Improving Awareness of Health Services and Issues

The Cambridge Public Health Department (CPHD) has worked with CCTV in multiple ways to promote their organization and their services to the community.

In 2006, CPHD hired CCTV to produce a series of three Fitness Buddies videos, to promote the launch of a new health workshop program. Although CPHD hired CCTV staff to produce the programs, they are an excellent example of the kind of content that can be created with a little time and training on our equipment. In addition, CPHD has made use of CCTV’s PSA Day to educate the public about health issues. Read about the success that CPHD has had with their videos, and view samples below.

"CPHD wanted to produce the Fitness Buddies video for several purposes. One was to be able to air the workshops - and relevant health information - to the greater Cambridge community, in addition to the actual workshop participants. In addition, we wanted to be able to replicate the program. The video allowed us to capture the spirit and format of the program, which was important when recruiting new sites and when training new coordinators. We chose CCTV to work with on this project because they have an excellent reputation for quality work, and it was easy to work with them to complete the project."

"CPHD was able to increase public awareness both about the program and about the messages we were promoting around healthy living. Many people reported that they saw the video when it was aired and found the information useful. It served to reinforce other "Healthy Living Cambridge" efforts around the city, and reach a broader audience. We also used the videos to recruit new sites to host their own Fitness Buddies program, and to train those site coordinators."

-- Stacey King, Health Promotion and Marketing Manager, Cambridge Public Health Department

Educating the Public About Conservation Efforts

The Charles River Conservancy has utilized CCTV’s resources in several ways. They created a PSA at PSA Day, have had an event taped and aired on CCTV (RiverSing, an event produced by Revels and Charles River Conservancy), and they have a monthly BeLive program which has aired since 2005 – view clips from these programs below. Need some inspiration as to how your organization could use a regular half-hour program on CCTV? Read about how the Charles River Conservancy has been innovative with theirs.

"We started the Charles River Parklands show to give Cambridge residents regular updates on the parklands and our efforts to make them more active, attractive and accessible. I normally have one guest on the show, and we discuss Conservancy efforts like RiverSing, bridge illuminations, the Sunday Parklands Games, the skatepark, the pathways improvements, our volunteer efforts, and our Swimmable Charles Initiative."

"I also interview elected officials and community leaders to speak about their memories and visions of the parklands and the river. We also present projects such as BU's plans to create new ‘common’ space on the Charles. Or we invite a historian to illuminate a particular stretch or period in time. We often also bring in a PowerPoint presentation or roll in video footage to make the shows more visually appealing. The shows we do on CCTV are also put onto YouTube, where we hope to reach an additional audience."

-- Renata von Tscharner, President, Charles River Conservancy

Your Organization Can Also Benefit from Working with CCTV!
Read more about the benefits of an Organizational Membership at CCTV.