At the Buffett Early Childhood Institute, our staff works hard conducting research, analyzing policies that help teachers, families, and young children, and working side-by-side with schools and early educators to provide professional development and strengthen early learning practices in the classroom.
The Institute’s Communications team is proud to share the people and stories behind that work, and its efforts were rewarded in 2024 with seven awards from the Nebraska chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA).
The PRSA Nebraska Paper Anvil Awards program is an annual competition that recognizes programs and projects demonstrating excellence in the public relations profession.
The Buffett Institute and the We Care for Kids/Por todos los ñinos campaign won in the following categories:
- An Award of Excellence in the Events & Observances category for the 2023 Thriving Children, Families, and Communities Conference (highest score)
The Thriving Children Conference is the only statewide event gathering elected officials and community leaders to focus on the importance of early childhood care and education and its crucial connection to community vitality. The sixth anniversary, in 2023, attracted nearly 600 registrants.
- An Award of Excellence in the Websites and Smartphone/Tablet Applications category (highest score)
After nearly 10 years, the Institute redesigned and launched a new website with a sleeker look and simpler navigation to enhance user experience.
- An Award of Excellence in the Public Service category for the We Care for Kids survey
The We Care for Kids/Por todos los niños campaign partnered with Nebraska Extension to issue a statewide survey of registered Nebraska voters to gauge public support for early childhood education. The campaign, launched in 2022, is coordinated by the Buffett Institute.
- An Award of Excellence in the Integrated Communications category for the Institute’s new website launch campaign
In July 2024, the Institute debuted a newly designed website and used emails, social media, and internal communications to introduce the revamped website to multiple audiences and highlight new features.
- An Award of Merit in the Blogs category for the Early Years Matter blog
The Early Years Matter blog highlights the Institute’s work and early childhood issues, including improving Black maternal health, young children and homelessness, and the first year on the job for the Institute’s executive director, Walter Gilliam.
- An Award of Merit in the Community Relations category for the We Care for Kids/Por todos los niños campaign
The campaign works to ensure that all Nebraska families have access to quality early childhood education through community events, strategic outreach, and working with statewide partners.
- An Award of Merit in the Social Media category
The Institute promotes events, research, and the benefits of early childhood education to more than 13,000 followers on Facebook, LinkedIn, and X.
“The Institute uses strategic communications and outreach to build awareness and grow support for high-quality early care and education,” said Ally Freeman, director of communications. "Strong communications are essential to the success of our programs, initiatives, and research. We appreciate the recognition of our communications efforts this past year by PRSA Nebraska.”
Erin Duffy is the managing editor at the Buffett Early Childhood Institute at the University of Nebraska and writes about early childhood issues that affect children, families, educators, and communities. Previously, she spent more than a decade covering education stories and more for daily newspapers.