Photo Credit: Sol Design Studios
A groundbreaking event can easily be seen as simply a construction milestone. But for a nonprofit organization addressing a critical community need, it can become a community impact story.
Lions World Vision Institute (LWVI), a global nonprofit headquartered in Tampa, Florida, is committed to honoring vision as a basic human right. The organization was preparing to break ground on its new Vision Health Center, a 30,000-square-foot facility designed to expand access to consistent, medical-level vision care for uninsured and underinsured children and families.
The need was clear. LWVI’s mobile and school-based programs visited 182 locations and delivered 6,117 vision screenings during the previous school year. But many children need more than a screening. They need diagnostics, medical eye exams, treatment, glasses and follow-up care in one accessible place.
The $16M Vision Health Center is expected to open in 2027 and serve more than 23,000 children annually. LWVI needed to make sure the groundbreaking was not viewed as a routine construction announcement, but as an important step toward solving a regional pediatric healthcare gap.
Solution
B2 Communications worked with LWVI and ChappellRoberts, a Tampa-based advertising and branding agency. ChappellRoberts led client relations and overall coordination, while B2 supported media relations, messaging and event amplification.
Rather than focus only on the building, B2 centered the story on the children and families the facility will serve, turning the groundbreaking into a community impact story. Messaging connected pediatric vision care to education, long-term health and access to opportunity, helping media and stakeholders understand why the project mattered beyond the event itself.
B2 developed a media relations strategy that prioritized broadcast, business and community outlets. The team created targeted media materials, coordinated with speakers and helped shape key messages around access, innovation and community impact.
To make the event compelling for media, B2 also helped identify visual storytelling opportunities, including the groundbreaking ceremony, facility renderings and interviews with LWVI leadership, elected officials and community stakeholders.
The strategy focused on three priorities:
- Position the Vision Health Center as a transformational solution for pediatric vision care
- Elevate LWVI’s role as a leader in expanding access to care
- Use the event to generate sustained awareness among media, policymakers, donors and community leaders
Success
The groundbreaking event drew more than 100 attendees, including community leaders, elected officials, media and key stakeholders.
B2’s media relations strategy helped secure more than 10 earned media placements across broadcast, print and digital outlets, including FOX 13, 10 Tampa Bay, Bay News 9, Tampa Bay 28, Tampa Bay Business Journal, Tampa Bay Business & Wealth, Business Observer and the Florida Sentinel-Bulletin.
The coverage reached more than 40 million people across broadcast, print and digital platforms. A Business Wire release also generated 168 syndicated placements and more than 100 million in potential reach.
Most importantly, the media coverage consistently reinforced the event’s core message: LWVI’s Vision Health Center is more than a new facility. It is a scalable solution designed to help children access the care they need to learn, grow and thrive.
The event also helped deepen stakeholder engagement. Following the groundbreaking, several former donors stepped forward to learn more about the Vision Health Center and how they could support the project.
By turning a ceremonial milestone into a clear community impact story, B2 helped LWVI elevate awareness, strengthen credibility and build momentum for a project that will expand access to pediatric vision care across Tampa Bay.
Image credit: Sol Design Studio