Case Study:
Gateway Greening
Time Period: 2007 — Present
Featured Project: What do you care about TODAY?
In 2010, Gateway Greening was one of four finalist in the NBC TODAY Show contest for a $100,000 grant from Pepsi Refresh Project's contest, What Do You Care About TODAY? VLC corresponded with the NBC TODAY Show to schedule all tapings, prepared Gateway Greening staff for media interviews and promoted their nomination to gain votes on a national, regional and local level. Media pickup included multiples stories within St. Louis including TV station KSDK, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the St. Louis Business Journal, St. Louis news radio KMOX and various local and regional blogs. VLC also assisted in a social media campaign to gain votes and attention for Gateway Greening. Gateway Greening was successful in obtaining $50,000 in grant money along with extensive public and media attention for their programs.
Since 2007, VAN LEUVEN Communications has supported Gateway Greening, a non-profit organization in St. Louis, Mo. celebrating community food projects, education and wellness programs and civic greening. Gateway Greening has become the go-to resource and recognized expert within the realm of community greening and urban farming. Their projects and expertise have been highlighted within stories by CNN, the NBC TODAY Show, ABC World News Tonight and throughout the local St. Louis media including NPR, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, FOX 2, KMOV, KSDK, St. Louis Public Radio, the St. Louis Suburban Journals, ALIVE Magazine, Midwest’s Brownfield Ag News, St. Louis’s Arch 106.5 and the Missouri Department of Agriculture and State of Missouri’s websites.
One of the most exciting projects to date was during the summer of 2010 when Gateway Greening was a recipient of $50,000 from the Pepsi Refresh Project and featured on the NBC TODAY Show. The grant was for City Seeds Urban Farm in downtown St. Louis, an urban agriculture providing job training and therapeutic horticulture to individuals who are homeless and underserved.
In addition to media relations, VLC serves on Gateway Greening’s communications advisory team. VLC plays a key role in any discussions revolving around branding or communication strategy for the organization.