Local newspapers are always looking for stories relating to the local community.

Stories relating to your events during Child Care Week are a great way to get good publicity for your child care centre and get positive messages about child care to the public.

It should not be complicated or time-consuming. These are the main things you will need to do in order to ensure that your event is a media success:

• Send a media release with full details of the event to your local papers and community radio stations at least a week before Child Care Week. You can use the template included.

• Send the release out by email, pasted into the text part of the message, not as an attachment. Very few journalists have time to open attachments!

• Be ready to answer any questions or do media interviews, and make sure you or a representative will be at your centre during Child Care Week.

A picture is worth a thousand words

Assign someone to take photos of your activities. You'll be hoping the newspaper will send a photographer, but this is not always possible for local papers.

Photos should ideally be digital, taken at high resolution (300 dpi or higher) and include lots of action and colour.

Get parents' permission to have their children's photos used in the media.

If a local celebrity such as your MP is attending, make sure you get lots of photos of them with children and your team.

Send the photos (as jpeg attachments) to your media contacts after the event. That way, even if they haven't managed to send a photographer, they may still cover the story.

It is important to advise parents, care providers and the community about the upcoming Child Care Week events and opportunities for involvement.

Use newsletters and fliers to provide background information about the Week and planned events, as well as to solicit participation by various groups. Include your email address and link to your centre's website, if possible. This will make it easier for those who want to participate to respond quickly.

Follow up with additional emails or mailings to keep the momentum building for your celebration, highlighting the plans of specific programs.

Your Child Care Week activities can involve parents in ways that require minimum amounts of time and effort, for example, they can participate with their children to prepare materials for displays or assist in collecting family photographs for a display.

Invite outstanding local business people to be special guest speakers at the centre and acknowledge them with a certificate for their contribution to the local community.

Businesses can support the week by donating refreshments, contributing supplies and services, offering free advertising, or submitting a supporting statement to local media. Local Mayors or Members of Parliament will be eager to participate in Child Care Week celebrations. It is a great time to forge new relationships with them or to cement your ongoing relationships. Child Care Week offers a great forum for parents and others to let their elected representatives know how well they feel their community, state, and nation are serving children's needs and to provide a public reminder of the importance of children's issues.

It is important to advise parents, care providers and the community about the upcoming Child Care Week events and opportunities for involvement.