It’s hard to believe we’re nearing the end of 2016. We’ve got our fireplace on in the office, snowman figurines on the conference table and Michael Bublé playing in the background. In December our team reflects on our successes and learnings, and makes goals for the following year. Here’s a taste of some the projects we’ve worked on throughout 2016:

The launch of Switchboard

In February of 2016, we announced that our team was growing too fast and too dynamically to exist under a single person’s name. We made the transition from Kathleen Reid Consulting to Switchboard Public Relations roughly one month into the New Year.

Educating Girls of Rural China

In the spring, we connected with Ching Tien who runs Educating Girls of Rural China. Being a female-led business, we were thrilled to be able to support EGRC in its mission to give women and girls from communities in rural China the gift of high school and post-secondary education. Together, EGRC and Switchboard put together a Dim Sum Luncheon that raised $28,000 to go directly to sponsored women and girls.

Faber

Over the summer, our team did a project with Faber, an online platform that connects skilled tradespeople with contractors for construction jobs. Faber exists to bring a much-needed dose of ethics back into the relationship between contractors and workers – one where pay security, safety standards and reliable staffing are notoriously lacking. We were particularly privileged to join the Faber team during their Community Connection Pancake Breakfast in Oppenheimer Park. Their business has since been nominated for “2016 Best Concept Award” by Small Business BC.

Spark

Later on in the summer we were introduced to Cody Curley and Simeon Garratt of Spark. We were elated to work with a team operating at the intersection of two of Vancouver’s hottest sectors – real estate and technology. After hosting the most well-attended Community Crawl event at Vancouver Startup week, Spark was nominated for Small Business BC’s Best Innovation Award.

The Garage Sale and Harvest Ridge Estate

When our team was brought on board to manage media relations for the Harvest Ridge Estate home auction, the 35-acre Okanagan property had been on the market for 10 months. Over an eight-week media campaign, the property’s auctioneer, The Garage Sale, had more than 150 inquiries, 60 hosted viewings and finally broke the Okanagan off-the-lake record price when it sold on September 22nd. The project also raised nearly $60,000 for The Children’s Wish Foundation through a charity auction.

Starling Minds

In the fall, we were connected with the Starling Minds team, who have developed an online program that provides education and a mental health toolkit to help people manage stress and prevent depression and anxiety. Together, we crafted a toolkit to assist with the uptake of their program within their client organizations. The Starling Minds team’s passion for the work they do has helped them sign a number of new clients in recent months. We’re excited to see them continue to grow and can’t wait to see what the New Year has in store for their amazing team.