Step 1

Find contact information for local media in your community. Research local newspapers,  community publications and the ABC, CBS and NBC local affiliate stations that run human interest stories and identify the right contact person for community news and their email address.

Step 2

Create a media pitch. This is a simple email you’ll send to the contacts you’ve identified.  Before pitching a story, make sure you or someone from your trip is willing to be interviewed.

Step 3

Devise a “catchy” subject line for the email. Instead of having ASP in the subject line, simple phrasing like “story idea” or “idea for an article about recent mission trip” may grab their attention better.

Step 4

Craft an email that is no more than 3 paragraphs long. Provide details for your story idea, which includes who went on the trip, how many volunteers participated, when it was, where you went, what home projects you worked on, and a basic overview of what ASP is.

Step 5

Include no more than 5 pictures in the email. The pictures you choose should be clear, with people’s faces clearly visible, and especially those action-oriented images (pictures of adults on a roof, youth holding/using tools, volunteers interacting with homeowners or in front of the home, etc.).

Step 6

Let us know when your stories are published. If your story pitch gets picked up, please send the link to volunteer@asphome.org. The ASP marketing team keeps track of any media “hits” we get each year, so we can thank those contacts.

Step 7

Examples from Summer 2024

• Volunteer groups make home repairs in EKY nearly two years following historic floods
• Putting faith into action: Geneva Methodist volunteers repair rural West Virginia homes in 42nd annual mission trip