Hit the Books Running

2009 Michigan State University PRSSA Bateman Team Presents:

What Would You Do With a Million?

Lindsay Bacigalupo

Philip Bator

Elizabeth Catalano

Monica Fineis

Melissa Hackett

Pay to the Order of

Dollars

For

March 20, 2009

Consumer Bankers Association

One Million and 00/100

Hit the Books Running Campaign

Michigan State University

PRSSA Bateman Team

1,000,000.00$

Campaign Summary

Table of Contents

Executive Summary……1 Situation Analysis……1 Research Secondary Research……2 Primary Research……2 Target Audience……4 Planning Strategies……4 Goal……5 Key Messages……5Execution

Tactics, Objectives and Outcomes……6 Campaign Timeline…...9

Evaulation......10

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Executive SummaryIn a school district where less than two-thirds of students graduate and an area comprised mostly of low-income families, the 2009 Michigan State University PRSSA Bateman Team asked middle school and early high school students in Lansing, Michigan if college was important to them and 96 percent replied “yes.” When we asked their parents if they wished to send their child to college, 100 percent responded “yes.” Due to this existing positive attitude, our team made the decision to focus on providing underprivileged families the necessary tools to prepare for a college education. We relayed the importance of a college degree through a compelling and relevant statistic: college graduates earn $1 million more over a lifetime than those with only a high school diploma. The message resonated with the young students by building off their desires for future financial security and comfort. Furthermore, we sought to identify target audiences that would benefit the most from our college-bound initiative. By researching and understanding our audience, the MSU Bateman Team delivered a captivating campaign, tailored to students tastes and interests. Our Hit the Books Running campaign:

• Exposed middle and high school students to many aspects and experiences of an exciting college life• Provided students with relatable, interesting and inspiring college-educated role models• Equipped students with a personal planning tool that encouraged reflection and research aimed to prepare them for a college track• Supplied resources and gave access to information about college financing options to parents of middle and high school students • Engaged students on a personal level and incorporated rewards that promoted positive reinforcement of key messages

We believe that inspiring action in others is the most effective way to bring about change and learning. As such, we developed a “College Checkbook” that incorporated our million-dollar message and served as an engaging resource for disseminating CBA’s Hit the Books Running key messages. We also carried our theme throughout the month by hosting events such as the “What Would You Do With a Million?” kick-off, the “Real World, Real Millions” college career fair and a “Taste of State” MSU campus tour. By developing relationships with parents within our target schools, we were able to extend the reach of our message. Our team interacted with this audience through Parent-Teacher-Student Association (PTSA) meetings, parent-teacher conferences, planning a financial aid seminar and producing parent-oriented College Affordability Packets. The MSU Bateman Team executed a grass roots campaign that communicated to Lansing area middle and high school students and parents that college is an opportunity they cannot afford to miss.

Research

Situation AnalysisCBA is the recognized voice on retail banking issues in the nation’s capital. CBA created College Bound Aid in April 2007 to inform college-bound students and their families of funding resources for higher education.

In an effort to raise awareness of the benefits of early planning for college, CBA’s College Bound Aid launched Hit the Books Running—a college access and affordability public information program that targets a younger demographic than other college-bound initiatives. CBA’s sponsorship of the PRSSA Bateman Case Study Com-petition aimed to promote HTBR messages at the grass roots level throughout the U.S.

Historically, Michigan is one of the first states in a recession and the last state out of a recession. In the current economic landscape, Michigan has once again been one of the hardest hit states. Our unemployment rate reached 11.6 percent in January, the highest in the nation. Because of this, people are cutting back on all expenses, and paying for a college education seems unreachable for many Michigan families.

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Our surveys indicated that parents of middle and high school students do not feel adequately informed on how to obtain financial aid and loans to make college more affordable. Furthermore, the 2007-2008 Lansing School District Annual Report indicated that the graduation rate for Lansing high schools was 64 percent, nearly 12 percent lower than the rate statewide. The status quo presented a great challenge for our team that we decided to turn into an opportunity. Despite the low graduation rate in the Lansing School District, 96 percent of students surveyed said that going to college is important to them. This showed us that the students did understand the value of higher education—we just needed to show them that with the proper preparation, college is an attainable and affordable goal. Providing strong messages about the benefits of a college education inspires students to do well in high school, in order to gain entry to college. Additionally, our team sought to provide parents with resources and opportunities to become more knowledgeable about the ways to fund their children’s continuing education. Secondary Research

In the last several decades, Michigan has been facing tough economic times. The automobile and manufacturing downturn has dealt a huge blow to our economy, and the state’s unemployment rate remains the highest in the nation.

Several economic development initiatives have emerged recently highlighting the need for Michigan to attract and retain college-educated youth to remedy our lagging economy. The combination of more “knowledge” jobs—jobs that require college degrees—and making Michigan a more attractive place to live and work to young college graduates, are vital in making Michigan prosper again, according to a 2008 report by Michigan Future, Inc., “Michigan’s Transition to a Knowledge-Based Economy.”

This information reaffirmed the magnitude of our campaign initiatives, not only for the welfare of Michigan children’s future in general, but as part of specific strategy to better our state’s future.

Primary Research (Survey results listed in appendix)

College Student ResearchTo prepare our primary research on the target audiences, the MSU Bateman Team reflected on our personal pasts: What did I wish I would have known in middle school to help me prepare for college? When did I decide I wanted to go to college and why? We then took these questions and developed a focus group for current college students that had attended our target middle and high school to frame our communication efforts with current students.

We identified alumni groups of our two target schools (see target audience) on Facebook and asked a random sample of students to help with the research. Nine students participated in the focus group. Here are some key findings: How old were you when you decided you wanted to go to college?

The average age of the respondents was 11 years old; a few of the respondents noted that college was seen as the natural progression after high school.

What made you decide you wanted to go to college?

• Desire for financial security• Access to a specific career• A mentor guided them in college planning process• A campus tour when an older sibling went off to college

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What do you think might make an Eastern High school/Pattengill Middle school student listen to messages about going to college?

Suggestions included bringing students to the MSU main campus, having former students talk about college and pointing out concrete financial opportunities from college education.

What do you wish you would have known in high school or middle school to help you better prepare for college?

Common answers included:• Greater exposure to majors• How important college is• What I needed to do to get into college• Information about financial aid and money sources

We used this initial data from our target audience to develop a plan that addressed the issues and opportunities mentioned by the alumni research participants.

Middle School and High School Student ResearchFollowing the alumni research, we conducted a survey framed to better understand pre-existing attitudes about college, recreational habits, music tastes and other demographic information. Our sample included middle and high school students from Pattengill Middle School, the Boys and Girls Club of Lansing and participants at the Lansing Mall. The research revealed that:

• 96 percent surveyed replied “yes” when asked if college was important to them. • Close to 30 percent of students expressed that they have yet to talk to their parents about college. • Less than half of the students planned to get scholarships, financial aid or loans to help pay for college. • 82 percent reported that Rap/R&B was their favorite kind of music. • 78 percent reported having an allowance and/or job. • 82 percent of students surveyed own an iPod or a MP3 player.

Parent ResearchAdditional research was conducted on parents of middle school- and high school-aged survey. Our survey was used to determine the parents’ knowledge of college financing options and how to obtain assistance. Questions asked were measured on a Likert Scale, where respondents replied 1 as strongly disagree and 5 as strongly agree.

Results included:

• 100 percent of parents surveyed felt strongly about wanting their child to attend college.• Parents felt almost as confident that their children wanted to attended college.• Close to two-thirds of parents did not feel they were financially able to send their child to college.• Two-thirds of parents disagreed with the statement “I have been effectively informed on financing college.”• Two-thirds of parents disagreed with the statement “I am familiar with how Federal Stafford Loans work and how to apply for one.”• 89 percent of parents disagreed with the statement “I am familiar with how a PLUS Loan works and how to apply for one.”• 89 percent of parents disagreed with the statement “I am familiar with how a private education loan works and how to apply for one.”• 61 percent of parents disagreed with the statement “I am familiar with how the FAFSA application works and how to fill it out.”

Although parents felt strongly that their child should attend college and had a desire to, it was clear that they were not confident about their financial abilities to do so nor how to obtain financial assistance. Our research assured us that we had chosen a target audience that could markedly benefit from our messages.

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Target Audience

Primary Audiences - Pattengill Middle School students - Eastern High School students - Boys and Girls Club of Lansing members (6th-11th grade)- Parents and guardians of target students

Secondary Audiences

- Lansing-area 6th-11th grade students- Big Brothers, Big Sisters “littles” - Teachers, staff and administrators of - Lansing-area middle school and high schools- Lansing-area media outlets

To maximize the benefits of our community-based campaign, we chose to explore the Lansing School District for a target middle and high school. East Lansing, the home of our university, has the 6th ranked High School in Michigan according to Newsweek’s 2007 Poll of Top High Schools. Just miles down the road in Lansing, however, is a school district with a dismal 64 percent graduation rate according the 2007-2008 Lansing School District Annual Report.

We zeroed in on Eastern High School and its feeder school, Pattengill Middle School. About half of both populations were free-lunch eligible students and minority students—both indicators of low socioeconomic status.

In addition to these schools, we also targeted the Boys and Girls Club of Lansing, an after-school recreational community center for children in the Lansing area. A partnership with the Boys and Girls Club would allow us to reach students from other Lansing middle and high schools. We also maintained contact with the Big Brothers, Big Sisters chapter in our area and invited them to participate in our events.

We aimed to focus on parents from these target groups, reaching them through students, school staff, PTSA, Parent-Teacher Conferences as well as our personal contacts.

Below is demographic information for our target audiences:

Pattengill Middle School

-Minorities: 64 percent- Free Lunch Eligible Students: 461- Total Students: 806

Eastern High School

- Minorities: 54 percent- Free Lunch Eligible Students: 622- Total Students: 1551

The Boys and Girls Club of Lansing- Minorities: 90 percent- Ages 10-11: 22 percent- Ages 12-13: 11 percent- Ages 14-17: 15 percent

Planning

• Identify underprivileged groups that likely had not been informed of college financing options, nor had been exposed to messages about the crucial benefits of a college degree.

• Convey a simple and compelling message that would make middle and high school students receptive to learning more about college preparation.

• Focus on meaningful, personal and continuous contact with target groups to increase message retention.

Strategies

•Promote Hit the Books Running key messages by directing target audiences to the College Bound Aid Web site through various grass roots tactics and mainstream media outreach.

•Build partnerships with schools, community organizations, MSU departments and financial institutions to execute campaign events.

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Goal

The MSU Bateman Team’s goal was to reinforce the existing attitudes about the importance of a college educa-tion by raising awareness of the positive impact a college degree has on a person’s income over the course of his or her working life. Studies show that a person with a college degree earns, on average, $1 million more than a high school graduate. We aimed to inspire students with positive role models and through highlighting college experiences.

Building on that platform, we sought to inform our primary audience that there is financial assistance readily available in the form of grants, loans and scholarships to help them finance their education.

Key MessagesFor students:

What would you do with a million dollars?We chose this as our personal campaign tagline and used it to launch our “Month of Millions.” Research has shown that money tends to be a motivational factor for anyone, in particular the youth of today. When the MSU Bateman Team asked “what have you heard about college?” to middle and high school students, many answered that “it costs a lot of money.”We combated that myth by communicating the potential return on investment of a college degree with the million-dollar statistic.

College can be the difference between having a career and getting a job. The “Real World, Real Millions” college career fair was developed to get this message across to students. A large variety of majors from MSU, as well as non-traditional careers from vocational schools, were featured during the fair to expose young students to post-high school education options that can land them a successful career.

The more you know, the less you’ll owe.The MSU Bateman Team empowered students with tools and messages that would lead them on a path to college success with the use of community role models, informational presentations and the College Checkbooks.

Ready, Set, School.At all of our events, we shared our personal track to college and our career goals to inspire students with our stories. We also stressed to students that college is not only important for their future, but it can also be the best time of their life by bringing pieces of our college to them—and even bringing several young students to our college campus.

For parents:

It is never too early to start saving for college.There’s money out there: a loan comes last. The more you know, the less you’ll owe.

We made it easy for parents to become educated on how make college more affordable to them. We developed and provided materials that brought tons of valuable information together in one place, communicated to them in environments where they could actively listen and planned a “Paying for College” financial seminar to receive comprehensive and personalized information and advice.

Call to actionWe directed our target audience and the general public to visit CBA’s College Bound Aid Web site for a wealth of research-based information. The team decided developing our own Web site would cause an unneccesary disconnect between the program and its sponsor. Instead we focused on making our campaign personal through our events. The HitTheBooksLansing@gmail.com e-mail address was provided to communicate with the campaign team.

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ExecutionTactics, Objectives and Outcomes TACTIC #1 Create College Checkbooks It is one thing to tell students there are thousands of available scholarships, or that they should start to look at colleges, but how do you get students to actively prepare for their future education? The MSU Bateman Team made it easy for students to get on the college track by providing an activity and resource book with valuable information. The book was designed like a mock checkbook, with a faux million-dollar check addressed to the student in keeping with the million-dollar theme. Enclosed is one of our College Checkbooks for your reference. OBJECTIVE #1 Distribute College Checkbooks to interested middle school and high school students.Outcome: We distributed 200 Checkbooks to our audiences during campaign events.

OBJECTIVE #2: Create incentives for students to complete College Checkbooks.Outcome: Worked with teachers to provide extra credit for completed checkbooks. In addition, we held a raffle for the students giving away Leap Frog Crammer Study Systems as prizes to three students. The MSU Bateman Team was challenged to come up with a prize that would be exciting for a group of tech- savvy students that would also have some educational value. We reached out to Leap Frog, who graciously donated Crammers – an mp3 player, digital flash card system, Spanish translator with access to thousands of quizzes from McGraw Hill textbooks – all rolled into one. OBJECTIVE #3 Receive 100 completed College Checkbooks entered into the raffle.Outcome: Collected 75 completed checkbooks for the raffle.

While we view the College Checkbook as a success, there were some circumstances outside our control that lead to reduced participation. For example, our middle school, students were only allowed to turn in the completed Checkbooks to new 8th grade counselor, whom many did not know. At the Boys and Girls Club, there was only one volunteer collector, and may could have posed a barrier to students’ ease of turning in Checkbooks as well. We feel confident that we provided the students with a valuable resource that they can refer back to when needed. TACTIC #2 Promote messages through entertaining events and presentations The team hosted fun events that brought some of the exciting college experience to the young students, while serving as inspiring role models. We aimed to make a personal connection with our audience through dialogue, games and photos. Each event gave an opportunity for attendees to experience something unique. OBJECTIVE #1 Host three specialty events during campaign monthOutcome: The MSU Bateman Team held four themed events and engaged audiences with presentations and appearances at pre-scheduled events. Our campaign featured events that we invited our target audiences to attend but we also engaged our audiences by coming to them by visiting classrooms, PTSA meetings and Parent-Teacher Conferences.OBJECTIVE #2 Use Sparty, the MSU mascot, and his strong brand image to increase attendance and excitement at kick-off events

Outcome: No matter how well our sports teams play, MSU is home to the most recognizable college mascot in the nation. Sparty is frequently reserved for weddings, functions and parties, and a picture with Sparty is de rigueur for any MSU graduate. We gave the middle and high school students the opportunity to get up close and personal with the famed mascot and get their photo taken with him. Sparty was a huge hit at both of our kick-off events; students chanted his name and raced to get their pictures taken with him. At the Boys and Girls Club event, grade school children were also able to visit with him.

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OBJECTIVE #3 Secure special guests for events that were relatable, interesting and inspiring.Outcome: Our special guest included:

• MSU Mascot Sparty.• The MSU Dance Team.

The Dance Team showed off their moves with an exciting performance of our theme song, “A Milli” by Lil’ Wayne.

• Detroit hip-hop artist Khary “WAE” Frazier.

Khary performed a rap song written specially for the Hit the Books Running campaign using our key messages. He also shared how his education at the Detroit Recording Institute of Arts was critical in preparing him as a professional artist.

• Former and current MSU football players – Kaleb Thornhill, John Masters and Ashton Henderson

The football players stressed to students how important college education is, particularly to aspiring professional athletes. Thomhill especially was an effective role model to the students. He was captain of the MSU football team and well-known to students as a noted linebacker, but he also attended both of our target schools: Pattengill Middle School and Eastern High School and was able to talk about his experiences as a former student of these schools. Thomhill spoke about pursuing graduate school after his college football career, and explained to the students that further education, not football, was going to provide him the career opportunities he desired. This message was important to get across because many young boys revealed on their surveys that they hoped to be professional athletes when they grow up.

OBJECTIVE #4 Inform “Real World, Real Millions” college career fair attendees about college majors they had never heard about before and provide engaging college major representatives.Outcome: 41 percent of fair attendees reported learning about a major they had never heard of before in a survey after the fair. 77 percent named one of the MSU represented majors as their choice if they had to choose a major at that time.

TACTIC #3 Convey key messages through earned media The MSU Bateman Team crafted and pitched news releases and media advisories for the campaign and events to local media outlets. We aimed to raise awareness of CBA as the generous sponsor of the initiative by including quotes from CBA spokesperson Harrison Wadsworth in news releases. We even landing him an interview on Lansing’s top talk radio station to talk about CBA’s efforts.

OBJECTIVE #1 Earn three media hits (Newspaper, radio, television)Outcome: The HTBR Lansing campaign earned eight media hits during the month of February.

-Feb. 3: 1320 AM Lansing radio station had Bateman Team chair Monica Fineis and Antoinette James, director of teen services of the Boys and Girls Club, on “Ebling and You” radio show.-Feb. 5: WILX TV 10 aired a segment from our “What What Would You Do with A Million?” kick-off event at the Boys and Girls Club of Lansing.-Feb. 8: Lansing City Pulse paper published a story about the kick-off event featuring an interview with guest hip-hop artist Khary “WAE” Frazier.-Feb. 16: 1320 AM Lansing radio station had CBA spokesperson Harrison Wadsworth and Bateman Team chair Monica Fineis on “Ebling and You” radio show.-Feb. 18: Lansing State Journal featured an article of the “Real World, Real Millions” college career fair hosted by the MSU Bateman Team and the Boys and Girls Club.-Feb. 20: WILX TV 10 aired event details of the “Real World, Real Millions” college career fair during the 5 and 11 p.m. broadcasts the night before the event.-Feb. 21 WLNS TV 6 aired a segment from the “Real World, Real Millions” college career fair during the 5 p.m. broadcast.-Feb. 21 WILX TV 10 aired a segment from the “Real World, Real Millions” college career fair during the 6 p.m. broadcast.

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See enclosed CD for news clips and radio interviews. Lansing State Journal: Daily circulation 163,387Lansing City Pulse: Weekly circulation 17,000. Readership 51,000WILX TV 10: Viewership 13,000 18-49WLNS TV 6: Viewership 9,000 18-49WILS 1320 AM Radio: Arbitron ratings not available, self-claimed top talk radio show in Lansing

TACTIC #4 Create a College Affordability Packet for parents that provides information about financial aid, savings and calculating costs in simple terms. The MSU Bateman Team developed the following documents for the College Affordability Packet:• Saving for College: Fast Facts for Parents—A fact sheet that provides an overview of the three types of college aid; scholarships, federal loans and private loans. Defines the FAFSA, PLUS loans, and Federal subsidized and unsubsidized loans.• Calculating the Cost of a College Education—A document that discusses how financial aid packages and work-study programs effect the “sticker” price of a college. It also tells parents to figure in book, room and board, travel and other expenses into the cost.• Common Mistakes to Avoid When Filling out the FAFSA—A resource to familiarize and guide parents through filling out the FAFSA.• CBA/HTBR/Bateman Team Backgrounder—Includes important details of the sponsor, the campaign and the Bateman Team objectives.• Budget Blueprint, Savings Accounts for Younger Members, Parent’s Guide to Raising Money Smart Kids—Materials provided from Michigan State University Federal Credit Union. TACTIC #5 Facilitate a financial aid seminar for parents. The financial aid seminar took place during our “Real World, Real Millions” college career fair. Parents were able to learn about financing college, while students learned about post-high school education options.

OBJECTIVE#1 Recruit a financial aid representative and a CBA-member bank representative to host seminar.Outcome: While we secured a financial aid representative from MSU’s Office of Financial Aid, we were unable to book a representative from a CBA-member bank in our area despite several attempts. We turned to the MSU Federal Credit Union, who agreed to send a representative but had to cancel. The Credit Union did provide several saving and budgeting for college brochures to the team. In the end, the absences did not affect the quality of the presentation.

The MSU Office of Financial Aid representative gave a comprehensive and exhaustive presentation on paying for college tailored to Michigan parents. The presentation also included a Q-and-A session. TACTIC #6 Create a communications platform where middle and high school students were able to access campaign information and photos, as well as ask the team questions about college. OBJECTIVE#1 Create Myspace and Facebook pages to interact with students and provide information.Outcome: Myspace and Facebook pages were created, and enabled the team to share event photos with school administrators and members of the Boys and Girls club. The Staff from the schools and the Boys and Girls club were able to print photos to hang around the building and give to students.

Overall Campaign Objectives 1. Increase parents’ knowledge of financial aid, loan and private loan options by 30 percent.

Outcome: This number rose from one-third to two-thirds—a 33 percent in-crease.

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2. Achieve 75 percent awareness of key message: on average, college graduates make $1 million more than a high school graduate over a lifetime.Outcome: Achieved a 90 percent awareness of this fact based on our survey results 3. Increase the number of students who answered that they plan to get financial aid/scholarships/loans to pay for college by 25 percent.Outcome: We observed an increase from 43 percent to 80 percent of students indicating they planned to receive financial aid/scholarships/loans to pay for college. 4. Increase the number of students who have talked, or plan to talk, to their parents about college by 10 percent.Outcome: 79 percent had talked to their parents about college previously. This number jumped to 96 percent after the campaign.

5. Increase the number of students who had an idea of where they might want to go to college by 10 percent.Outcome: In our initial survey, 73 percent listed a college they might want to attend. Our post-survey indicated a 5 percent increase in this number with 78 percent listing a potential college. Although our objective of a 10 percent increase was not met, we had observed a high number to begin with and were satisfied with the percentage increase.

Feb. 5, “What Would You Do With a Million?” kick-off at the Boys and Girls ClubSummary: Our first event kick-off in our “Month of Millions” was attended by approximately 50 young teens. Several teens were asked what they would do with $1 million, after which we explained the million-dollar difference between high school diploma and a college degree. The MSU Dance Team surprised the students with a performance to the rapper Lil’ Wayne’s hit song “A Milli,” our campaign theme song. Detroit hip hop artist Khary “WAE” Frazier also performed a rap song that incorporated key HTBR messages. Khary went on to speak about his experience with higher education and the value it added to his career. To conclude the event, Sparty, the Dance Team and Khary distributed the College Checkbooks and posed for pictures with the students. Feb. 9, Pattengill Middle School PTSA MeetingThe PTSA meetings proved to be a valuable resource where we could talk to parents, teachers and students directly, and learn more about the school itself. We also distributed our College Affordability Packets to parents to keep them informed about our campaign events. Feb. 10, Pattengill Middle School Classroom PresentationsPattengill Middle School administrators arranged for the Bateman Team to give presentations to 11 6th, 7th and 8th grade classrooms throughout the day, reaching approximately 250 students. We prompted students with the million-dollar question, emphasized the importance of early college preparation and answered student’s questions about college. We also passed out the College Checkbooks and promoted the kick-off event.

Feb. 11, “What Would You Do With a Million?” kick-off at Pattengill Middle SchoolOur second kick-off event was received to an enthusiastic audience of close to 40 students. Special guests Kaleb Thornhill, John Masters and Ashton Henderson, all current or former MSU football players, each spoke to the audience about the importance of college. Students’ college knowledge was tested while playing our “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” college quiz, incorporating a bean bag toss game often played before sporting events at MSU. The event concluded with Sparty and the football players distributing our College Checkbooks and posing for pictures with the students. Feb. 21, “Real World, Real Millions” College Career Fair and Financial Aid Seminar at the Boys and Girls ClubWe partnered with the Boys and Girls Club to host a college career fair. The fair featured representatives from Lansing Community College, MSU and the Specs Howard School of Broadcasting as well as various other

Campaign Timeline

vocational schools. Booths were set up so students could receive one-on-one advice about post-high school opportunities. A delegate from the MSU Office of Financial Aid ran a financial aid seminar and Q-and-A session for parents.

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Free lunch was served for attendees. The fair concluded with a speech by motivational speaker Calvin Mann, founder of Encourage Me I’m Young (EMIY), an inner-city youth enrichment organization. Students also received prizes donated by the Boys and Girls Club which included MP3 players, an Xbox 360 and gift cards to Foot Locker, Man Alive Clothing Store, AMC Movies and various local restaurants. 60 students and parents attended the event.

Feb. 23, Eastern High School Classroom Presentations and Checkbook DistributionThe team presented and distributed College Checkbooks to 9th, 10th and 11th grade English classes reaching approximately 75 students. We engaged in a dialogue with the students about their future education plans and emphasized things they should be doing now to prepare for college.

Feb. 25-26, Eastern High School Parent-Teacher Conference Open HouseThe team staffed a booth at Eastern High School parent-teacher conferences for two days. At this event, we interacted primarily with parents and handed out 45 College Affordability Packets. We used this opportunity to have parents sign their child up for our free “Taste of State” campus tour.

Feb. 26, Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero proclaims February 26th “Hit the Books Running Day.”The MSU Bateman Team worked with the Lansing Mayor’s office to receive a proclamation of city-wide support for the HTBR campaign. This accolade represented the culmination of our “Month of Millions” and highlighted the importance of this initiative to the community of Lansing.

Feb. 27, Checkbook Collection and RaffleWith three Leap Frog Crammers, we visited the Boys and Girls Club, Pattengill Middle School and Eastern High School to award a randomly chosen student from each who completed and turned in their College Checkbook. At the Boys and Girls Club and Pattengill, the winners were recognized with an announcement through the PA system heard by all their peers. The Eastern student winner was also recognized in front of their classmates. All winners were very excited to win the educational tech-gadget.

Feb. 28, “Taste of State” MSU campus tourTo close our “Month of Millions,” we gave six students from Eastern High School a tour of the MSU campus to let them get a Taste of State. The students went on a guided walk-through tour of Student Events Center where basketball games and large concerts are held and even got a sneak-peak at the MSU women’s basketball team practicing. The tour also made stops in Holden Hall, where students visited a lived-in dorm room and ate in the hall cafeteria. Other stops included the Spartan Stadium, Munn Ice Arena, our intramural sports building and the bronze Sparty statue. It was a great opportunity for our team to interact with the students and show them different sides of campus life. To give the students a keepsake of the event, we bought them MSU pictures frames to hold photos from tour.

The MSU Bateman Team knew we had a big challenge ahead of us when targeting one of the most underprivileged groups in our community. Developing partnerships with the schools was extremely difficult, but through perseverance and passion we were able to show gatekeepers we had a beneficial message to bring. We aimed to inspire the overlooked students rather than those who likely had the resources and support to go to college. In the College Checkbooks we’ve enclosed, you’ll see how we got students thinking and learning about college in a way that was personal to them. Despite several barriers and set-backs, we have determined our efforts as successful.

• We met 12 out of 15 objectives for the campaign• 85 percent of parents surveyed felt the Bateman Team had given them valuable information• Of the Checkbooks collected, students collectively pledged to save more than $2,200 for college in the month of February• We interacted with about 430 students and 85 parents during the campaign• Earned media efforts spread messages to nearly 100,000 people in the region• While conducting post-surveys, we found out the students who won the Leap Frog Crammers had been using it in the classroom to study

Evaluation