Samaritans Launch TV Spot From Hill, Holliday For Volunteer Recruitment

“We hear…But only some of us listen” is key message

BOSTON, January 15, 2004 . . .

The Samaritans this week releases a :30 PSA TV spot on local television stations in order to attract a larger corps of committed volunteers.

The new PSA’s are the first in a series of campaigns designed first to increase the numbers of volunteers staffing the phone lines, and will be followed by a second TV spot to advertise the availability of the service.

Created pro bono by local ad agency Hill, Holliday, the first spot positions The Samaritans as an organization that is dedicated to really listening. The Samaritans is the only organization in the Boston area providing services devoted to listening to people in despair and preventing suicide. For 27 years, to over 1.5 million troubled and despairing individuals, Samaritans volunteers have been asking the question, “May I help you?” Now they are turning to their community to ask, “Can you help us?”

The Samaritans answers over 45,000 calls each year, and yet many calls go unanswered because the telephone line is busy. It takes a tremendous commitment on the part of over 175 volunteers annually to staff the 24-hour hotline. Additional volunteers will enable the organization to open up more lines and answer more calls.

“We know our call volume is currently over our capacity and yet the service is also underutilized. We certainly don’t want to advertise its availability until we increase the numbers of trained volunteers available to answer the calls. Our hope is to double the numbers of volunteers we have on the phones six months after the announcements start running,” says Executive Director, Roberta Hurtig.

Program Services Director Kim Kates adds, “In a world in which there is so much talking and so little listening, what we offer is unique: the chance to be heard. It takes a special person to volunteer for The Samaritans. People who understand that not everyone has a shoulder to cry on are our best chance of being able to offer a shoulder when it is needed most.”

Hill, Holliday has a long legacy of helping many worthy nonprofit organizations in the local and national community. For 34 years, doing well as a company and, in turn, being able to “do good” in the community has been a large part of Hill, Holliday’s overall mission. In 2002, Hill, Holliday donated $4.5 million in in-kind services and nearly $1 million in cash to local organizations.

“Of Hill, Holliday’s many working relationships with nonprofit organizations, we are particularly proud to help The Samaritans,” said Margaret Boles Fitzgerald, Executive Vice President, Director of Community Relations at Hill, Holliday. “The work they do really makes a difference in peoples’ lives.”

Creative credits for the spot belong to:
Agency: Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos
Creative Director/Art Director: Doug Gould
Creative Director/Copywriter: Eivind Ueland
Director: Tom Foley (also a producer at Hill, Holliday)
Production Company: Independent Media, Santa Monica
Executive Producer: Susanne Preissler
Editor: Dick Gordon, Mad River Post, New York
Dir. of Photography: Chris Soos

About Hill, Holliday
Hill, Holliday, owned by the Interpublic Group of Companies Inc. (NYSE:IPG) and headquartered in Boston with offices in San Francisco and New York City, is one of the top communications agencies in the United States, with current billings of nearly $1 billion. The agency has won numerous awards for advertising excellence and effectiveness and has among its roster of clients leading national and regional brands such as FleetBoston Financial, John Hancock Financial, CVS/pharmacy, Dunkin’ Donuts, LoJack, Red Roof Inns, Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits, Verizon Wireless, Togo’s and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Hill, Holliday can be found on the Web at www.hhcc.com.

Contact Information

Beth Schultz
Samaritans
617-536-1357
bschultz@samaritansofboston.org

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