Amanda White, of Philabundance, saw her “live pitch” at a recent PPRA media panel turn into a CBS3 spot for her organization.

By Amanda White

On Feb. 17, PPRA hosted a Broadcast Media Panel Luncheon at the Pyramid Club, which ultimately led to a high-profile opportunity for me. If you were unable to attend, PPRA member, Kate Kanaby, did an excellent job sharing a recap and a few takeaways from the event. In her blog, Kate briefly mentioned the “Live Pitching” portion of the luncheon—AKA my favorite part!

As a PPRA member, not only do you have the opportunity to attend networking events that help build and maintain relationships with reporters, you often have the opportunity to “live pitch” media your story ideas.

As PR Associate for Philabundance, the Philadelphia region’s largest hunger relief organization—aiming to drive hunger from its communities today to ultimately end hunger forever—it’s my job to raise as much awareness as possible for the nonprofit organization.

After hearing from each media professional on the panel about what stories he/she is interested in, I knew I had to tell the panelists, specifically CBS3, about Philabundance Community Kitchen (PCK). PCK is Philabundance’s adult culinary vocational program, which has produced over four million meals for the hungry while simultaneously helping 700 graduates enter the workforce since 2000! (Impressive, right?)

Although I was (a little) nervous to speak in front of an entire room of PPRA members and media professionals I had never worked with before, I knew this was both a rare, and exciting opportunity.

As a result of the :30 second pitch, CBS3 Eyewitness News Managing Editor, Stephen McKenzie, said, “This sounds great. Let’s connect and get {CBS3 reporter} Vittoria in the kitchen with the students for a story.” And sure enough, we did just that.

On March 7, CBS3 Reporter, Vittoria Woodill, visited our community kitchen, where she interviewed a student, a graduate of the program and staff. Check out the full story here.

If I wasn’t a PPRA member, attended the media luncheon AND live pitched, who knows if Vittoria would have done a story on PCK?

Thanks, PPRA, for the continuous opportunities you provide your members! Those who were unable to attend the luncheon can check out the conversation on Twitter using hashtag #PPRAProgram. And learn more about PCK here.

Amanda White is PR Associate at Philabundance

awhite@philabundance.org