Lauren Kriss

The Acres Homes Community Advocacy Group was founded in 2022 as a crystallization of previous coalitions led by the founder, E. Rain Eatmon. In late 2023, the advocacy group was funded through the Acres Homes Cancer Prevention Collaboration to serve as the primary information channel in the community. Leaders of the Acres Homes CPC at MD Anderson contracted with the Center for Health Communication to support the advocacy group. The goals laid out by the funder were to further establish the advocacy group as a resource and information hub and to promote a large community event where many community services were on exhibition.

Through ongoing conversation, the group expressed that they wanted help building their organizational brand. The health communication support group built upon the initial brand identity of the advocacy group to strengthen brand coherence across channels. The materials produced included print handouts, large display banners and promotional stickers. The group also revamped the organization’s website to improve coherence. Finally, the team provided a media kit, press release, and a list of relevant news reporters to the group.

The Acres Homes Cancer Prevention Collaboration (Acres Homes CPC) is an MD Anderson-led initiative that seeks to reduce cancer risk and ultimately improve cancer outcomes in a historic neighborhood. It is one of five new centers for cancer control research created as part of the Persistent Poverty Initiative of the National Cancer Institute.

The Acres Homes CPC is implemented in the context of Be Well™ Acres Homes, an initiative of MD Anderson in collaboration with Harris Health, Memorial Hermann Community Benefit Corporation, UTHealth Houston School of Public Health, and more than 30 community organizations united together with residents of Acres Homes.

Impact of brand strengthening

Since the project began, the group leader was interviewed on a local TV news station, a local radio station, and has been quoted in multiple local newspapers. Website (https://www.acreshomescag.org/) analytics for the period of the beginning of March and the community event on April 4, 2025 were compared to the previous years. Unique visitors increased by more than 50 percent, page views increased by 60%, and the bounce rate decreased from 67% to 53%. Further, the average amount of time spent on the website during the time period increased from 3:59 to 7:32 minutes. The community advocacy reported that approximately 450 community members attended their large community cultural festival and resource exposition. 

Updated brand materials