Raise Awareness
Help us to raise awareness of the 1 in 5 children in the UK affected by parental alcohol problems.
As a small charity, reliant entirely on voluntary donations, we have no advertising budget and so our volunteers and supporters are crucial in spreading the word about our services. With your help we can reach more children who might otherwise be suffering in silence.
There are many things that can be done to raise awareness and let people know they are not alone. Some ideas include:
Have Nacoa leaflets & helpline contact cards to hand
You never know who may need our help or who might be looking for volunteering or fundraising opportunities! To receive an information pack in the post, please email us.
Information sharing
We need help to distribute information and raise awareness of our services. If you know somewhere that could display one of our posters or leaflets (GP surgery, school, library, youth club, cafe etc.), please email us and we will happily send materials to you to distribute.
Join us in our annual awareness campaign COA Week
Help us raise awareness of the problems faced by children of alcoholics during COA Week, our awareness campaign held annually in February, in the week in which Valentine’s Day falls. Visit the COA week website for ideas on how to get involved and to download the campaign poster and other materials.
Spread the word through social media
Check out our Facebook page for news and events, and click ‘like’ to show your support! You can also follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram. Another thing you can do is subscribe to the Nacoa YouTube channel. You can support us through any other types of social media; perhaps you write a blog and would like to mention us. If you have a website maybe you have a ‘friends of’ section where you could include a link to our website.
Show our videos
Watching the videos on this website, and showing them to others is a great way to raise awareness.
You may find our music video “A change is gonna come” to be a good starting point, which lets people know they are not alone.
Mention Nacoa in your email signature
Add a signature like the one below to your outgoing emails (setting found in your email options):
Helping raise awareness of the 2 million children in the UK affected by their parents’ alcohol problems. Nacoa are here to help: www.nacoa.org.uk
Hold an event
Hold a fundraising event such as a cake stall, quiz night or clothes swap. This can be a fun way to get people thinking about the effect parental alcoholism can have on children and raise awareness of the support available. See Fundraising for ideas. You could even tie your event in with our annual awareness campaign, held in February. Visit the COA week website for details.
Help us at events
We need people to help us raise awareness at events such as Upfest (The Urban Paint Festival), COA Week (our annual awareness week), flea markets, information stands at conferences etc. See Volunteering for more information and how to apply.
Become a media volunteer
We need volunteers to join our media panel of people who are happy to speak to the media about their own experiences, or their professional or volunteering experiences. See Volunteering for more information and how to apply.
Invite a speaker (or train to become a volunteer speaker)
Speakers deliver talks throughout the UK (such as in schools and youth clubs), raising awareness of our services and the effects of parental alcohol problems on children. You could contact us to find out if a volunteer speaker might be available where you are, or perhaps you would like to train as a volunteer speaker yourself. For more information, and how to apply for this role, see Volunteering.
Further information
If you have any queries or would like some Nacoa leaflets or posters, please contact us on 0117 924 8005 or email admin@nacoa.org.uk
