When Jason Herring, marketing and communications coordinator of the Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force heard Point Park offered public relations and advertising services to non-profits, he was elated.  

“Wood Street Communications is a valuable resource for skilled, professional services by students willing to do the work and spend time perfecting their trade and making a difference in their community,” said Herring during an email interview on Sept. 5. 

Wood Street Communications is a new, free program that uses both professors and students to provide Social Media Campaigns and intergrated marketing communications (IMC) campaigns, as well as video, design and photo help to smaller non-profits at no cost. The project was started two years ago by associate professor Heather Starr Fiedler and adjunct professor Camille Downing. The program’s first client was Pittsburgh Cares, a non-profit volunteer agency, and from there it has expanded and gained more support on campus. 

According to Downing, the reason that the professors started the program is “first to provide non-profits with quality working communications they may not be able to have a larger agency to do and to provide students to showcase and work with real clients.” 

Many professors, faculty members and around 30-40 students in various classes are working on projects for approximately 25 non-profit groups.

Some of their past clients include the Young Men & Women’s African Heritage Association and Black Shield Security. Wood Street Communication’s clients this year include the Fern Hollow Nature Center, Priority Two and more. 

Associate professor Robin Cecala is working with many groups this semester, including a resale women’s clothing store called Treasure House.

“Professional video productions are expensive, beyond the means of many small nonprofits,” Cecala said during an email interview on Sept. 5.  “This gives those nonprofits the chance to widen their reach, and allows them to serve more people.” 

Susan Orr, Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations, is a Point Park alum and worked with some of the non-profit groups that received help from Wood Street Communications. Orr worked with the Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force when Point Park Students participated in World AIDS Day on Dec 1. She wanted to return to Point Park to help with these groups and is happy with what she sees with this organization. 

“Having a place like Wood Street Communications is really invaluable to non-profits, to those who don’t have a lot of resources,” Orr said during an interview on Sept. 3.

 “As a public health professional, I am so proud to see my alma mater being a driver for social service and as a marketing professional I am grateful for such an adept group of dedicated students willing to share their time and talent,” Herring said during an email interview on Sept. 5. 

Many students have joined Wood Street Communications and helped in the community. One of these students is senior advertising and public relations major Kelli Murphy, one of the original students invited to help create the group by Fiedler. 

Murphy became involved with the social media aspect of the group and helped design the Wood Street Communications website. Now, she helps these non-profits as both a good gesture and a way to help her gain real-world experience. 

“I want to get involved in the non-profit community. I want to get involved in something that matters…to me, non-profits matter,” Murphy said during an interview on Sept. 3. 

Practicum student Ralph Musthaler is working with the Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force to take Glam cards of people who are living with AIDS. These cards are a combination of a photo and of the person’s biography. 

Fiedler, who is now the leader of the organization, said that she wants to start small and keep projects manageable and do different projects for different groups each year. However, she and the other members of Wood Street Communications are looking forward to building the community and broadening the reach of the organization for the future.  

Anyone who has questions about the program can contact Heather Starr Fiedler at [email protected] or go to woodstreetcommunications.com.