J. Walcher Communications and Jewish Family Service Win 2026 AMA San Diego Sandie Award for Rapid Response PR Campaign
J.Walcher Communications and Jewish Family Service Win 2026 AMA San Diego Sandie Award for Rapid Response PR Campaign, Bringing 18,000lbs of Food to San Diegans
At J. Walcher Communications, we’re rapid response and crisis PR experts. We are regularly recognized for delivering strategy and efficiency. Our campaign for longtime client Jewish Family Service of San Diego (JFS) during the longest federal government shutdown in history got the word out to neighbors who needed immediate assistance.
On May 21, 2026, we were honored to receive a 2026 American Marketing Association Bronze Sandie Award in the “Cause Marketing/Non-Profit: Agency” category, recognizing the PR and marketing efforts of Jewish Family Service’s in-house marketing team and J. Walcher Communications.
San Diego is home to 100,000 active military personnel and 46,000 civilian federal workers, making our region among the hardest hit when paychecks were frozen. Making rapid response even more critical: One in four San Diegans already struggled with food insecurity before the crisis.
In the days leading up to the shutdown, JFS quickly mobilized its team and partnered with the San Diego Food Bank to deliver weekly drive-thru distributions of nutritious food to aid federal workers, military and their families.
JFS’s marketing team created a special webpage for the emergency response effort and distributed email communications announcing its launch. Every week, the JFS team distributed dedicated emails and crafted social media posts, along with boosted content, to promote the food distribution.
J. Walcher Communications was tasked with campaign publicity, helping break through the stigma of food assistance, as many recipients would be seeking help for the first time. We focused on data-driven storytelling, sharing how many families were served and amplifying testimonials to normalize seeking help.
For more than six weeks, JWC wrote and refined messaging, drafted compelling data-driven pitches and coordinated media.
Campaign Results:
- 118 pieces of earned media coverage, including the Los Angeles Times, Scripps News, The San Diego Union-Tribune and Spanish-language television
- 824,000-plus television viewers
- 981,000 radio listeners
- Nearly 44 million online readers
- Nearly $1.1 million in equivalent ad value (knowing editorial coverage is worth much more)
By the end of the campaign, JFS distributed more than 18,000 pounds of food to over 2,100 San Diegans across 69 zip codes. JFS also created a special video chronicling the food distributions, with visits from Congresswoman Sara Jacobs and City of San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria.
JFS’s work as one of the leading food providers in San Diego continues. While the shutdown has long ended, the nonprofit has maintained similar monthly drive-thru food distributions, now open to the public.
For JFS and JWC, this Sandie represents how a well-aligned in-house and agency team, moving with urgency and purpose, can meet a community at its most vulnerable moment and make a measurable difference.
A big thank you to the American Marketing Association for this recognition and Jewish Family Service for its continued partnership and trust in JWC for the past 11 years. We continue to “Move Forward, Together” in support of our community.
