Miracle Messages is a nonprofit organization dedicated to combating homelessness in America. The organization has an intriguing approach to addressing our communities’ chronic homelessness conditions: Help our unhoused neighbors rebuild their social and financial support systems, primarily through family reunifications, a phone-based buddy system, and direct cash transfers.
San Francisco-based Miracle Messages engaged Sterling to promote two live events designed to raise visibility for its pilot program launched in Santa Cruz County.
Building momentum through media partnerships
For the first event, Miracle Messages partnered with 1440 Multiversity, a learning destination in Scotts Valley, to host a benefit dinner for 100 attendees, followed by a panel discussion of speakers with lived experiences of homelessness to share their personal stories, emphasizing the human side of the issue. Sterling promoted the event by leveraging radio spots, social media platforms, and newsletters. To support the pitch, Sterling developed a comprehensive media kit with details on the organization’s origins and goals, bios of key speakers, including people with lived experiences helped through Miracle Messages programs, and impactful statistics on homelessness in the local area.
Recognizing the Santa Cruz Sentinel newspaper’s interest in community-driven stories and social issues, Sterling tailored the pitch to emphasize the founder’s local ties and ongoing discussions about homelessness in Santa Cruz County. The decision to allow the Sentinel exclusive access to the event and one-on-one interviews with key speakers resulted in impactful front-page coverage in both print and online Sentinel editions. That cover story in turn led to another feature article in the San Jose Mercury News as well as an invitation to a Santa Cruz regional podcast, Area 831.
Amplifying impact with a second event
For the follow-on event six months later, Sterling organized a book talk with the Santa Cruz Public Libraries, securing the Capitola Branch venue as an accessible locale for the general public to spur broader community interest in the organization’s mission. Sterling coordinated with Miracle Messages’ community partners (1440 Foundation, Housing Matters, Human Services Department of Santa Cruz County, Community Action Board), as well as other area stakeholders invested in addressing homelessness.
The “hook” for the event was Miracle Messages founder Kevin Adler’s recently published book, When We Walk By, detailing his inspiring personal journey and Santa Cruz family connections. It featured a “fireside chat” between Kevin and a UC Santa Cruz professor, as well as a stimulating discussion amongst the 25-plus attendees. That event resulted in a major story in the Santa Cruz Local community news organization, as well as an interview with local KSQD Community Radio and subsequent online coverage in UC Berkeley’s Greater Good news site.
Through authentic storytelling, proactive engagement with community partners, and strategic outreach to local media, Sterling successfully introduced Miracle Messages as a Santa Cruz community champion for its pioneering approach to driving social change by fostering a more compassionate and supportive community.