WHY THIS ACTIVITY?
Imagine you’ve just moved to a new small town. Naturally, you want to learn more about the place and its people. And you’re hungry to get involved in local efforts to stand up for democracy, justice and peace. What’s the first thing you do? Well, you might start with an internet search to see what local groups and efforts you can turn up.The internet is a critical space for human dignity groups to get the word out about your group, network with other ROP member groups across the state, and connect with progressive and community-minded friends, both new and old. ROP & new technology have made it easier than ever before to launch your group’s very own website!
WHAT IS THE ACTIVITY?
July’s Kitchen Table Activity is to set up your Human Dignity Group’s website. And yes, it is possible for a volunteer-run group to get this done in one month or less! There are all kinds of options available for groups wanting to have a presence on the web, with varying levels of sophistication, interactivity, and cost.
But ROP has created a simple, customizable, economical and user-friendly template using googlesites technology that will allow ROP member groups to get a site up and running in no time! (And if your group’s already got a website, make sure that we link to it on the ROP website by sending the address to cara@rop.org today!)
STEPS TO COMPLETE THE ACTIVITY:
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Figure out who will be your Human Dignity Group’s website lead. This person doesn’t need to know HTML or have a lot of tech background. But they will need some basic word processing and internet experience, and be able to dedicate at least 2 or 3 hours to lead the process and get the site up and running.
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Download the Human Dignity Group How-To Guide for creating a website and review with your group. The How-To is a step-by-step document with all the details and info you’ll need to complete the steps below.
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Purchase a domain name for your site. (This will allow you to have a website that is something like this: www.yourhumandignitygroup.org. If you do not purchase a domain name your web address will be sites.google.com/sites/yourgroupname)
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Develop the content for your site. You’ll need a few short paragraphs each to describe your group’s mission, your history, your current projects, and how folks can contact you and get involved. You can also pick out a photo or two that shows your group in action.
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Have your website lead paste your content into the ROP template and make the site go live to the public!
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Contact ROP if you have any questions or need support in setting up your site! E-mail cara@rop.org or call 503-543-8417. We’ll be happy to walk you through the process.
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Increase your group’s online visibility! Make sure to e-mail cara@rop.org with your new website address so we can link to it from our own site.