Walking toward autism awareness and supporting a great cause
The “Lend a Paw for Autism: Star Paws” dog walk hosted April 22 by students from the Music Industry program’s Hail! Fredonia Records raised approximately $4,500 from registration, basket raffles, food sales and online donations for the Institute for Autism Research at Canisius College.
Participation included over 1.5 million people through social media, and a turnout of nearly 500 people at the dog walk. In addition, the group promoted awareness of autism throughout the community and received extremely positive feedback from those in attendance.
Mark Hamill, “Luke Skywalker” himself, engaged with the group’s posts on social media after becoming aware of the event through its promotional partnership with @Dog_Rates on both Twitter and Snapchat (6.5 million followers).
Students of Hail! Fredonia Records were able to fully apply their education in a realistic situation, allowing for hands-on learning experiences in social media, marketing, artist booking, venue management, sponsorships, donations, catering and widespread community outreach.
