BY DAVID MAMARIL HOROWITZ

david.horowitz@bgdailynews.com

Western Kentucky University students are holding promotional campaigns and events for three local nonprofits, the Warren County Public Library, WKU Film and the WKU Office of Sustainability.

WKU public relations students have launched each initiative as a capstone project over the past year.

“Instead of a quiz or exam, they’re getting out into the community and making a difference,” the students’ instructor, Steve Momorella, said.

One student team will set up an event March 4, 5 to 9 p.m., at BG Skate where 25% of proceeds will support the local nonprofit Good Deeds KY, group member Caroline Forrester said. The nonprofit supports unhoused people, those with transitional needs such as furniture and people experiencing food shortages, with a special focus on veteran outreach.

The group’s additionally working to set up fundraiser nights with Blaze Pizza and other restaurants, Forrester added. They’ll be promoting Good Deeds KY and the events through The Good Deeds on Facebook and the Instagram account _thegooddeeds, her groupmate Nick Fowler, said.

Another team is campaigning for Life’s Better Together, a nonprofit that supports families who experience financial hardship due to medical crises. The group’s focusing on the nonprofit’s 25on25 campaign, which encourages people to donate $25 on the 25th of each month.

This team plans to hold a 1:30 p.m. tabling event Feb. 18 at the Downing Student Union. They’re running the Instagram account lifesbettertogether_wkupr in collaboration with the nonprofit’s social media profile.

A puppy will grace DSU Feb. 25 as another team partners with the Bowling Green/Warren County Humane Society. Other furry friends may be in attendance.

These students will run tabling from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in or outside the student union, depending on the weather, to raise awareness and educate on spaying and neutering pets; they’ll promote a QR code that directs people to Humane Society services and educational materials. The event coincides with World Spay and Neuter Day, an annual campaign intended to spread awareness about spaying and neutering.

The Bowling Green Humane Society is spaying and neutering dogs and cats under 80 lbs for a reduced price of $25, thanks to from the nonprofit BISSELL Pet Foundation, according to the nonprofits’ social media posts.

Meanwhile, the students plan to post daily with a focus on spaying and neutering at the Instagram page snipwithwkupr.

Another group, with two students, aims to spread the word about WCPL services.

They plan to partner with WKU’s Silent Book Club to find students interested in reading, WKU student Annie Whaley said. They’ll also create an informal community group called “Big Red Reads,” a space for people to chat, meet others and talk about books; potential first meeting dates are Feb. 19 and March 12, she added.

Whaley mentioned a hope that it can become a formal club in time.

“We want to get a like-minded group together in order to have this book club, discuss, create a community and then hopefully, while we’re doing that, we get (library cards for) those people who are interested,” Whaley said.

They’re also planning to table to sign people up for library cards, she added.

Two other students are promoting the WKU’s 30th Film Festival, which has opened up submissions to high school filmmakers.

WKU student Michelle Krejci said she and her teammate interviewed recent high school graduates and found that they wanted WKU students more humanized in the film department.

The two plan to make a video advertisement and promote it on two social media accounts – @reelfuturewku and @wkufilm – as well as broadcasting stations both locally and at WKU’s broadcasting department, she added.

They also plan to facilitate a workshop at a local high school by WKU film students and people interested in video submissions, she said.

Another two students will set up tabling Feb. 12 at Centennial Mall, 11 a.m. until up to 2 p.m., to educate on waste management in collaboration with the WKU Office of Sustainability.

Molly Claire Abell and her teammate Charlotte Bariteau are repurposing t-shirts donated from WKU Panhellenic into tote bags that they’ll hand out at the event, Abell said. They’ll also provide a QR code advertising the WKU sustainability Instagram wku_sustainability and show people how to gift without being wasteful ahead of Valentine’s Day, she added.

“This project is an incredible opportunity for us as aspiring public relations professionals,” Charlotte Bariteau, one of the students, stated in a release. “It allows us to apply real-world PR strategies, develop professional skills, all while making a meaningful impact on WKU’s campus.”