Boys and Girls Club of Palm Springs logo

The Palm Desert Campus of Cal State San Bernardino and the Boys & Girls Club of Palm Springs are partnering to form the Coachella Valley Youth PR Collaborative this January, a program where public relations majors at the Palm Desert Campus will serve as a marketing and PR firm for the club chapter.

The CSUSB Palm Desert Campus students will work together in teams to determine key messages, and will write and produce online, press, video and radio broadcast content focused on the programs and success stories of the Boys & Girls Club of Palm Springs.

The Palm Desert Campus is also the home of Paws Radio, the Coachella Valley’s only true jazz station. Students from the collaborative will create new broadcast content about the Boys & Girls Club weekly and share it with listeners during student broadcasting hours and during all-jazz afternoons, evenings and weekends. Additional content will be shared with existing partners in local radio, television, digital and print media.

“This is an extraordinary collaboration opportunity for the PR students at the Palm Desert Campus, for the listening audience of Paws Radio and certainly for the local kids who benefit so much from the programs offered at the Boys & Girls Club of Palm Springs,” said Jake Zhu, dean of the Palm Desert Campus.

The collaboration was developed by CSUSB broadcast and media consultant Lacey Kendall, CSUSB public relations major Kalina Robles, and Margaret Keung, executive director of the Boys & Girls Club of Palm Springs. 

“The collaboration is a natural fit as it provides the college students with the insight and familiarity in working with a nonprofit, while providing our club with the obvious benefits of their talents and skillsets,” said Keung.

Geoff Kors, mayor of Palm Springs and vice president of the Boys & Girls Club of Palm Springs, said, “This is an exciting project that will provide students an opportunity to get real- world experience, and the Boys & Girls Club to increase awareness of the incredible results the organization provides for Palm Springs youth.”

Students say they are excited to begin working hands-on as a public relations firm. Robles, co-founder of the project, said, “We learn so much about public relations concepts that it’s genuinely exciting to put what we’ve learned to use in our community!”

For more information about the Coachella Valley Youth PR Collaborative or Paws Radio, contact Lacey Kendall at (909) 890-6960 or lacey@csusb.edu.

Established in 1948, the Boys & Girls Club of Palm Springs is currently the largest nonprofit youth program provider in the city of Palm Springs, offering a wide range of impactful programs in a safe and supervised environment. The Boys & Girls Club of Palm Springs’ mission is to enable young people, especially those that need assistance most, in becoming productive, caring and responsible citizens. More information about the Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Springs and their Learning Day camp in support of essential workers can be found on the web at www.bgcps.org.

The CSUSB Palm Desert Campus offers bachelor’s and master’s degrees, a doctorate in educational leadership, and teaching credentials and certificates. With more than 1,600 students, it is the Coachella Valley’s four-year public university and plays a vital role in educating and training the region’s growing population.

For more information about the CSUSB Palm Desert Campus, contact Mike Singer in the Office of Strategic Communication at msinger@csusb.edu or (760) 341-2883, ext. 78107, or visit the PDC website at www.csusb.edu/pdc.