Quota’s Ear Plug Campaign History and Overview

When Linda Morton (above), of Quota's Massillon club in Ohio, U.S.A., assumed the role of chairperson for the International Speech and Hearing Committee in 2004, she was presented with the challenge of developing a hearing program that could be adopted by clubs around the world. Recognizing the diversity of individual clubs' strengths and challenges, as well as their communities' needs, Linda considered a number of factors. She says, "I tried to come up with the cheapest ideas that would allow members to market their own club for visibility and name recognition but that would not be a financial burden."

The result—ear plugs, which are relatively inexpensive, with information on Quota and its mission attached. The ear plugs can be distributed with enormous benefit in a number of ways to suit a club's strengths and its community's needs. Linda notes that the program:

• Markets Quota to the public in a cost-effective way, which can lead to both financial and membership growth.
  
  
• Offers an easy-to-implement way to strengthen club service and fellowship.
  
  
• Spreads Quota's message about healthy hearing.

The Healthy Hearing Campaign is a simple program to adapt, whether ear plugs are distributed by individual members or incorporated into larger club projects. Linda's suggestions include:

• Distributing the ear plugs at sporting events, fireworks, concerts, fairs, and parades.
  
  
• Featuring or including ear plugs in Quota-sponsored events and projects: as event favors, fund-raisers, or distributed with other gifts to the community.
  
  
• Distributing ear plugs to local organizations and places of business like schools; doctors' offices and health clinics; lawn mower and music stores; and pharmacies. In this capacity, the ear plugs can be either a fund-raiser or donation.

No matter the means of distribution, the plugs make Quota's mission tangible. The key, Linda notes, is all in the delivery. "We are not giving earplugs away," she reminds Quotarians in the script. "First and foremost, we are selling Quota."

• Project Listen Up!: How One Club Has “Plugged” Quota
  
  
• Implementing Quota's Healthy Hearing Campaign: A Step-by-Step Guide
  
  
• Read about the Launching of the Healthy Hearing Campaign in the 2006 Quotarian Magazine*

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