Quality Life Center PR Campaign Earns Grand All Image Award

FORT MYERS, Fla. - May 20, 2014 - PRLog -- Quality Life Center is proud to announce that its recent public relations campaign was awarded a Grand All Image Award from the Florida Public Relations Association (FPRA) Southwest Florida Chapter. The Changing Lives, Transforming Communities fundraising event was sponsored by Pickup the Ball. This public relations campaign created and implemented by CONRIC PR & Marketing | Publishing featured NBA great, businessman and philanthropist Magic Johnson and raised emergency funds for the “Q,” as it is affectionately known. The Grand All Image Award is the most prestigious of recognitions at the 2014 Local Image Awards event.

Local Image Awards winners demonstrate the very best examples of innovation, planning and design in Southwest Florida. Entries are evaluated by FPRA judging committees from others chapters in the interest of impartiality; FPRA Space Coast and FPRA Volusia/Flagler chapters judged the 2014 entries from the Southwest Florida chapter.

Fort Myers-based CONRIC PR & Marketing | Publishing, created the public relations campaign, Changing Lives, Transforming Communities, in answer to an urgent call on behalf of the Q, which was facing a possible foreclosure. Located in the underserved community of Dunbar, Quality Life Center has provided structured youth development programs that focus on arts, character and education in order to cultivate confidence, discipline and build self-sufficiency since 1990.

CONRIC’s intensive, yet budget-conscious public relations and social media efforts captured the attention of the media and rallied the community. Awareness building endeavors continued even after the event, including a $100,000 direct donation by Magic Johnson, which he announced during his engaging presentation to the crowd at the press conference.

Several hundred people attended Johnson’s public appearance at the STARS Complex in Fort Myers. Johnson said, “What a tremendous center this is, doing such incredible work, and I would say God’s work.” Johnson compared the Q to a similar one he attended as a child in Lansing, Mich.

After the event, public relations and social media efforts continued to build awareness. With continued private donations, a contribution from the City of Fort Myers and an eleventh-hour forgiveness of $358,000 by Fifth Third Bank, the Q was finally able to satisfy the $900,000 balloon payment and keep its doors open.

Quality Life Center Executive Director Abdul’Haq Muhammed said, “Winning a public relations award was far from anyone’s mind when we undertook this critical campaign. We are grateful for the efforts of the Q’s staff and the CONRIC team for doing everything within their power to continue offering education, leadership development and a safe place  for all of our Q families and children.”

For further information on “the Q”, visit www.qualitylifecenter.org or call 239-334-2797.

About Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida

Quality Life Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization transforming the community by developing the potential of underserved populations in southwest Florida with adult job development training, early learning and youth development programs including afterschool, teen and summer camp programs. For more than 23 years, the “Q” has been instilling values of discipline, integrity and self-sufficiency. To learn more about Quality Life Center or to sign up for the next tour date, call 239.334.2797 or visit http://www.qualitylifecenter.org.