Faced with some members aging out and the inevitable loss through uncontrollable factors (roughly half of all newer members leave within five years due to changes in job, family, etc.), the department decided to develop a formal recruitment program to supplement the modest number of volunteers they have taken in through ongoing efforts and RecruitNY.
Serendipitously, Recruitment Coordinator David Levow had a neighbor, Doug Welch, who was retiring from his job as Creative Director at a large NYC ad agency. His idea was to personalize the recruitment campaign and to showcase members as neighbors, friends and relatives of the population they serve with the theme “We Need Help.”