JPL Interns Help Local Non-Profit Plan for Smiles

Online, October 5, 2009 (Newswire.com) - A team of JPL interns collaborated to equip Caitlin's Smiles with a newly-designed website and comprehensive marketing plan.

Caitlin's Smiles (www.caitlins-smiles.org) is a Harrisburg-based non-profit organization with a mission to help put smiles on the faces of children facing chronic or life threatening illness. With the support of volunteers, Caitlin's Smiles delivers arts and crafts kits to hospitals throughout Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, Delaware and the District of Columbia.

In order to increase public awareness and funding, JPL interns developed a comprehensive plan that organized existing marketing tools and integrated them with new ones. The completed plan was then presented to the organization in a user-friendly book for easy reference.

After determining the target audience and developing a marketing program, the interns enhanced the non-profit's online presence through the use of new social media, including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. In addition, they utilized researched key-word phrases to increase search engine optimization.

The JPL interns also created a new web design for Caitlin's Smiles that reflects its warm, genuine personality and streamlined site content to effectively communicate the organization's purpose. Additions and improvements to the site include an organized hierarchy of information, an interactive online training guide and links to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Working on the JPL intern team were: Caitlin Markham, e-Learning intern from Ithaca College; Matt Papson, Digital Marketing intern and recent graduate of Villanova University; Kalin Burkhardt, Marketing intern from Saint Michaels College; and Amanda Hitz, Design intern and recent graduate of Harrisburg Area Community College.

For more than 15 years, JPL has provided students with the opportunity to gain hands-on experience by working with one of the largest full-service integrated communications companies in the region.

JPL is a strategic, integrated communications company. Based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the company's team members help businesses and organizations with their branding and marketing, web development, video production, learning solutions, and meetings and events. In business since 1989, JPL has diverse clients including The Hershey Company, Harsco, Giant Food Stores and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.