Advocates, a nonprofit human services agency with programs across Greater Boston, engaged Ball Consulting Group to raise awareness of a new initiative aimed at addressing the social isolation and loneliness experienced among the people it serves. These individuals are supported by paid caregivers who help with daily tasks, but Advocates recognized a growing need for companionship in the wake of the pandemic. Advocates created The Friendship Project to identify community volunteers and pair them with people living with mental illness, brain injury or a developmental disability such as autism. They helped form friendships that made a difference. To highlight this model and help recruit volunteers and attract new funding, Ball Consulting Group developed a media pitch and a fortuitous strategy that resulted not only in one high-impact regional media placement; the story echoed from radio to web and digital – to national news coverage.