SOSC Final Campaign

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South Carolina
Public Relations Campaigns - McKeever
Prepared By:
Ashley Adams
Elliott Brown
Alex Nichols
Nicole Smith
Alex Sprenger
EmilyThickens

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Table of Contents
I. Our Team: Mission and Values………………………………………3
II. Executive Summary…………………………………………………..4
III. Background Research & SWOT Analysis……………………………5
IV. Target Area/Audience(s)……………………………………………..7
V. Primary Research……………………………………………………..8
VI. Campaign Goals, Objectives, Strategies and Tactics ……………….12
VII. Implementation Logistics……………………………………………14
VIII. Evaluation…………………………………………………………...16
IX. Appendices…………………………………………………………..17
a. Secondary Research References……………………………...17
b. Sample Survey………………………………………………..18
c. Interview Transcript…………………………………………..21
d. Survey Email…………………………………………………23
e. Interview Notes……………………………………………….24
f. Qualtrics Data/Graphs………………………………………..28
g. Press Releases………………………………………………...32
h. Social Media Posts……………………………………………35
i. Public Service Announcement………………………………..41

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I. Our Team: Mission and Core Values
Meet our creative team!
Emily Thickens, President and CEO
Elliott Brown, Vice President of Communications
Nicole Smith, Director of Marketing
Alex Sprenger, Director of Public Relations
Ashley Adams, Director of Community Relations
Alex Nichols, Director of Visual Communications
Mission
Prism is an integrated communications agency dedicated to creating effective marketing
communication services for nonprofit organizations and corporate businesses across the
United States. Prism develops the best practices in nonprofit communications to raise
awareness and positive public perceptions of organizations.
Values
• Creativity — We believe in innovative approaches, strategies and tactics.
• Efficiency — We develop strategic plans and a set of goals to ensure our work
will be successful.
• Diversity — We know different is better. We accept different points of view,
inspiration and experience to keep our agency moving forward.
• Transparency — We have openness and communication. We offer constructive
feedback to others that is timely and specific.
• Flexibility — We are always open to ideas and suggestions from clients. We
develop several strategies until we find the best one to accomplish our goals.
• Integrity—We stick to our word and do what we say we will do. We develop
strategies and plans that create action.

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II. Executive Summary
This campaign focuses on the education pillar of Special Olympics South Carolina. Prism
Integrated Communications has created a campaign that will successfully reach schools
in South Carolina to create an integrated community between students with and without
intellectual and developmental disabilities. This report contains information regarding our
audience, research methods, preliminary ideas and materials for the campaign.
There are already two major campaigns in effect with Special Olympics South Carolina.
Project UNIFY and End The ‘R’ Word are campaigns that we would like to create more
awareness for. Project UNIFY concentrates on integrating students with intellectual
disabilities with their peers in order to create a more socially inclusive environment. With
Project UNIFY youth with and without disabilities would learn, exercise, and play
together in school and in sports programs. The other campaign, End The ‘R’ Word,
focuses on banning the word “retarded” from people’s vocabulary. When the ‘r’ word is
used, it is typically used as a derogatory and offensive word. The End The ‘R’ Word
campaign asks people to make a pledge to stop saying the ‘r’ word in order to create
more accepting attitudes and communities.
Prism Integrated Communications would like to expand on these two campaigns and
create more awareness for them in South Carolina. Preliminary ideas included getting
more schools in South Carolina to participate in Project UNIFY, increasing awareness
and knowledge of Project UNIFY in schools, reducing the use of the ‘r’ word in student’s
conversations and have students with disabilities become more involved with their peers
in everyday activities.
The audience that we are targeting for this campaign is teachers, administrators, and
students in South Carolina. Administrators and teachers were chosen because they have
the ability to influence the students in their schools. These are also the easiest groups to
reach when doing research. These two groups have knowledge regarding their school’s
environment and how their school operates. Students were chosen because they are
necessary and imperative to the success of Project UNIFY. Students interact with each
other on a daily basis and the more aware and involved they are with Project UNIFY, the
more successful this campaign will be.
In order to reach teachers and administrators, we conducted two different forms of
primary research. First Prism Integrated Communications sent out an online survey. A
survey allowed us to reach a large amount of people in a timely manner. This also
allowed information to be gathered quickly. Interviews were also conducted with teachers
and administrators that are already involved with Project UNIFY. The interviews were all
conducted by phone. The information collected from the primary research will allow the
campaign to reach the goals set and become successful.

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III. Client Mission, Background Research & SWOT Analysis
Client Mission
The sole objective is to reach more teachers, school administrators, and students to tell
them about the Project UNIFY and how to get it started in their schools. Special
Olympics South Carolina wants more exposure for their Project UNIFY campaign in
schools throughout South Carolina.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
Special Olympics South Carolina has a strong system of supporters to draw from
statewide including Carolina Comfort, Publix, Walmart and Blue Cross-Blue Shield
(“Special Olympics South Carolina,” 2015). Special Olympics South Carolina also has a
good reputation. The charity has high ratings in the areas of both accountability and
transparency. Overall, Special Olympics South Carolina has comparable ratings to
Special Olympics chapters in other states. Other strengths include the use of Facebook
with regular updates and mostly positive media coverage over the past few years. The
coverage ranged from reporting an event put on to benefit Special Olympics South
Carolina to stories on athletes from around the state (LexisNexis, 2015).
Weaknesses
Beyond Facebook, social media seems to be an area of weaknesses for Special Olympics
South Carolina. Though their Twitter is followed by a fair amount of people, the page is
not updated on a regular basis such as is the case with the Facebook page. The
organization has a low following on Instagram and low views on the YouTube channel.
Most of the social media, besides the Facebook page, is not updated frequently enough to
give pertinent information to followers. Additionally, the lack of manpower is a weakness.
Because Special Olympics South Carolina relies heavily on volunteers, one person is
often given more work than he or she can handle alone (Cheatham, 2015).
Opportunities
Special Olympics South Carolina has the opportunity to expand their programs,
specifically Project UNIFY, further into schools. Currently, 130 schools are involved in
the newest initiative with there being room for a significant amount of growth into other
schools and to gain new business partners through Project UNIFY. Within Project
UNIFY, there has been a lot of emphasis on student and youth leaders, but not as much
emphasis put on drawing teachers and administrators into the project leaving room for
growth in this area also (“Special Olympics South Carolina,” 2015).
Threats
Special Olympics South Carolina relies heavily on those outside of the organization for
success. Whether implementing Project UNIFY in schools, trying to gain supporters or
obtaining medical personnel to be involved in all aspects of Project UNIFY, there is the
danger that people in powerful positions will not want to give their support. In the
education sector, specifically, administrators must be reached more effectively for
programs to be successful.

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Advantages and Rationale
Using a survey allowed a large number of participants to be assessed on their awareness
and attitudes concerning Project UNIFY. Additionally, the survey aided in determining
what the current obstacles are in implementing Project UNIFY in more schools and how
best to involve teachers and administrators. The survey was chosen and advantageous
because it could be easily disseminated to a large audience and could be taken at the
participant’s convenience. Additionally, the use of Qualtrics allowed a large amount of
data to be analyzed easily.
Personal interviews were chosen for publics who have already had experience with
Project UNIFY with the intention of obtaining a variety of information about how to
involve more administrators and teachers. Interviews allowed those already educated in
the mission of Project UNIFY to share what is best about the program, what changes they
would make and gave the opportunity for personal testimonies.
Using one method for those who may or may not know about Project UNIFY and another
for those already involved gave us the opportunity to ask more appropriate and effective
questions of both groups.

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IV. Target Area/Audience(s)
Our target public was school administrators, teachers and students throughout selected
school districts in South Carolina. We specifically focused on schools in Orangeburg,
Bamburg, Kershaw, and Calhoun counties. We wanted to reach out to those in the school
systems who do not know about Project UNIFY as well as those who are actively
involved via survey and interview. Our main goal is to generate awareness for Project
UNIFY and get it started in schools as well as seek advice on how to make the campaign
stronger from those who are already involved.

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V. Primary Research
Research Goals:
1.) Administrators and teachers were assessed on their attitudes towards Project
UNIFY. This helped determine whether this population was a.) aware of Project
UNIFY, b.) willing to be involved with the project and c.) if they believed it is
necessary to implement programs such as Project UNIFY in the schools in which
they work. Ultimately, the goal was to determine what attitudes need to be
changed or fostered for the successful implementation of Project UNIFY in more
schools.
2.) Secondly, this assessment should determine what obstacles are faced in the
proposed implementation of Project UNIFY. Responses indicated whether people,
regulations, funds or some other factor might keep a school from adopting Project
UNIFY. With this being known, the campaign can be honed to address the issues
or concerns that are most prevalent.
3.) The last goal was to find out why those teachers and administrators currently
involved in Project UNIFY think it is a worthwhile program, what they think are
the strengths and weaknesses of Project UNIFY and what they believe are the best
ways to involve more people such as themselves. It can be determined what, if any,
are the necessary changes needed in order for more schools to implement this
initiative.
Research Methods and Procedures:
In order to achieve the first two goals, a survey was distributed to teachers and
administrators throughout Orangeburg, Bamburg, Kershaw, and Calhoun counties. Using
Qualtrics, a 20 question survey was created including demographic, yes/no and Likert -
type questions. As soon as the research methods were approved, the survey was
distributed to school superintendents and administrators who then passed it down to other
administrators and teachers. Superintendents were contacted prior to receiving the survey
to obtain their approval. After the survey was completed by 70 respondents, the
information gathered by Qualtrics was sorted and analyzed into useable data.
The last goal was geared towards those teachers and administrators already involved with
Project UNIFY. Personal interviews were set up with three of these individuals with 10
open-ended questions that were asked. The interviews were done by phone depending on
schedules and availability of those being interviewed. Interviewees were obtained by
collaborating with Ms. Cheatham to find administrators and teachers who are currently
involved with Project UNIFY.

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Advantages and Rationale
Using a survey allowed large number of participants to be assessed on their awareness
and attitudes concerning Project UNIFY. Additionally, the survey would aid in
determining what the current obstacles are in implementing Project UNIFY in more
schools and how best to involve teachers and administrators. The survey was chosen and
advantageous because it could be easily disseminated to a large audience and could be
taken at the participant’s convenience. Additionally, the use of Qualtrics allowed a large
amount of data to be analyzed fairly easily.
Personal interviews were chosen for publics who have already had experience with
Project UNIFY with the intention of obtaining a variety of information about how to
involve more administrators and teachers. Interviews allowed those already educated in
the mission of Project UNIFY to share what is best about the program, what changes they
would make and gave the opportunity for personal testimonies.
Using one method for those who may or may not know about Project UNIFY and another
for those already involved gave us the opportunity to ask more appropriate and effective
questions of both groups.
Limitations
As is often the case with a survey, the danger exists for misinterpretation of questions and
the possibility of the creator’s bias being evident throughout the survey. Other potential
issues included relying on school personnel to disseminate the survey and relying on
administrators and teachers to participate in the survey once they received the email.
The most prevalent limitations when conducting personal interviews involved finding
current Project UNIFY participants and volunteers who had the time to participate in an
in-person or phone interview. Also, unlike taking a survey, people are sometimes
reluctant to be completely honest during interviews because their name and image can be
associated with their responses.
Main Findings From Online Survey:
• 92% of our survey participants were aware of Special Olympics.
• 71% of respondents were not aware of Project UNIFY until we distributed our
survey.
• 50% of our respondents have heard of the “End the R Word” campaign and 50%
did not.
• 13% of respondents did not know if intellectually disabled students at their school
were taking classes of any sort
The research showed that while 92 percent of our respondents were aware of Special
Olympics, only 29 percent were aware of Project UNIFY before taking the survey.
Therefore, though Special Olympics is well known among school staff, Project UNIFY

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needs much promotion among this demographic and it should be stressed that this is a
Special Olympics program.
Another finding that could have impacted our research was that 80 percent of our
participants were teachers. We think that if more administrators and other people filling
positions at the school had responded, we would have had more of a wide variety of data
to draw findings and conclusions from.
This finding relates to another finding from our survey data: 13 percent of our
respondents were not aware if intellectually disabled students at their school were taking
general classes, such as electives, with students without disabilities. This stood out to us
because most faculty and staff at schools are aware of intellectually disabled students. In
fact, administrators that we interviewed said that even before Project UNIFY began, their
school had numerous implementations for intellectually disabled students. Their faculty,
staff and mainly students are always trying to create different ways to interact the general
educated students and the special educated students.
*Graphs of the survey results can be found in the appendices on page 20.
Personal Interviews- Administrative and Faculty Support
Throughout the personal interview process, one theme which reoccurred was the
importance of administrative and faculty support as a whole for Project UNIFY. Ms.
Dayna Hohlfeldt, a teacher involved with Project UNIFY at Beaufort Middle School who
helped establish Project UNIFY at her school, noted that, “the administration has to back
you up” in order for this program to work. Mr. Jacob Edgar, a special education teacher
at Seneca High School, also said that in order for Project UNIFY to be successful, the
faculty has to be enthusiastic and willing to put in time and effort. Ms. Tuten from
Swansea Middle School said that she wanted to support Project UNIFY because she
thought unification within her school was important. When staff members have this sort
of attitude, it makes implementation possible. The administration and staff must be
reached first before the school can move forward with Project UNIFY. It seems that
when the administration, faculty and staff are supportive, support from the student body
usually follows. Though interviewees may have witnessed some backlash from students,
the teachers we spoke with felt that the overwhelming majority of their students were in
favor of Project UNIFY as long as the program was first backed by staff. Ms. Hohlfeldt
also noted that her administrator suggested she find a staff member to partner with to start
Project UNIFY at their school. This worked well at Beaufort Middle School and kept the
responsibility for heading up the initiative from falling on one person.
It was also mentioned that because administrative and staff support are so vital to the
success of Project UNIFY in schools, there needs to be a way to calm nerves of those
who may be hesitant to put the program into place. One teacher spoke about her school
having a specific Project UNIFY team of teachers who are available to support those
teachers who may be uncomfortable with the idea at first or feel as if they do not have the
proper training to integrate students with intellectual and physical disabilities into their
classes and programs.

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Personal Interviews-Student Enthusiasm and Program Success
One of the most prevalent aspects revealed throughout personal interviews was the
student support element once Project UNIFY is implemented at a school. Though support
must first come from administration and staff, students play a just as important, if not
more important, role in generating enthusiasm for the initiative.
All interviewees commented on how many students in the regular, mainstream programs
are willing to help out and be a Project UNIFY buddy for another student. Ms. Hohlfeldt
said the most rewarding aspect of her job is seeing the relationships that are built and the
interactions between students with and without disabilities. It appears that if a school
intends to, or is considering, implementing Project UNIFY, the best place to find energy
and excitement about the program is within the student body itself. Ms. Tuten
commented that the students have more power than any others within the school when it
comes to making Project UNIFY a success. She also spoke on how important it is that the
students want their school to be unified. This desire must be exist in to some degree or be
fostered among students in order for Project UNIFY to reach its’ full potential.

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VI. Campaign Goals, Objectives, Strategies and Tactics
Goal
To implement Project UNIFY in more South Carolina school districts and to increase
awareness and understanding of the program.
Objective
Implement Project UNIFY in an additional 25 schools during the 2015-2016 school year
and engage 400 additional youth leaders.
Strategies
Strategy 1: Engage middle and high school students, as well as parents, faculty
and staff in Project UNIFY.
Tactic 1: During the six month campaign, focus on a different aspect of
SOSC, specifically Project UNIFY, each month through a Facebook post
and by tweeting. Topics will range from Q&A about Project UNIFY, facts
concerning the funding and growth of the initiative and highlighting
pioneers of the project.
Tactic 2: Invite students to use #liveunified to post pictures of their
interactions with Project UNIFY. Encourage selfies with the use of the
hashtag.
Tactic 3: Create a PSA to be aired in homerooms and during other
announcement times concerning Project UNIFY. The PSA will be used by
schools just starting Project UNIFY or considering the initiative to both
gage and rally student interest in the project. It would also be a secondary
way to reach teachers who will additionally view the video with their
students.
Tactic 4: Create posters to be placed in schools in order to start
conversations about Project UNIFY.
Strategy 2: After schools adopt Project UNIFY, implement a plan to excite
students and remind faculty and staff what a big difference one child can make.
Tactic 1: When a school commits to seriously considering or
implementing Project UNIFY, send brochures to be included in student
packets at the beginning of the year or to be passed out in conjunction with
the PSA. Brochures would be geared more towards students who may
actually read them, such as high school students.
Tactic 2: The “Buddy of the Month” will be a student featured on the
SOSC website, the school website, school news and on social media. This

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Buddy will answer a few questions about his or her involvement in Project
UNIFY and tell why it is important. The Buddy will be selected in
cooperation with Project UNIFY adult volunteers at each school.
Strategy 3: In both current and potential Project UNIFY schools, continue and
expand the “End the R-Word” campaign.
Tactic 1: Travel to different schools throughout South Carolina during the
month of October to gain faculty, staff and student perspectives on what it
means to “end the r-word” and respect everyone. Have a personal size
whiteboard where participants can write what respect means to them.
Respect means _________ (ex. accepting others, saving a seat at the lunch
table, lending a hand, speaking up, etc.). Take pictures of participants
holding the whiteboard they wrote on and use the pictures on social media,
the SOSC website, and encourage the school to create and “End the R-
Word” bulletin board using the photographs which can be sent to the
school. Prior contact would have to be made with administration
coordinate schedules and discuss the possibility of the school participating
in the campaign.
Strategy 4: Clarify and address common misconceptions about Project UNIFY,
specifically in regards to the need for school/state funding in order to successfully
implement Project UNFIY.
Tactic 1: Create an informational brochure for administration and teachers
addressing some of the common potential issues with Project UNIFY.
Stress within the brochure that the initiative requires very little additional
school and state funding.

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VII. Implementation Logistics
Budget
Timeline
July
- Distribute teacher brochures
- Post introductory social media posts
August
- Aug. 1 – Send press release, media alert
-‐ Put up posters
-‐ Distribute student brochures
-‐ Play PSA in schools
-‐ Post this month’s social media posts
September
-‐ Follow up email
-‐ Announce “Buddy of the Month”
October
Tactic Expense Supplier Cost Explanation
PSA
Production Coastline Video $1,500 Quote found online
(Consider using USC Visual Communicaions students
to lower cost.)
Actors Project UNIFY Particpants Free
Venue Volunteer Project UNIFY School Free
DVDs Walmart $100
$15 per pack x 7
packs
Brochures
Printing
Fast Color Printer (Online) Bulk
Prices $.09 each
Try to get printing
donated
Posters
Printing Vivyx Printing (Online) Bulk Prices $1.74 each
5 posters per
school

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-‐ Implement “End the R Word” whiteboard
-‐ “End the R Word” Press Release
November
December

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VIII. Evaluation
Evaluating this campaign should be done in several steps. We want to look at the overall
results and outcomes of the campaign. It is necessary to determine if we gained
awareness for the message behind Project UNIFY and if it was implemented in a
meaningful amount of schools.
First, in order to evaluate this campaign, we must determine how many schools
implemented Project UNIFY. This should provide a simple number to see if we achieved
our objectives. Also, it will be important to determine how schools that already have
implemented Project UNIFY were affected by the campaign. This could be done by
phone interviews to those involved.
Another way to evaluate the success of our campaign is by engaging in media analysis by
looking at press clippings. How many times did the local or national media mention
aspects of our campaign? Also, we can look at the hash tag “#liveunified”
across various
social media platforms to see how many tweets and posts there were in relation to our
campaign.
Next, we want to look at the reach of the campaign. How many people were affected or
became aware of Project UNIFY because of our campaign? A simple survey sent back to
the schools will give us an idea. We also want to look at the frequency of how many
times people were exposed to the campaign. In order to make an impact on an individual,
it is essential to expose him/her to the intended message multiple times. We can measure
this by adding a question or two on the survey asking how many times the respondent
heard about Project UNIFY in the last six months.
Evaluating this campaign needs to be simple. If we stick to sending out another survey to
the schools gauging the effectiveness of the campaign, looking at press coverage and
seeing how many schools implemented Project UNIFY, then we will have a good idea of
how successful our campaign was.

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IX. Appendices
Secondary Research References
(n.d.). Retrieved February 18, 2015, from http://so-sc.org/wp-
content/uploads/2014/07/Project-UNIFY-Programs-Overview.pdf
LexisNexis. Special Olympics South Carolina. 2015. Retrieved from
http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/lnacademic/
South Carolina Special Olympics. (n.d.). Retrieved February 18, 2015, from http://so-
sc.org

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Sample Survey
Thank you for your participation in their survey. We are seeking information about
awareness and attitudes about SOSC and Project UNIFY. The following will give
you a bit of information about the project.
Project UNIFY is a program that seeks to utilize existing state Special Olympics
programs and initiatives in combination with schools to promote socially inclusive
communities. In South Carolina, there are currently 130 schools participating in the
program involving more than 5,000 youth. The program initiatives include Respect
campaigns, End the R-Word campaigns and creating clubs and organizations within
schools that are inclusive of students with and without intellectual disabilities.
Are you familiar with Special Olympics South Carolina?
Yes No
Have you ever volunteered with Special Olympics?
Yes No
Do you have any family members with special needs?
Yes No
Before receiving this survey, had you ever heard of Project UNIFY?
Yes No
Does your school participate in Project UNIFY?
Yes No I don’t know
Have you heard of the “End the R-Word” campaign?
Yes No
Do your students interact with students with intellectual disabilities on a regular basis?
Yes No
Do students with intellectual disabilities at your school take classes of any sort (such as
electives) or participate in organizations/clubs with the general population of students?
Yes No I don’t know
What do you think would be the biggest obstacle in implementing Project UNIFY at your
school?
Funding Not enough volunteers Not enough participants State regulations
Something Else

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If you answered “something else,” please explain your below or add additional comments
to any answer.
On a scale of 1-5 (1 being Strongly Disagree and 5 being Strongly Agree), how much
do you agree with the following statements?
My school currently serves students with intellectual disabilities well.
1-----2-----3-----4-----5
My school extends equal opportunities to students with intellectual disabilities.
1-----2-----3-----4-----5
My school needs to improve our offerings and services for students with intellectual
disabilities.
1-----2-----3-----4-----5
Students with intellectual disabilities can interact with their peers the same as any other
student.
1-----2-----3-----4-----5
I interact with students with intellectual disabilities on a regular basis.
1-----2-----3-----4-----5
I am confident in my ability to interact with students with intellectual disabilities.
1-----2-----3-----4-----5
I have a desire to help integrate students with intellectual disabilities into more
mainstream activities at my school?
1----2-----3----4-----5
Are there any programs already in place at your school for students with intellectual
disabilities? If so, what are these programs?

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Do you think Project UNIFY should be implemented at your school? Why or why not?
Please select one:
Gender:
Male Female
Age:
20-25 26-30 31-35 36-40 40-45 46-50 51-55 56-60 60+
What role do you fulfill at your school?
Administrator Teacher Teacher’s Aid Other
How many years have you been employed at your current school?
>5 5-10 10-15 15+

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Interview Transcript
Hello my name is _________. I am a student at the University of South Carolina. My
Public Relations Campaigns class is working with Special Olympics South Carolina to
strengthen on of their initiatives, Project UNIFY. We appreciate your participation in this
interview. It is completely voluntary and may be ended at any time.
The purpose of this research is to assess the awareness and attitudes surrounding Project
UNIFY. We are also hoping to learn more about how current Project UNIFY volunteers
got involved and their perceptions of the program. The only people who have access to
the interview data and the transcript are the PR Campaigns class, our professor, and
Special Olympics South Carolina personnel.
1. First, I would like to ask you about your current involvement with Project UNIFY:
1.1. How long have you been involved with Project UNIFY?
1.2. Why did you decide to support this program?
2. Now, I have a couple of questions specific to your school:
2.1. How long has Project UNIFY been at your school?
2.2. How has the implementation of this program impacted your school?
2.3. How has Project UNIFY benefitted students with intellectual disabilities
where you work?
3. Now, I have some questions concerning attitudes and potential issues:

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3.1. What attitudes need to change in order for there to be enough support for
Project UNIFY in other schools?
3.2. Did you encounter obstacles with implementing Project UNIFY? If so, what
were they?
3.3. Do you think students, faculty and staff are hesitant to include students with
intellectual disabilities in daily activities.
PROBE 3.3.1.: If the interviewee responds with a short answer such as ,
"yes," follow up with, "why do you think this is the case?"
4. These last two questions pertain more to you personally when it comes to Project
UNIFY:
4.1. Do you have any suggestions for the program?
4.2. Why has being involved with Project UNIFY been rewarding for you?

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Survey Email
Dear [insert administrator’s name],
I am contacting you on behalf of Special Olympics South Carolina. As students in a
Public Relations Campaigns course at the University of South Carolina, we have been
assigned to create a public relations campaign in order to help expand the “Project
UNIFY” initiative of Special Olympics South Carolina.
In an attempt to gain insight and perspective on "Project UNIFY" from administrators,
teachers and staff in several South Carolina school districts, we ask you to complete the
survey linked below and forward it to your teachers and staff. The success of our project
and the benefits it will have on Special Olympics South Carolina rests on the response
rates of this survey.
We thank you for your time and cooperation.
Survey Link: *******************************
(Group member name)
(Position)
Prism Communications

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Interview notes and transcripts
Ms. Dayna Hohlfeldt, Beaufort Middle School
(Some questions omitted from original transcript for the purposes of not being
repetitive)
1. First, I would like to ask you about your current involvement with Project
UNIFY:
1.1. How long have you been involved with Project UNIFY? The school started
project UNIFY last year, it's in its second year at Beaufort Middle School. The program
began as "purely athletic" at the school to get people excited and the athletes were
handpicked for the first year.
-Regular ed. students go two times a week and other students usually around four times
1.2. Why did you decide to support this program? School administration was
"very supportive." "The administration has to back you up."
Ms. Hohlfeldt said that this program would be very hard to support through just teachers
and that for the startup, she went to her administrator to gain approval for the program
and was given the go ahead and advised to find a teacher to partner with her. The athletic
director ended up wanting to be involved also and the school began with two basketball
teams and expanding from there.
2.2. How has the implementation of this program impacted your school? Ms.
Hohlfeldt said this was "the best thing that ever happened to me and my class" when
asked how it has impacted herself and the school. Friendships among all types of students
have been built and 45 kids are now involved in the program and 150 applied to be
involved with Project UNIFY this coming year.
3.1. What attitudes need to change in order for there to be enough support
for Project UNIFY in other schools? Project UNIFY students have to be excited about
the program in order for it to be successful. If the kids don't want to be there but it just
ends up fitting into their schedules, it may not be the best fit. Sometimes buddy's will
take advantage of the program and use their freedom (Ms. Hohlfeldt gave the example of
taking their buddy to get water and roaming the school with the buddy) to take liberties
that they wouldn't be allowed to otherwise.
-One bullying incident where two 8th graders almost got into a fight was mentioned. One
was supporting the "End the R-Word" campaign and the other was making fun of the
student, saying the "r-word", etc.
3.3. Do you think students, faculty and staff are hesitant to include students
with intellectual disabilities in daily activities? The majority of Beaufort Middle
School’s staff are not hesitant to involve all students. Ms. Hohlfeldt spoke about one first
year drama teacher who was very nervous about integrating the students with intellectual
disabilities into her classes but got a lot of support. Having a team to support teachers
helped a lot. Ms. Hohlfeldt said she gets email invitations "all the time" from the high
school and other programs inviting Project UNIFY students to be involved in what other
classes and schools are doing. She did acknowledge though that this might not be the
norm.

25

UNIFY:
4.1. Do you have any suggestions for the program?
Start with athletics and then expand. She seemed to think that most schools stick closely
to athletics.
"The most rewarding thing for me is to see the relationships that are built." Ms. Hohlfeldt
said that it's like all the students are the same, they interact in classes, the lunch room, etc.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Beth Tuten, Swansea Middle School
1. First, I would like to ask you about your current involvement with Project
UNIFY:
1.1. How long have you been involved with Project UNIFY? She has been
involved with Project UNIFY since the program started six or seven years ago. Prior to
this, there were numerous tactics supporting students with intellectual disabilities
implemented at Swansea Middle School.
1.2. Why did you decide to support this program? Ms. Tuten decided to
support this program because she wanted her school to have a unified atmosphere where
no student would be treated differently because of his or her intellectual disability. It is
important to support Project UNIFY because everyone is equal no matter what
intellectual disability they may have.
2.1. How long has Project UNIFY been at your school? It has been at Beth’s
school since the program began six or seven years ago. Prior to this, the school had
implementations and plans to unite intellectually disabled students with un-disabled
students starting in the 90s.
2.2. How has the implementation of this program impacted your school? It
has raised awareness among students without intellectual disabilities. Students without
intellectual disabilities want to interact and be united with intellectually disabled students.
It’s the students who have impacted the program over any form of faculty or staff in the
school district.
2.3. How has Project UNIFY benefitted students with intellectual disabilities
where you work? Project UNIFY has benefitted students with intellectual disabilities
because students who are not disabled want to interact and be involved with the
intellectually disabled students. They want their school environment to be unified and
want all of their class mates to be treated equally, disabled or not.
3.1. What attitudes need to change in order for there to be enough support
for Project UNIFY in other schools? People have to be more aware about Project
UNIFY and the fact that students with intellectual disabilities are just like us.
3.2. Did you encounter obstacles with implementing Project UNIFY? If so,
what were they? No obstacles because the student body embraced Project UNIFY and
wanted to keep adding and maintaining new implementations.
3.3. Do you think students, faculty and staff are hesitant to include students
with intellectual disabilities in daily activities? No. Faculty and staff support students
with intellectual disabilities and so do students who are fortunate enough to not have a

26

disability. From an observer’s point of view, students are the ones who make it a priority
to include students with intellectual disabilities. The students have more power than the
faculty and staff.
UNIFY:
4.1. Do you have any suggestions for the program? No, just to keep adding
new implementations and tactics to support the program.
It’s been rewarding to see how students have changed from when I grew up. These
students are always prioritizing about involving intellectually disabled students. It has
been rewarding to see that students want a unified school where everyone is treated
equally, no matter if one has an intellectual disability or not.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interview Notes, Jacob Edgar, Seneca High School
• Special Education teacher at Seneca High School, currently involved with SOSC
o Project Unify program has been at Seneca for 3 years
o Project Unify is a great way to build relationships. General education
students appreciate things more, they are paired with a special needs
student.
o Special needs students are excited to have friends that are on the football
team etc.
o Project Unify pays for major expenses such as equipment, school only
pays for minor expenses such as meals
• At Seneca
o Steps taken to grow program:
o There are conferences in Columbia
o Have days with other schools such as Walhalla, Witmont, Eatside and
create games so students can interact
o There is currently a basketball tournament which has attracted other
schools
o Students are supportive of the program and love the special needs students.
There is a lot of support from the faculty and staff for this program.
• Obstacles
o In order for the program to be successful, faculty has to be enthusiastic and be
willing to put in the time and effort. One person can affect the implementation
of the program. Faculty has be able to put in time for paperwork, spreading
the word, etc.
o Obstacles include covering expenses that the program doesn’t cover. Finding
schools that are farther away to participate can be difficult
o People may be hesitant to participate because they aren’t properly trained or
prepared to handle certain situations when it comes to special needs students.
It is a new situation for them which may cause wariness when implementing
the program.
• Suggestions

27

o He would like to see more rallies that are district based so there is not as
much commuting and it would reach smaller areas. District based rallies
would be able to make more intimate connections

28

Qualtrics Data
Q1: Are you familiar with Special Olympics South Carolina?
Q2: Have you ever volunteered with Special Olympics?
Q3: Do you have family members with intellectual disabilities?
Q4: Before receiving this survey, had you heard of Project UNIFY?
Q5: Have you heard of the “End the R Word” Campaign?
Q6: Do your students regularly interact with students that have intellectual disabilities?
Q7: Do students at your school with intellectual disabilities take classes of any sort (such
as electives) or participate in organizations/clubs with the general population of
students?
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q5

Q6

Q7

I
don't
know

No

Yes

29

In your opinion, what is the biggest obstacle implementing Project UNIFY at your
school?
Funding: 45%
Not enough volunteers: 17%
Not enough participants: 15%
State regulations: 2%
Something else: 22%
Please answer the following questions ranging from strongly disagree to strongly
agree.
10.1: My school currently serves students with intellectual disabilities well.
10.2: My school extends equal opportunities to students with intellectual disabilities.
10:3: My school needs to improve our offerings and services for students with
intellectual disabilities.
10.4: Students with intellectual disabilities can interact with their peers the same as any
other students.
10.5: I interact with students with intellectual disabilities on a regular basis.
10.6: I am confident in my ability to interact with students with disabilities.
10.7: I have a desire to help integrate students with intellectual disabilities into more
mainstream activities at my school.

Funding

Not
enough

volunteers

Not
enough

participants

0
10
20
30
40

10.1

10.2

10.3

10.4

10.5

10.6

10.7

Strongly
Agree

Agree

Neither
Agree
nor

Disagree

Disagree

30

Male: 19%
Female: 81%
20-25: 13%
26-30: 1%
31-35: 9%
36-40: 13%
41-45: 16%
46-50: 7%
51-55: 17%
56-60: 13%
60+: 11%
Gender
of

Respondents

Male

Female

Age
of
Respondents
20-‐25

26-‐30

31-‐35

36-‐40

41-‐45

46-‐50

51-‐55

56-‐60

60+

31

Job Roles of Respondents
Years Worked at the Respondent’s School
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%

Administrator

Other

Teacher's
Aid

Teacher

Administrator

0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%

15+

10
to
15

5
to
10

>5

32

Special Olympics South Carolina to Continue the “End the R-Word” Campaign
The Campaign to “End the R-Word" is Still Going Strong
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COLUMBIA, S.C. (Oct.1, 2015)- Special Olympics South Carolina (SOSC) has
announced that a special focus will be put on the “End the R-Word” campaign during the
month of October. SOSC is targeting schools around South Carolina to gain insight on
the use and influence of the r-word in schools.
In the next few weeks, SOSC staff will travel around the state to gather opinions from
administrators, teachers and students on what respect means to them. Staff will ask these
individuals what being a fan of respect looks like for them. The plan is to gather ideas
from people all over the state as well those in different stages of life.
Participants will answer, “what does respect mean to you,” by writing their responses on
a whiteboard with the hash tag #liveunified. A picture of the board and participant will be
taken and used throughout different SOSC mediums. Additionally, SOSC hopes the
schools will use the photographs in their own, unique ways to promote ending the r-word.
This initiative in South Carolina schools is part of a larger SOSC campaign to integrate
Project UNIFY into more schools in the state. Project UNIFY provides integrated sports
teams, clubs and classes for students with intellectual disabilities and without. The plan is
to unify schools and the programs within them so all students can participate and gain
more appreciation for each other.
Currently in South Carolina, there are 130 schools participating in Project UNIFY and
over 550 youth leaders. During this school year, SOSC aims to increase school
participation by 25 schools and add another 50 youth leaders.
Though SOSC would like to see this increase throughout the state of South Carolina,
Orangeburg, Calhoun, Kershaw and Bamburg counties are four specific areas where the
organization sees significant room for growth regarding the implementation for Project
UNIFY. They are excited about the possibilities among these and other school districts in
the state.
###
About Special Olympics SC and Project UNIFY
“The Special Olympics South Carolina Project UNIFY® program is designed to change
perspectives, improve attitudes, enhance relationships and boost acceptance among all
students through education initiatives, youth activation, inclusive sports and social
inclusion opportunities for students with and without intellectual disabilities.”

33

Special Olympics South Carolina to Continue Expanding Project UNIFY
Leaders of Project UNIFY hope to see it reach more schools and students than ever
before
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Columbia, S.C. (July 13, 2015)- Special Olympics South Carolina (SOSC) announced
today a plan to continue the increase in school and youth leader participation in Project
UNIFY.
Project UNIFY was begun in 2008 as an initiative to integrate students with intellectual
disabilities and those students in regular school programs. This has since been
accomplished throughout schools in a variety of ways including unified sports teams,
integrated clubs and integrated classes.
In S.C., Project UNIFY is currently implemented in 130 schools with over 550 youth
leaders. SOSC hopes to continue increasing the number of unified schools in S.C. during
the 2015-2016 school year by an additional 25 schools and 50 youth leaders.
During a six month campaign, SOSC will reach out to administrators, faculty, staff and
students, specifically middle and high school students, to engage more participants in the
program. Additionally, current Project UNIFY schools will be encouraged to expand
their participation in the program.
Informational materials addressing common misconceptions or questions about Project
UNIFY will be distributed to schools this month along with social media posts addressing
these questions and concerns. All social media posts related to Project UNIFY will use
#liveunified. Schools will also receive materials for students’ welcome packets for the
new year and posters for recruitment and informational purposes.
During the beginning of the school year, an informational public service announcement
(PSA) will be released to schools. The PSA features administrators, teachers and students
currently involved in Project UNIFY. SOSC anticipates that seeing this video will both
encourage the growth of and morale surrounding existing Project UNIFY programs in
schools and foster interest in schools where the initiative has not yet been implemented.
In conjunction with the ongoing “End the R-Word” campaign, SOSC has visits to a
number of S.C. schools planned. These visits have the purpose of gathering opinions
from those in schools on what respect means to them. Administrators, faculty, staff and
students alike will be given the opportunity to write what respect means to them on a
whiteboard and have their pictures taken holding their own definition. These photographs
will be used throughout social media, the SOSC website and, optimally, by the individual
schools to promote ending the r-word.

34

By partnering with school administrators and teachers, SOSC will feature a “Buddy of
the Month” from current Project UNIFY schools. Buddies, students who volunteer with
Project UNIFY, will be featured on the SOSC website, their school website and other
school news sources and through social media using the “live unified” hashtag.
The first step of the campaign is to reach administrators and teachers and then branch out
to students. The reception of Project UNIFY has been quite successful so far and SOSC is
confident that more schools will enthusiastically start the program this coming year.
###
About Special Olympics SC and Project UNIFY
“The Special Olympics South Carolina Project UNIFY® program is designed to change
perspectives, improve attitudes, enhance relationships and boost acceptance among all
students through education initiatives, youth activation, inclusive sports and social
inclusion opportunities for students with and without intellectual disabilities.”

35

Social Media Posts

Facebook post for July
Visuals Copy
Get ready students, teachers, and
administrators for Special Olympics South
Carolina new campaign that will feature
various activities in our hopes to increase the
awareness in those school districts that are
unfamiliar with what SOSC consist of! For
more information on SOSC please visit,
http://so-sc.org/
Do you know what Special Olympics South
Carolina is? Learn what the organization does
and also learn how to be a fan of their
athletes by visiting, http://so-sc.org/
This month SOSC will be distributing
brochures to those teachers and
administrators in selected areas were we
would like to increase the awareness and get
more schools involved in our campaign to
promote #liveunified

Facebook post for August
Visuals
Copy

Insert picture of the poster. Special Olympics South Carolina is ready to
gear up for the campaign and we want all
student participants to take a selfie and use
#liveunified and by doing so you are helping
us increase the awareness in South Carolina!
PSA clip. This month we are featuring a PSA that
feature testimonials and the success of Project
UNIFY #liveunified in surrounding areas. The
PSA will feature questions about Project
UNIFY and the PSA will overall inform
viewers about the pertinent program and the
importance of #liveunified. Please view the
clip below.
Insert brochure cover. Hey students! Look out for these awesome
brochures to be handed out to you guys in
school and don’t forget about those selfies!
#liveunified so-sc.org

36

Facebook post for September
Visuals
Copy

Enter sample picture of the poster in the
background with a principal and a student.
It is competition time! Students, parents,
faculty and staff, can your school post the
most selfies with our poster in the
background? SOSC are enjoying those selfies
but we want to see if you all are really
involved by seeing those posters hung around
the hallways of your school! #liveunified
This month SOSC will begin to select the
#BuddyoftheMonth and you can find out more
information by visiting our website! In the
meantime be in search for your buddy and we
will give away prizes plus more! so-sc.org
Insert picture of the winner. Our #BuddyoftheMonth is (winner)! Thank
you everyone for your involvement! Look out
for more post on next month’s
#BuddyoftheMonth and it is not too late to
participate!

Facebook post for October
Visuals
Copy

Insert last month’s winner article that is
featured on the website and or the link to the
article.
The time has come again for
information by visiting our website and to
view last month’s winner!
It is SOSC mission to implement "End the R
Word," movement. This word should no
longer be used to describe any human being!
Visit the website to find out information to
why pledge, take action, and view pictures and
videos of the achievement of ending the word
in the media. #liveunified
#BuddyoftheMonth and it is not too late to
participate!

37

Facebook post for November
Visuals
Copy

Look out students it’s competition time! This
competition only applies to the students but
don’t worry parents, faculty and staff we still
want to see your selfies as well! This month
students, include your Buddy in your selfies
while using #liveunified #BuddyoftheMonth
to win!
For more information, visit our website, so-
sc.org

Visit www.r-word.org to find out more
information on the mission of the “End the R-
Word,” movement. Have you ended it?
#liveunified

The #BuddyoftheMonth winners are ….!
These two buddies will be featured in SOSC
next PSA discussing their involvement in
#liveunified and presented with an award at
the next field games! SOSC will offer more
prizes to students so do not stop taking those
selfies!

Facebook post for December
Visuals
Copy

SOSC would love to hear your experience
with #liveunified at your school and the
impact the project has created for you! Email
us at lcheatham@so-sc.org to share your
experiences with us! We are eager to fulfil the
growth of the movement and we cannot do
that without your help and your responses!

How well do you know your Buddy? Do you
and your Buddy go shopping? Or have
sleepovers? SOSC love to see those selfies and
we haven’t forgot about #BuddyoftheMonth
so for this month show us what you and your
Buddy do outside of school!
Insert winner’s selfie collage. The #BuddyoftheMonth winners are ….! A
special thanks to all of the participants as
SOSC enjoyed to see all those selfies! Visit
so-sc.org for information on upcoming events
and how to be involved with our organization!

38

Twitter post for July
Visuals Copy
Students, parents, faculty, & staff, get ready
for SOSC campaign of increasing the
awareness of #
liveunified in more middle &
high schools!
Do you know what SOSC is? Learn more
about the organization and also learn how to
be a fan of their athletes by visiting so-sc.org
This month SOSC will be distributing
brochures to faculty & staff in selected areas
to increase the awareness and to initiate
#liveunified

Twitter post for August
Visuals
Copy

Insert picture of the poster. SOSC begins to gear up for the campaign &
we want all students to take a selfie & use
#liveunified to help us increase the awareness
in SC!
PSA clip. This month we are featuring a PSA that
feature testimonials & the success of
#liveunified in surrounding areas. See the clip
below.
Insert brochure cover. Hey students! Look out for these awesome
brochures to be handed out to you guys &
don’t forget about those selfies! #liveunified
so-sc.org

39

Twitter post for September
Visuals
Copy

Enter sample picture of the poster in the
background with a principal and a student.
Competition time! Students, parents, faculty &
staff, can your school post the most selfies
with our poster in the background?
#liveunified
This month SOSC will begin to select the
information by visiting our website! so-sc.org
#BuddyoftheMonth

Twitter post for October
Visuals
Copy

Insert last month’s winner article that is
featured on the website and or the link to the
article.
The time has come again for
information by visiting our website and to
view last month’s winner!
It is SOSC mission to implement "End the R
Word," movement. This word should no
longer be used to describe any human being!
#liveunified
#BuddyoftheMonth

40

Twitter post for November
Visuals
Copy

It’s competition time students! This month
include your Buddy in your selfies while using
#liveunified #BuddyoftheMonth to win! so-
sc.org

Visit www.r-word.org to find out more
information on the mission of the “End the R-
Word,” movement. Have you ended it?
#liveunified

The #BuddyoftheMonth winners are ….!
These two buddies will be featured in SOSC
next PSA discussing their involvement in
#liveunified

Twitter post for December
Visuals
Copy

SOSC would love to hear your experience
with #liveunified at your school and the
impact the project has created for you! Email
us at lcheatham@so-sc.org
SOSC love to see those selfies & we haven’t
forgot about #BuddyoftheMonth so this month
show us what you & your Buddy do outside of
school!
Insert winner’s selfie collage. The #BuddyoftheMonth winners are ….! A
special thanks to all of the participants as
SOSC enjoyed to see all those selfies! Visit
so-sc.org

41

PSA Script
We propose a PSA in which students, teachers and administrators who are involved in
Project UNIFY are filmed giving responses to specified questions. These responses will
serve as testimonials to piece together a “Who, What, When, Where, Why, How” type of
video that makes viewers feel as if they relate to those who have made Project UNIFY
successful in their schools. The goal is to combat the obstacles and false perceptions of
Project UNIFY we discovered in our research.
This PSA should be played at the beginning of the school year within classes. The
ultimate goal is to have it broadcasted over the school television system. Since students
will receive informational brochures about Project UNIFY in their first day packets, the
PSA will act as a reminder as well as an educator to inspire conversation and enhance
understanding of the program.
Here is a list of sample questions to ask those who are filmed. The most effective film
clips will be featured in this PSA, which will inform viewers about pertinent program
information as well as evoke an emotional response.
“When did you get involved in Project UNIFY at your school?”
“How did Project UNIFY get started at your school?”
“What was the process like to get Project UNIFY started at your school?”
“What was the response like to Project UNIFY by people at your school?”
“How does being involved in Project UNIFY make you feel?”
“What were the changes that occurred in your school after implementing Project
UNIFY?”
“How is Project UNIFY funded at your school?”
“What has been the most rewarding part of being involved in Project UNIFY?”
“Do you think implementing Project UNIFY in schools is worth it?”
“Do you think Project UNIFY is beneficial to everyone involved?”
“Who can get involved in Project UNIFY?”

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