Turn a Life Around
Wisconsin Department of Children and Families
Challenge
The foster care system in Wisconsin was facing a crisis situation in 2011. While the number of kids entering the system increased daily, the amount of families willing to open their homes to these kids was in decline. The Adoption Resources of Wisconsin (ARW) estimated that over 1,000 new foster families would need to be added.
Solution
Change the negative media dialogue surrounding foster care by focusing on the kids and what they’re going through–that without a safe home, their world is literally turned upside down. Teaser billboards with upside down images of kids blanketed the state. While on social media, thousands of residents turned their profile pictures upside down. At the same time, Serve organized upside down flash mobs in major media markets across the state. All wearing T-shirts that read Turn a Life Around.
Results
The result was a flood of positive press about foster care….and an immediate surge in inquiries by 495% in May (over 2010). And 20% of them reported they were in the process of becoming foster parents. What’s more social media exploded with the ARW Facebook page showing a 295% increase in active users and over 75,000 people visiting the microsite FosterParentsRock.org while the average time spent on the site increased from 40 seconds to over five minutes
