Fair Trade Markets

CHECK PHOTOS OUT HERE

We run Fair Trade Markets reasobly regularly but they acted as the launch for our 125 year Anniversary Celebration week @ Church by the Bridge with a whole lot of other activity that normally doesn’t happen at these markets. This post and a few following will detail what events we ran to outreach to our community, how we did it, few handy hits, resources & rationale etc.

Fairtrade Markets

Fairtrade Markets we run out the front of the church building, with doors to church open wide for peopel to wander through. (People love looking a churches and curiosity gets the better of them – so let them in)

Before the day:

1. Design a flyer to stick in the noticeboard out the front of church.
2. Order products from Tribes & Nations.
3. Once order has come in, write prices on little sticky labels and place on products.
4. Order some groovy paper bags to put purchased items in. (google ‘paper bags’ heaps of shops come up – ring and get a good price)
5. Get some espresso coffee cups from a catering store, milk, stirrers, and sugars.
6. Ask people at church to bake cupcakes & to be dropped off on the morning of the markets day.

On the day:

1. Set up market umbrellas, tables with black table cloth (stretch jersey knit fabric – cheap from spotlight, works really well).
2. Display products out on the table, neatly.
3. Play some music through CD player.
4. Put church flyers in the paper bags, so people get the advertising when they make a purchase.
5. Get coffee ready. (Airpots work a treat, keep coffee hot and look proffessional – get them from catering supplies stores like Reward Distrubution).
6. Get people to hand out free coffee & cupcakes. “Want to try a sample of fair trade coffee?” “would you like a free cupcake?”

To pump this up for 125 Celebrations we also added a BBQ, had the  I Heart Kirribilli exhibition on in the hall, I heart Kirribilli Tshirts for sale, live music in the courtyard, free helium balloons, kids facepainting & showbags. Lots of activity and buzz that doesn’t require insane amounts of effort.

Little Effort?

Ask one person to head up each thing.

I asked Suzie to head up Fairtrade.
Chris to do BBQ.
Kids church to look after Kids fun.
Laura to get a friend to play music.
Alex to look after t-shirts.
Nicolie to work out the exhibition.

Hand resposibillity over to them, help them out, give them guidence where needed, and farm out to them people from church who have volunteered to help. This saves you from doing all the hard yards, empowers and equips the church to serve and ensures things get done – plus it creates opportunity for everyone to serve, at different capactities.