Expertise: The EXCITE team is poverty informed certified allowing us to better understand clients and client targets through a poverty informed lens. This emphasizes oral communication over literature as well as providing multiple examples to convey information better. We’ve recently received the most up-to-date version of this training as well as being in communication with a certified poverty informed coach for feedback on our poverty informed approaches.

Case Study: In the past, the VS EXCITE team worked to establish trust with the targeted areas in the Treasure Valley. The team produced information and worked with UIdaho students utilizing media outlets to broadcast our message. The goal achieved by the team was the creation of content addressing vaccine hesitancy in rural and farm communities in the Treasure Valley.

Client Success Stories: With the work done by the VS EXCITE team in our last contract, EXCITE was able to successfully decrease vaccine hesitancy in the targeted area and increase vaccine uptake when pairing the content from our team with a information outreach efforts, mobile vaccine clinics, and follow up care for the community.

Collaborative Approach: The VS EXCITE team hold regular meetings with our client to make sure the team is on track with our deliverables as well as meeting together ourselves regularly to openly collaborate amongst ourselves on our personal ideas for the direction of the project.

Technology and Tools: The VS EXCITE team primarily utilizes the software VideoScribe. This software allows us to create animations for our project which better incorporates poverty informed ideas in a format best received by our target audience.

Community Involvement: The VS EXCITE team is creating content to be played at community locations like foodbanks as well as at locations commonly frequented by communities like CVS and Walgreens. In addition, the team is working to reach students who may come from the crisis of poverty here at UI to take information home to their communities where students are often viewed as community leaders due to their education.