Client Highlight: Joe’s Kids Hosts Record-Breaking Event

At DreamOn Studios, it’s such an honor to partner with our clients as an extension of their team to elevate their stories and welcome more people to get involved with the important work they do—whether that’s on stage or via video.

In this article, we want to highlight our longtime client, Joe’s Kids. Every year, we’re honored to feature their stories through video and AV support at their major events. However, this year’s project proved quite an AV production adventure for us when they held their event in a new venue without a sound system. 

Ultimately, their event had the greatest success in their history! So, here is a behind-the-scenes look at the process, outcomes, and learnings along the way.

Client: Joe’s Kids

Joe’s Kids’ mission is to help each child reach their full potential and to support and educate their families along the way. Their vision is that every child in Kosciusko County can get the care they need when they need it. Currently, they serve over 500 children a year from Kosciusko County and ten surrounding counties.

Background: Why Their Work Matters

For children with special needs, accessibility is limited in Indiana, so Joe’s Kids strives to make sure kids are getting access to the care they need.

“Reimbursement rates through Indiana Medicaid and commercial insurers are inadequate to cover the cost of providing care in a pediatric clinic,” said Executive Director Rebecca Bazzoni. “We must raise about forty dollars for every treatment session, above and beyond what the insurance pays.”

At Joe’s Kids, children experience so much growth and joy.  “When I go out to the treatment rooms, the kids are happy, and they’re smiling,” said Director of Community Relations Michele Bickel. “And what most of them don’t realize is they’re doing work, but in their mind, they’re having fun! When you leave here every day, you know you’ve made a difference in a child’s life.” 

Furthermore, parents of these children feel loved, cared for, and like someone else cares as much about their child as they do.

“Sometimes we’re walking along beside parents who may feel scared, lonely, or misunderstood,” said Rebecca. “So, we are the provider who gets to see them weekly and be able to encourage them and give them tools to help their child start making progress.”

Problem to Address: No AV System for Their Major Event

When Joe’s Kids approached us with their desire to host a major event for 400+ people at a new, larger venue, they had one big challenge. “The venue functions as an ice skating rink in the winter and a farmer’s market in the summer,” said Michele. “It’s a really beautiful venue, but there’s absolutely no sound system!”

The problem was that their new venue didn’t have an AV infrastructure to support the event and allow people to hear the important vision they had to share to raise support for their cause.

Their team was deeply concerned about their ability to raise enough money this year and worried that not having a sound system would be detrimental to their fundraising efforts.

At the end of the day, you can have the best speakers, auctioneer, food, and audience, but if people can’t hear, it will be a flop. 

Fortunately, AV, along with video production, is one of our specialties! “DreamOn Studios assured me they could solve the problem and that our event would be very successful,” said Michele. “And because we’d worked with them before, I felt so confident.”

“We know when DreamOn Studios presents a solution, it will be a good one,” continued Rebecca. “And they would tell us if they couldn’t.”

Ultimate Goal: Host a Great Event & Raise Money

Joe’s Kids’ goal when they came to us was to host a great event experience for their donors and inspire them to engage and give to the organization. To do that, they wanted to share client stories and ensure their audience could hear their inspiring vision through a fantastic sound and video system.

“You can put on a great event, but people are there to help meet a need in our community,” said Rebecca. “They’re there to help other people. So, a really important part of that evening is sharing what we do—sharing the stories in a way that honors the families and their children and allowing others to relate and understand their experiences.” 

Recommended Solution: Custom AV for a Unique Space

At DreamOn Studios, we have special partnerships with vendors who are experts in their field. So, when Joe’s Kids came to us with an issue with AV, we knew who to turn to and brought in Jeff from MOJO Events to do some analysis on the acoustics of the venue.

MOJO Events then designed a layout of speakers to provide excellent sound for the event. We also worked with MOJO on adding things like large, thick drapes to aid in improving the acoustics in the space.

“When they gave me the proposal, they walked me through it,” said Michele. “What I like is they break it down so I can see what the costs are. They were willing to say, ‘You know what? If we can do this and that will help you meet your budget, then we can do that.’”

In addition to AV design, DreamOn Studios worked with Joe’s Kids to interview and film families for feature videos designed to inspire donors to give at the event.

“When they tell stories, they do it in such a beautiful and respectful way,” said Rebecca. “They honor our families through their storytelling.”

Process & Timeline: 10 Months

From planning the event, arranging the AV, filming and editing the videos, and troubleshooting details on the day of the event, the entire process took ten months. 

• Phase One—ten months out: Plan and budget
• Phase Two—six months out: Story filming and venue walkthroughs
• Phase Three—monthly touchpoints: Event details and film edits
• Day Before: Load in and set up equipment
• Day Of: Finish set up and run audio, video, and lighting tests
• Event time! Produce the event!

“Something I appreciate working with them is that when they come to our event, they bring a big team and make me feel supported,” said Michele.

“Matt never made me feel like I was bothering him or it was inconvenient when I had a question. He wanted to make sure that I was happy as a client. And we were obviously very happy!”

Outcome & ROI

We’re proud to report that Joe’s Kids event was a major success! Not only did the AV work out seamlessly, but the video stories inspired donors to give in a big way. In fact, this year, they raised more money at an event than any other year before. 

• Attendance: 400 People
• Child sponsorships: 1,750 visits covered (more than double last year!)

“When Rebecca and I walked away that night, we knew we had done it,” said Michele. “And it wasn’t because of something I or Rebecca did personally—we had a great team. The DreamOn Studios team, our board, staff, and families—we all came together and made it a success! But if DreamOn Studios wasn’t there to support us with the AV and inspiring videos, it wouldn’t have worked. We walked away educating and making more and allowing more people to be aware of what we do.”

Joys: Story Impact 

One of our greatest joys in creating feature story videos is witnessing their impact on others, just as the stories first impacted us during the interviews.

“I ran into one of the families featured in one of the client stories, and they expressed how grateful they were,” said DreamOn Studios Co-Founder & Executive Producer Matt Deuel. “They said it helped friends and family understand what they had been going through over these last few years and even brought them closer together.

“That video was powerful,” said Rebecca. “And I think first, we must thank the Corbett family for sharing their lives, sharing their story, and just being vulnerable. The DreamOn Studios team did such a beautiful job of sharing that story. Those who were new to our event could relate and really feel for the situation that many families in our community are in.” 

Key Learnings

During the process of producing the event, there were two primary learnings: first, pre-production matters. And secondly, an investment in production may feel high upfront but will pay off in the end. 

Why pre-production matters

Taking the time to meet and plan many months in advance and do walk-throughs of the event facility helps you prepare for unexpected obstacles.

In this case, if we had delayed our start and rushed into the project without analyzing the situation, we likely encountered challenges that were hard to overcome. I doubt we would have had the time to come up with a sufficient AV solution, and that could have resulted in an unsuccessful or less-than-successful event.

Why investment in AV pays off

When Joe’s Kids moved to a different venue, they saved in some ways but had to spend in others due to the lack of an AV system.

While this expense seemed high on the front end, it allowed the event to have the greatest possible return. “We had to spend a little bit more, but in the end, we made a lot more because we had a very successful event,” said Michele. 

“In the nonprofit world, you feel like you have to penny pinch all the time, and there are times where you have to say okay, we can do this, and there’s going to be a return,” continued Rebecca. “And there most definitely was this year!”

Client Testimonials

“We feel like we’re working with the best. There’s no need to go elsewhere. Every year, we think the video is the best, and every year, it just gets better and better. They are the most supportive vendors. We have such confidence in them. And they never treat us like we have a stupid question. There’s always a smile, no matter how many times you call them. I can’t say enough good things. I always highly recommend them. We would never want to lose them!” – Rebecca Bizzoni

“We work with a lot of vendors, but DreamOn Studios has a really good understanding of what we do, which makes them unique. They have such a true understanding of our kids and our families. I mean it’s tough to go into a home when these children have special needs, but they just ask the right questions of our parents to really paint the picture of what Joe’s Kids is about. If you’re looking for anybody for video, sound, whatever, absolutely in a heartbeat, you should hire DreamOn Studios. When they say they’ve got it, they mean they’ve got it. You don’t have to worry. Thank you from Joe’s kids. We love DreamOn Studios, and we do look forward to working with them in the future.” – Michele Bickel

Let’s Create Something Together!

If you’re ready for a partner to come alongside you as an extension of your team to produce your next event or videos, we’d love to meet you! 

Schedule your studio tour or discovery call today!