Dayton Children’s: Mia Short Film

It’s a tough conversation. So many young kids today are struggling with how to cope, how to handle daily stresses, how to rectify things that have happened to them in the past. Now, more than ever we need to get our kids the assistance and support they really need. Dayton Children’s Hospital came to us and asked us to create a film that would resonate with individuals who could help the kids in our community. Enter. Mia.

Year

2019

What We Did

Messaging, Video, Writing, Design, Concepting

Mia represents so many of the kids in our community struggling with performing, juggling responsibilities, understanding relationships, and working through trauma. You can see Mia in your friends, family, neighbors. But how far does it have to go before attention is paid?

Every 2 years, Dayton Children’s holds a large fundraiser for the hospital that focuses on something of great need for the kids in our community. For 2019, the fundraiser focused on mental health services. But how do you showcase the incredible need our community has to take care of our most at-risk kids, without being exploitative, raw or too sensational? Also, how do you get people talking about something that seems to have an incredible stigma?

We researched, held focus groups and decided that it would be best to share a story through a narrative with an actor. That way we could protect individuals, and also feature things in a caring way.

Our actor, Grace had a strong tie to individuals struggling with mental health and at just 16 years old, she was able to instantly relate, connect to and provide an amazing performance that got to the heart of the challenges that were being faced.

Outcomes

Nearly $1 Million Raised

The Women’s Board of Dayton Children’s was able to raise nearly $1 Million Dollars at this event. And the MIA video set the tone for giving to the regions most at-risk children.

600+ People

In a room of more than 600 people – there was complete silence when Mia’s story was shared.

A surprise $30K donation

After Mia’s story was shared, one person was so moved, that it generated a surprise $30 Million dollar donation from someone who was very touched by the film.

Learn More

Mia is helping shed light on this incredibly important topic, showing us how easy it is to miss, how imperative it is to pay attention, and how deeply people need to connect.

In July, 2019 Dayton Children’s was able to open an in-patient unit to help serve this population of at-risk kids in our community with the services they desperately need. Find out more about this incredible unit here:

childrensdayton.org/the-hub/dayton-childrens-unveils-behavioral-health-inpatient-unit

Stay tuned for an additional film we produced to help shed light on this important topic.

RECOGNITION

AAF Dayton Gold Addy
AAF District Silver Addy

Behind the Scenes

Our teen actor, Grace did an amazing job playing a difficult role, helping us create a powerful and impactful story. This short film had a profound impact on the way Dayton Children’s approaches this type of fundraising event.