Public Relations Commentary

Increasingly, public relations pracititioners have to know not only how to write for the Web, but also how to manage and respond to blog postings. This blog was created to use in my public relations courses to help my students prepare to blog and learn how to respond to others in a virtual yet professional manner.

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Florida, Home of Tropical Systems and Senior Citizens

Ever since my apartment was flooded by Hurricane Francis, I've loved following the new tropical storms and hurricanes as they move along the Eastern seabord. Fortunately, TS Debby is currently looking like it's not going to come this way. But, it made me think about Florida as a whole; two things come to mind: hurricanes and retirees. Now, it's no surprise that a lot of senior citizens from around the state come here to retire from the Northeast, MidAtlantic and Midwest.

But what do they give back to the community? Most people make their charitable gifts to organizations where they grew up. Reading Philanthropy in the Sunshine State only served to emphasize this. A lot of money is being sent out of state to support schools, social service programs, and any number of other nonprofit causes.

Is it "fair" to the organizations down here who provide these services without any compensation? Maybe this is why nonprofits are beginning to charge for their services in far greater numbers than they did in the past. Just a thought!

posted by Richard @ 1:10 PM  

1 Comments:

  • At 6:03 PM, August 28, 2006, Blogger Richard said…

    To broaden this topic a little more, let's think about recent events. A similar question could be asked of those from Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama who left the Gulf Coast after Katrina hit. In the aftermath of the hurricane, many lived and still live in other parts of the country, using their social services from both the local government and nonprofits.

    You can also look at the flight out of California to Washington, Oregon or the increasing number of retirees in Arizona. Similar type of situations.

    Are nonprofits here a victim of circumstance? Or, do you think there are viable methods of convincing these populations that use their services and send money elsewhere that they need the financial support too?

     

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