4/21/2015
COMM Aggies, Helping Animals through Service Learning:
Strategic Communication Case Studies class & Special Pals animal shelter
In Spring 2015, students enrolled in the Strategic Communication Case Studies class (COMM 489-500)
worked with the Special Pals organization - a non-profit, no-kill animal shelter located in Katy, Texas for
their semester-long service learning project. Under the direction of Dr. Damion Waymer, the students
serve as not-for-fee consultants for Special Pals.
To help address the challenges that Special Pals faced, the class was broken into three subgroups: 1)
Social Media/Awareness; 2) Capital Campaigns; 3) Volunteer Recruitment and Retention. The groups set
measurable objectives and implemented specific communication tactics to help Special Pals meet its
goals. Some of the implemented tactics include but are not limited to: 1) designing and distributing
flyers in neighborhoods within a 3 mile radius of Special Pals to inform residents of the many services
beyond pet adoption that the animal shelter offers; 2) planning and hosting a fundraising event in
partnership with Jason’s Deli in Katy, Texas; 3) designing and presenting Special Pals with a picture
frame Step-and-Shoot with which customers will be able to take pictures with their animals and post
pictures on various social media outlets, thus further spreading awareness for the shelter; 4) targeting
and contacting schools in the local area to grow the volunteer base for the shelter; 4) devising a
volunteer certification program in which volunteers would go through systematically so that all of the
shelter’s volunteering needs and so that volunteers would get a more complete picture of the many
facets of running an animal shelter.
Strategic Communication Case Studies is a part of the Department’s new strategic communication
certificate. To find out more about how to complete this certification visit
http://communication.tamu.edu/html/undergrad-certificates.html
Or to learn more about Special Pals visit
http://www.specialpalsshelter.org/