Fun Ways to Incorporate Contests and Challenges into Your Newsletter

Publishing an engaging newsletter for your senior center is a great way to improve community interaction and participation. One avenue for making it a little livelier is to incorporate contests and challenges regularly. Not only do these types of activities foster a sense of excitement, but they also promote socialization and healthy competition among seniors.

Here are a few ideas for including contests and challenges in your senior center newsletter.

Choose the Right Type of Contest or Challenge

The first step is to decide what types of contests or challenges will be most popular with both your current members and your target audience in the community. Getting your team together to brainstorm can help generate ideas. A few suggestions to help you start are:

• Art contests: Encourage older adults at your senior center (or the community at large) to submit artwork, poetry, short stories, or any other types of creative work. You can feature them in an upcoming newsletter and ask people to vote for their favorites.
• Trivia challenges: Develop trivia questions related to history, popular culture, or even the senior center’s history or that of your town. These can be both fun and educational and may even spark memories that lead to reminiscing. Post questions in your newsletter and have people answer online or drop off their responses in a box set up at the center.
• Photo contests: Invite seniors to submit photos around a specific theme, such as “Cutest baby picture” or “Nature’s beauty.” You can feature them in the newsletter and maybe even in a display at the center. Ask people to vote for their top three and watch your engagement soar!
• Fitness challenges: Organize a challenge in which participants track the steps they take over a specified period of time, such as a week or a month. Include in your newsletter all the details on how to join the challenge, as well as any prizes that will be awarded. You can utilize your social media throughout the contest to encourage people to keep moving.

Determine and (Clearly Communicate!) Contest Rules

Once you’ve chosen the type of contest, it’s essential to set very specific guidelines for each type of challenge you undertake. This ensures everyone understands how to participate and what is expected. A few factors to consider are:

• Eligibility: Specify who can enter. Is the contest only for members of the senior center or for specific age groups, or is it open to all?
• Submission details: Clearly communicate how and where participants can submit their entries, and be sure to include deadlines.
• Judging criteria: Explain how entries will be judged. Will it be by a panel of staff, a voting system among members, or a combination of both? Once you’ve decided, make sure to share that information with your contestants.
• Prizes: To motivate participation and make the contest more fun, consider offering small prizes such as gift cards, certificates, or even a featured profile in the next newsletter. Be sure to connect with area businesses that might be interested in donating raffle baskets or other items because of the publicity they will gain.

Highlight Past Participation and Winners

Create a section in your senior center newsletter dedicated to showcasing entries and winners from past contests, as well as other challenges coming up. Include photos and quotes from winners and participants, as spotlighting participation may encourage others to join in future challenges. Check out some ideas to consider for flyers and graphics for whatever you dream up next!  

Pro-tip: Use this space to ask for feedback from participants. What did they enjoy? What could be improved? Do they have any ideas for future contests? Your team can then utilize this information to refine future contests, ensuring they remain appealing and relevant to your audience.

Make Your Newsletters Shine

If you need more ideas and inspiration to improve the visual appearance of your community newsletter, LPi can help. In the Art & Content section of our website, you’ll find everything you’ll need to be successful, from banners and clip art to photography!