the donated $900 gold earrings.

Children’s Choice's leaders consider the staff to be their most important customer and the company's most powerful storyteller. They understand that the way you treat your staff is the way the staff will treat your other customers.  Former caregiver, Shannon Rogers summed up her work experience. “It takes a certain type of person to do this kind of work, it takes an empathetic heart, a curious mind, and a contagious spirit. Somehow, Children's Choice manages to assemble a whole bunch of these people together in one place, and the results are magical. I am so grateful to have been in such excellent company.”

Through this successful community-engagement event Children’s Choice raised funds, registered kids for summer programs, and successfully told their story in an inspiring, heartfelt manner.  This focus on storytelling has created stronger relationships, new friendships, and powerful partnerships.

More good things are happening as a result.  This coming school year, Blackout Theatre and Children’s Choice are taking their storytelling and their partnership to a new level. They have created a School Enrichment Program for Albuquerque Public Schools, which will provide enrichment classes and drama education not only for children during afterschool hours, but also for children and elementary school teachers during the school day. The United Way of Central New Mexico is funding this program at a level that will allow this partnership to serve an additional 1000 students.

On May 15, 2013 Children’s Choice was named an Albuquerque Journal 2013 Top 40 Workplace, a prestigious award and recognition as the best of the best in terms of company leadership, communication, management skills, pay, and benefits, and a positive working environment.

This successful storytelling party proves it IS possible to toot your own horn… without blowing it.