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This is a guide to planning Eco-Reps events. In it you will find a host of resources to make Eco-Reps programs run smoothly, including getting started, finding resources, networking, and marketing.

Some Eco-Reps events will be small, while some will be large (for example, a small clothing

swap on your floor vs. an ice cream social open to all of East Halls). For even larger events

(such as the recycling and energy challenges), don’t be overwhelmed. Tabling in the HUB,

coordinating a flash mob, or hosting a movie night may all be part of the recycling challenge,

but planning them as distinct events will make your job easier and less stressful.

Remember: You are not alone. Connect and partner with people whose strengths

complement yours—your life will be easier and the event will be even better.

PENN STATE ECO-REPS EVENT PLANNING GUIDE

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GETTING STARTED Sometimes you will be asked to promote a larger event, like the Recycling Challenge. At other points, the event will be of your own making. Developing the topic and for an Eco-Reps event is the first step to success. When you are choosing a topic, make sure you consider the following steps:

1. What is the goal of the event? Your goal is like the destination on a road trip. You have to know where you want to go before you can set a course to get there. Be specific about what you’re trying to do.

2. Build upon the experience of others to choose your event. Once you have the goal, research event ideas that will help you achieve your goal. Brainstorm with other Eco-Reps, talk with Rob, and check out other Eco-Reps programs for ideas.

3. Use the chart below (adapted from Meeghan Hollis at Residence Life) to frame your event around the 5 W’s of Event Planning – who, what, where, when, and why.

4. Once you know what you want to achieve, work backwards from the goal to manage the details of the event. (SEE p.5-6 FOR DETAILS ON BACKWARD PLANNING)

- Audience? -Team members? - Partners?

-Resources? ($$, supplies)

- How will you get what you need? - How many people? - Marketing needs? - What is your meauste of success?

-How much room do

you need? - Where is the best place to reach your audience? - Space reserved? -What time and date

works for you? -When works for your audience?

Why are you doing this event? How is this event meeting your objectives? Why is this event important - to you, Eco-Reps, and Penn State?

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EXAMPLE: 5 W’S OF EVENT PLANNING

THE GOAL: To raise awareness about energy conservationa and to promote participation in the

upcoming Energy Challenge.

THE EVENT: You’re hosting a movie night at Roxy’s the week prior to the Energy Challenge.

THE 5 W’s OF EVENT PLANNING:

Your audience is students in your residence hall. You decide to team up with

another Eco-Rep to host the movie. You also partner with Residence Life to promote the

event, Housing to make it Zero Waste, and with Food Services to have it during Wing

Night at Roxy’s.

Some of the resources you need are the movie (along with movie rights or the

movie from the library), marketing materials, and a handout (on recycled paper) of steps

people can take to participate in the competition and to reduce their energy usage. Talk

to RAs about how many people you should expect from these types of events. Market

the event via Facebook, your bulletin board, and dorm storming. Measure your success

and track your progress by counting attendees and through informal assessment.

Talk to your Jen in Findlay about hosting the event at Roxy’s during Wing Night.

Make sure you reserve it at least two weeks in advance. If Roxy’s is not available, think

about hosting it in 124 Findlay, a large classroom (for more students), or even your hall’s

lounge, depending on convenience for the group and the size of your audience.

Choose a date and time that works for YOU and your teammate first. If you can’t

be there or are skipping other obligations, the event won’t work. Next, try to match

these times with times that would work best for the residents. Talk to your RA or

conduct an informal poll. Be sure you give yourself time to guarantee the space (at least

two weeks) and to promote the event (at least one week).

Your objective for this event is to promote the energy conservation AND to get

people to participate. The greater purpose of the challenge is to reduce energy usage in

the residence halls. So why organize a movie night? Well, you now have a captive

audience to whom you can deliver concrete steps to reduce their usage. Plus, you are

giving them a concrete example of a fun way to reduce individual energy usage. (Think

about it: if you have 20 residents come to the movie night, that’s 20 people who would

otherwise be in their rooms with their 20 lights and 20 computers turned on.)

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WORKSHEET: 5 W’S OF EVENT PLANNING

THE GOAL:

THE EVENT:

THE 5 W’s OF EVENT PLANNING:

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BACKWARD PLANNING: GO BACK TO GO FORWARD Backward planning is a strategy for event planning that begins with the end point – your goal – and works in reverse chronological order to determine the tasks that will help you achieve that goal. This strategy allows you to think about the all of the steps that need to happen to get your event off the ground.

STEP-BY-STEP BACKWARD PLANNING 1. Once you’ve set the goal, use your 5 W’s of Event Planning Worksheet to create a list of

tasks you will need to complete before the program begins. You already have the date, the audience, and know your motivation. This step forces you to think about partners, resources, location, and reservations.

2. Once you’ve made your list, chunk the different tasks into like categories. 3. Using a calendar, determine with the last task on your list to be completed. 4. Put that task on the timeline or calendar and consider if it has any sub-tasks that must

be completed first. For example, before you can hang marketing posters, they must be designed and printed.

5. If there are sub-tasks that need to be completed, work backward from the end point and plug that into the timeline

6. Move on to the next task and follow Steps 4 and 5. 7. Complete this process until all of the tasks you identified in Step 1 are on the planning

timeline.

Example: Backward Planning Timeline Let's assume that your movie night is on March 21. Ideally you’d be thinking about this event about six weeks in advance. The timeline for this event would look something like this:

March 23 – Write thank you notes to partners; double-check the partners on your list

March 21 – Host the Event, hand out energy reduction steps, count attendees, measure success with assessment tool

March 19 – Market door-to-door, print steps to reduce use/get involved in challenge, send reminder emails, work with RA to get the word out

March 14 – Hang flyers, table in the foyer, send initial email, create list of steps people can take to reduce their use

March 7 – Create Facebook event, plan tabling/dorm storming schedule, create and print flyers, draft email to residents

February 28 - Reserve the room, get rights to movie (or obtain from library), brainstorm flyers

February 21 – Set up meeting times with partners, identify audience, talk with RA about typical group size, set up meeting with partners (Housing, Res Life, Food Services), choose location based on needs of the event

February 14 – Create team and potential partner list, brainstorm event ideas, develop measures of success

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MAKING IT HAPPEN (AT A GLANCE)

You’ve figured out the goal, answered the 5 W’s, and have deadlines for every step of your event. Now it’s time to get to work! Here are some keys to your success.

RESERVE A SPACE

- Ask Rob (roba@psu.edu) to

reserve a space for you

(know which space you

want!)

- Use the Eco-Extension club

to reserve academic, HUB

tables, and other spaces

(reservations.psu.edu)

o Talk to the officers

CHA-CHING $

- Figure out the materials you

need and what they will cost

o Discuss and present

budget to Rob

- Utilize your partners

o Res Life, Housing,

Students, and the

Campus Sustainability

Office all have budgets

MARKET EVERYWHERE

- Be diverse in your marketing

strategy:

- Written (Stall Stories, Collegian)

- Social Media (Twitter,

Facebook, Onward State)

- Creative Design (posters,

bulletin board, video)

- Residence Life (coordinator and

RAs)

- Face-to-face (talk to your

friends; table; spread the event

through word-of-mouth)

(Keep your eyes out for a

Marketing Guide! )

PARTNER UP

- Team up with other Eco-Reps

- Contact other student groups

using the list below or go to

clubs.psu.edu

- Email and talk to your RA

about the event at

Supergroup meetings and

individually

- Talk with Rob/Campus

Sustainability Office for

recycling bins/other needs

(See p. 8-10 for details and contact

information)

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PARTNER UP! Interacting with the various people and organizations on campus will make our programs and events run more smoothly. By networking with other people, we increase the visibility of the Penn State Eco-Reps program, as well as the individual event you are promoting. Doing this will lead to increased attendance of the program or event you are hosting. Once you start poking around, you’ll be surprised at how many sustainable-minded folks there are at Penn State. We can leverage what we’re trying to do by partnering with one or more of these groups. They can help promote, facilitate, and even co-create events. Below is a partial list of some potential Eco-Reps partners.

Advanced Vehicle Team (http://www.hev.psu.edu/)

American Solar Energy Society (ASES)

(http://www.eme.psu.edu/ProfessionalSocieties/ases.html)

Community Food Security Club (http://nutrition.psu.edu/undergrad/cfsc.html)

Earth House (http://agsci.psu.edu/clubs/earthhouse)

Eco-Action (http://psuecoaction.wordpress.com/)

Energy Club (http://www.eme.psu.edu/ProfessionalSocieties/energyclub.html)

Engineers for a Sustainable World (http://php.scripts.psu.edu/clubs/up/esw/index.php)

Environmental Society (http://www.clubs.psu.edu/up/pses/)

Friday Nights Lights Out (http://www.sa.psu.edu/lionhearts/fnlo.shtml)

HealthWorks (http://studentaffairs.psu.edu/health/wellness/healthWorks.shtml)

Intellectual Decisions on Environmental Awareness Solutions (I.D.E.A.S.)

(http://www.facebook.com/pages/IDEAS-for-Penn-State/285217471493012?v=info)

Interfaith Power & Light (http://paipl.org/)

Penn State Global Water Brigades (http://psuwaterbrigades.weebly.com/)

STATERS (Students Taking Action To Encourage Recycling)

(http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=148009215223646)

Sustainable Agriculture Club (http://agsci.psu.edu/students/activities/clubs/sustainable-

agriculture-club)

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WORKING WITH RESIDENCE LIFE

When it comes to getting people to your event, Residence Life is our best partner. They

provide us with an abundance of services. Here are two key points to keep in mind:

1. Make sure you talk to your RA and your Coordinator about what you plan to do. They

have likely done something similar in the past and could have advice (or even resources)

for you!

2. Always be prepared when you contact Residence Life—they want to help you succeed.

Let your Res Life partners know about your event and your needs as far in advance as

possible.

Here are some other strategies you can use with the help of our friends in Residence Life:

Email entire floors and buildings by contacting RAs and coordinators

o Send exactly what you want in these emails several weeks in advance

Use your bulletin board to promote the event in your hall

o Some halls need a key to unlock their board

Reserve tables in Findlay Commons

Utilize resources from the RA supply area in Findlay

Obtain possible funding for the event

Get paint to promote your message on lobby windows in your building

Gain assistance with acquiring food from Dining Services

o If you have food, please keep track of every student consumes the food

o You need approval to serve food

Attain gift cards for raffles

In the case of contests, obtain winner’s email, name, and PSU ID number

Get access to Stall Stories

Learn about advertising on TVs in the Commons

Gain planning (and lots of other) advice

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EAST HALLS RESIDENCE LIFE CONTACT INFO

Lance Galloway lmg21@psu.edu Area Coord. East Halls

Stephanie Bark sab69@psu.edu Coordinator Hastings/Stuart

Brandin Howard

blh31@psu.edu Coordinator Stone/Snyder

Megan Stump mss36@psu.edu Coordinator Curtin/Geary

Barry Hendler bdh15@psu.edu Coordinator Pinchot

Tauheedah Alexander tha2@psu.edu Coordinator Pennypacker/McKean

Shaun O’Malley smo17@psu.edu Coordinator Tener

Keith Cerroni kcc132@psu.edu Coordinator Sproul

Jordan West jsw264@psu.edu Coordinator Brumbaugh

Daviyion Johnston ddj11@psu.edu Coordinator Bigler/Packer

Kim Schindler kqs7@psu.edu Office Mgr.

Suzanne Santoro sms71@psu.edu Staff Assistant

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OTHER PARTNER CONTACT INFORMATION:

FOOD SERVICES:

EAST Halls Housing & Food Services Findlay Dining Commons (224 FINDLAY) PHONE 865-9503 FAX 865-8162 Chuck Wakefield, Assistant Director (cjw2@psu.edu) Charlie Walker, Admin Support Assistant (cqw7@psu.edu) Cynthia Flick, Admin Support Assistant (ckf12@psu.edu) Brooke Jodon, Manager (uxb3@psu.edu) Carl Boone, Office Assistant (clb71@psu.edu) Kellie LaVanish, Assistant Manager (kjl134@psu.edu) Michael Girouard, Assistant Manager (mpg5@psu.edu) Big Onion & Good-To-Go Jen Krise, Assistant Manager (oqk2@psu.edu) 865-2931, 865-0088

EAST HALLS HOUSING: 134 Johnston Commons PHONE 814-865-1791; FAX 814-865-0081 David Manos, Assistant Director for East Halls, dmf4@psu.edu, Rod Merritts, Assistant Manager for East Halls, rmm18@psu.edu Kathy Stem, Office Manager, kqf1@psu.edu

University Park Allocations Committee or UPAC:

The University Park Allocation Committee is dedicated to allocating a portion of the Student Activity Fee income. The committee is comprised of 35 University Park students, represented by both undergraduate and graduate students that have been appointed and/or elected.

The committee strives to successfully allocate funds that will enhance student life and the out-of-class experience, or improve the educational climate at University Park campus.

UPAC Web Site http://www.upac.psu.edu/ UPAC Requestor Handbook http://studentaffairs.psu.edu/hub/commonwealthsa/pdf/UPAC_Requestor_Handbook_04-17-12.pdf