A taste of my recent work:
Fundraising feature writing
Jim: A Life Saved by Love
This profile of a Casey House client was written and adapted for a variety of uses, from a direct mail and email solicitation to a newsletter story and for the web.
Video production
25 Years of Compassion: Casey House (VIDEO)
Video is a tremendously effective way to tell stories. Working closely with talented video documentarian Lisa Lightbourn-Lay, I wrote and produced this video documenting the 25th anniversary of Casey House, Canada’s first dedicated HIV/AIDS hospital. We used this clip as the centrepiece for a website relaunch and in support of our capital campaign.
Web Development
I steered the development of a new responsive WordPress website for Casey House. We keep it continually up-to-date and relevant, with a very strong focus on storytelling using powerful photography, video, storytelling and first-person quotes. We feature a live twitter feed and strong links to our social media channels, as well as a strong “Donate Now” link.
Awareness raising/media relations
Casey House Case for Giving / Whitepaper
For the launch of the Casey House Capital Campaign, I wrote the white paper that was later adapted as the centrepiece of our case for support. Working with an epidemiologist, we determined that 1 in 120 adults in Toronto are now HIV positive. This surprising statistic was used to raise media awareness of the growing need for complex treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS as this cohort continues to age with the disease. With this campaign we secured hundreds of stories in the media, including national interviews on CBC Newsworld and a front-page feature on aging and HIV in The Toronto Star by Susan Pigg that went on to win a National Newspaper Award.
Earlier Work
Client: United Way of Greater Toronto
Each year, ten interviews & profiles of leadership-level donors for United Way, highlighting the many reasons for giving to the United Way. Distibuted to donors and published as a magazine supplement in The Globe and Mail.
- 2008 Leadership Honour Roll
- 2007 Leadership Honour Roll
- 2006 Leadership Honour Roll
Client: University of Toronto
University College Alumni Magazine
- Fall 2008: Several articles, including feature “Setting the Stage for Tomorrow’s Theatre Innovators.”
- Spring 2008: “Unlocking doors: How improvements in space are improving the student experience”
- Fall 2007: “Dedicated volunteers work to enrich the student experience”
- Spring 2007: “Reflecting diverse Canadian experiences”
- Fall 2006: “Working together to enhance the student experience”
- Spring 2006: “Behind the scenes with UC creative minds” (profiles of UC alumni David Cronenberg, Camilla Gibb, Hart Pomerantz and Tim Long)
Client: Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, Ontario Division
In 2009, wrote and designed a series of one-pager backgrounders on research funding areas for donor solicitation and stewardship.
Client: Ryerson University
Frequent contributor to alumni and staff magazine. Past articles include:
- IMPACT Winter 2007: “Strong Communities Build Strong Families”
- FORUM February 2004: “Reality 101”
Client: The Michener Institute for Applied Health Sciences
Michener Magazine
- Fall 2008: “Helping Ontario breathe easily through the years: Respiratory Therapy training”
- Summer 2008: “Forward Thinking”
- Fall 2004: “Alumni helping internationally trained professionals”
Client: Random House Canada
Online author bios, long synopses & discussion questions for popular reading club titles, including:
Vincent Lam’s The Headmaster’s Wager
Michael Ondaatje’s The Collected Works of Billy the Kid
Roberta Rich’s The Midwife of Venice
Robert Hough’s The Culprits
Lindon MacIntyre’s The Bishop’s Man
CS Richardson’s The End of the Alphabet