One Community, One Mission, One Campaign
One Campaign to Inspire Thousands
More than a century since its founding, Milton Hershey School provides the resources and support to inspire its more than 2,100 students to find success. The Breakthrough campaign was designed to tell this story with the goals to:
- Inspire students and staff to create and achieve Breakthrough goals by shattering real and perceived barriers.
- Strengthen engagement between staff, students, alumni, parents/sponsors, and community members.
- Create a sense of belonging for students around a shared goal.
The MHS Story
Located in Hershey, Pennsylvania, MHS is one of the world’s best private schools, where low-income children in pre-K through 12th grade live on campus and receive an exceptional educational experience—with all costs covered for their families.
Four Months, Many Milestones
The Breakthrough campaign is designed to thrive from August 2023 – June 2024. The first half of the campaign (August-December 2023) saw incredible success and positive results.
Launch
The 2023 Opening of School Celebration kicked off on Aug. 13 with a professional magician and drone show, which showcased landmarks from across campus and MHS logos. The next morning, nearly 5,000 members of the school community gathered at GIANT Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania to celebrate the start of a Breakthrough year. The 2023 Opening of School Assembly included 5,000 Breakthrough-branded chocolate bars, 5,000 light-up bracelets, 30 live on-stage participants, seven videos, one LED logo, one original song, one campaign-themed van unveiling, and much more.
Watch the Event
Before Dec. 31, 2023, the livestream of the event had been viewed more than 1,000 times.
Post-Event
Following the event, MHS launched an external webpage (6,017 page views by Dec. 31) and annual Spotify playlist (93 saves by Dec. 31), in addition to a robust communications and giveaway distribrution plan.
Driving Engagement
Founder’s Birthday Celebration
Breakthrough was woven into the celebration of MHS founder Milton S. Hershey’s birthday at Hersheypark (Sept. 11). The event featured a life-size Breakthrough balloon structure for attendees to use as a photo backdrop and several “Happy Birthday,” banners with Breakthrough imagery.
See Photos from the CelebrationHomecoming Weekend
Compared to years past, Breakthrough came to life in new ways for alumni during Homecoming Weekend (Sept. 21-23). Most enhanced was the annual Homecoming Banquet–which resulted in the highest number of attendees (nearly 1,000) in recent years. The event included video presentations, remarks, a Breakthrough-branded step-and-repeat banner, campaign-themed presentation elements, and a never-before-seen music video with an original song.
Founders Week
Each year, the MHS community celebrates the signing of the Deed of Trust that created the school—known as Founders Week (Nov. 6-13). While the annual school year campaign always plays a role in engaging stakeholders during this celebration, this time was more enhanced than ever before. By way of an all-school assembly, campus-wide feast, and Keyhole sculpture dedication ceremony, students and staff were inspired to achieve a Breakthrough moment, just like MHS founders Mr. and Mrs. Hershey did.
See Photos from Founders WeekInspiring Change
E-blasts
One of the organizational communication tools MHS utilizes are e-blasts from school leadership to communicate and motivate action. Between August and December 2023, the MHS Office of Communications and Marketing deployed 5 e-blasts to staff, alumni, parents/sponsors, and community partners. On average, these e-blasts had a 20% higher open rate compared to the same timeframe in 2022. In celebration of the holiday season, MHS included a special video of students and staff wishing the community a happy holiday season in their Breakthrough sweatshirts.
Creating Belonging
To generate excitement around the campaign and create a sense of belonging, MHS created several giveaways for students and staff. The list includes:
- Campaign-themed notebooks (200 gifted)
- Hersheypark- and Breakthrough-branded t-shirts (3,000 gifted)
- Keyhole-shaped Croc jibitz (2,500 gifted)
- Breakthrough-themed sweatshirts (4,000 gifted)
- Tree ornaments (400 gifted)
Grassroots Approach
MHS provided its community with assets to bring the Breakthrough campaign to life in classrooms, student homes, student and staff programs, and more. Options included:
- Wallpapers for desktops, iPads, and mobile devices
- Posters
- Graphics
Breakthrough Beyond MHS
Milton S. Hershey was a man of intention. He created a town and a school with the power of community in mind. This school year, our Breakthrough campaign came to life at Hersheypark—a nationally-awarded amusement park and an MHS partner organization.
Read More about Our Community Partnerships
Greatest Breakthrough is Yet to Come
Breakthrough will culminate at the MHS Commencement ceremony—also held at GIANT Center on June 9, 2024—where 200 seniors will achieve their greatest milestone yet.
Learn More about MHS Graduate Outcomes
