Organizing a senior health and wellness fair
Abstract
Organizing a collection of exhibits on health and wellness programs and services available for seniors contributes to the vigor and safety of the elderly population. This effective practice outlines the steps to take to develop and implement a health fair in your community and was submitted by Robert Jackson in February 2004, using best practices developed from the Wilder Foundation's Vital Neighborhoods Initiative.Issue
Keeping seniors informed of health options that are within their reach is an ongoing process that involves the participation of the community.Action
According to AmeriCorps*VISTA Jenny Whiteman, steps to take to set up a senior health fair include:
Planning and Communication
Start planning 2-3 months before the event to be sure you have enough time.
Create a timeline for the event
3 months before the Health Fair:
- Form a planning committee
- Determine your theme and audience
- Set the date, time, and location
- Determine how many exhibits your location can reasonably hold
- Decide what exhibitors are most important to you
- Develop a letter to send to exhibitors
- Develop a letter to send to sponsors
- Start a checklist of things needed, and things needed to do
- Contact exhibitors
- Contact sponsors/ door prize sponsors
- Send out press releases to newspapers (watch for deadlines)
- Begin finding volunteers
- Design flyers and posters
- Design an evaluation
- Send out confirmation/reminder letters (include parking information if appropriate)
- Post flyers advertising the fair
- Depending on the number of door prizes, develop a system of giving the door prizes away
- Purchase needed supplies (cups, napkins, plates, coffee)
- Prepare a lay out of the fair depending on the number of exhibitors
- Pick up refreshments
- Post signs, entrance information, table numbers
- Set-up tables, chairs, registration table, door prizes, and refreshments
- Give out evaluations
- Thank everyone involved
Form a planning committee, and pick a theme, date and time, and location
Invite staff and volunteers to form a planning committee. At the first meeting, committee members should identify the target audience of the fair, select a theme (if any), and choose the date and location of the fair. The group should outline the main elements of the event; particularly what would entice the target audience to come. This might include nutritious refreshments, entertainment, door prizes, and useful types of exhibits.
Also estimate how many additional staff members or volunteers will be needed for the planning or on event day. Then committee members should divide up responsibility for different aspects of the fair, such as exhibitors, sponsors, publicity, logistics, and evaluation.
In order to make decisions about the time, location, and content of the fair, the committee must identify a target audience. Is the fair just for residents of the senior facility? Will you invite seniors living in private homes? Will you limit your reach to just the immediate neighborhood or allow anyone from the whole city? Determining the audience and the message go hand in hand. The committee must also decide if the fair will have a specific theme (e.g., nutrition) or if the fair will feature a variety of health information.
When choosing the date and time and location of the fair, consider your target audience. What date and time would be most convenient for them? Don't schedule the fair at the same time as another big event since that might reduce attendance at the fair. Some places are not easily accessible for people of all ages and for those with physical disabilities. The room or facility needs to be large enough to accommodate all of the displays. Plan space for more people than you expect to attend. Generally, a one-day event for 500 people requires an area of at least 2,500 square feet.
Be sure your space has the proper amenities. Each exhibitor will need table space and adequate lighting. Some exhibitors will need electrical outlets. Depending on how long your event is, exhibitors may need chairs. Ensure that there is enough parking at the location to accommodate exhibitors and guests. As with the space, plan for more parking than you expect you will need.
Program
Exhibits
1. Identify potential exhibitors who can set up a display about their organization or can answer health and safety related questions. Consider potential exhibitors carefully. Make sure they are compatible with the overall objectives of your fair. Think about your target audience, theme or message (if any), and the amount of space available. For example, if you plan a Heart Health Fair, you would invite the Heart and Stroke Foundation. Try to include balance and variety when choosing exhibitors even if you have a specific theme.
Approach these local resources to find exhibitors:
Health professionals
- Local and state health departments
- Community associations and organizations
- Libraries
- Police and fire departments
- Health clubs
Also contact national health organizations. They may be able to provide you with materials to distribute. They might also have a local chapter in your area that would be interested in participating in your health fair as an exhibitor.
2. Invite potential exhibitors. It is wise to contact people as early as possible. Make contact with these people and organizations with a letter, an email, a fax, or a phone call. If you start with a letter, email, or fax, make a follow up phone call. If you start with a phone call, be sure to send details in writing. In your document, be sure to inform the potential exhibitors of the date, time, location, target audience, and theme or focus of the fair. Be sure to indicate where they should park, where they can set up their displays, and how much display space they will have. Either tell exhibitors how much space they will have or ask that they tell you how much space they will need. Request information about any special needs exhibitors might have, such as an electrical outlet, extra chairs, or a privacy screen. Keep track of all contact with potential exhibitors. Create a document where you can record each time you contact a potential exhibitor and their response. Include columns where you can record complete contact information for each confirmed exhibitor and where you can mark when you have sent them a thank you card.
3. Remind confirmed exhibitors. Don't assume exhibitors will remember your fair, even if you called and sent a detailed letter. Send another reminder letter to exhibitors 1-2 weeks before the event. Include information about when to arrive, where to park, and where to set up displays. Ask again for any special needs exhibitors may have.
Door Prizes
Have attendees register with their name and phone number at the registration table when they enter the fair. Depending on the number of door prizes and the fair schedule, draw a name (or two) every 15 minutes with the person having to be present to win. A microphone will probably be necessary in order for everyone to hear the name being called and what they won.
Refreshments
Try to provide a variety of refreshments. Seniors usually like coffee, juice, and water. Cookies are a good snack. A creative but more costly idea is to have nutritious refreshments, such as a vegetable tray.
Fundraising and Budget
1. Identify potential sponsors who can provide financial support, materials, equipment, or services. Here are some ways to draw businesses and organizations into the fun:
- Grocery or health food stores can provide refreshments
- Stores can donate bags to hold materials guests collect
- Printing companies can donate paper and/or printing for fliers, posters, and signs
- Businesses and organizations can publicize the fair to customers, clients, or members
- Businesses and organizations can donate a coupon, gift certificate, or product for a door prize
Be creative when looking for financial support. Consider labor groups, neighborhood leaders, and anyone else who has connections within the community.
2. Approach potential sponsors. Make contact with a letter, an email, a fax, or a phone call. If you start with a letter, email, or fax, make a follow up phone call. If you start with a phone call, be sure to send details in writing. In your letter, include a brief description of your organization and its goals, a brief description of the event and its target audience, and what kind of support the potential sponsor could provide. Be sure to stress the benefits of sponsoring this event, such as publicity to a hard to reach segment of the community. Include your contact information and thank them for taking the time to read your letter. Keep track of all contact with potential sponsors. Create a document where you can record each time you contact a sponsor and their response. Include columns to record complete contact information for each confirmed sponsor and to indicate when you have sent them a thank you card.
Volunteers and Staff
To recruit volunteers, start with the following:
Schools and student groups
- Community service organizations
- Church groups
- Senior citizen centers
- Advocacy groups
Volunteers are needed to help set-up and take down the health fair. They can also help keep the registration table running, greet the exhibitors, and refill the refreshments as needed. The number of volunteers needed depends on the size of the health fair--a small health fair will only need a few volunteers, provided it is well organized.
Publicity
Although publicity is just one aspect of planning for a health fair, it is arguably the most important. Even the best-planned fair will not be successful if no one knows about it. Some ways to generate publicity include the following:
1. Media outlets. Prepare press releases for local newspapers and public service announcements for local radio stations. Most community newspapers have event calendars, so check for deadlines. Keep in mind that community newspapers are rarely issued daily, so deadlines may be more than a month before your event.
2. Business and organization outreach. Contact the public relations or communications offices of local businesses and organizations to learn how they can help publicize the event to their employees. Many companies have internal newsletters or bulletin boards they use to communicate with their employees.
3. Flyers and posters. Design flyers and posters that not only inform people about the fair but also motivate them to come. Include date, time, location, theme, full or sample list of exhibitors, full list of sponsors, and incentives for coming such as refreshments and door prizes. Ask art students to help with designs. Hang flyers in stores, libraries, banks, restaurants, clinics, hospitals, physicians' offices, and churches. Put them anyplace where your target audience might see them. Remember to list sponsors on all publicity pieces.
Logistics
1. Layout. Plan for the amount of space each exhibitor will need and map out a floor plan on paper. Consider the following in your layout:
- Design the floor plan that allows easy traffic flow and prevents back ups or long lines.
- Don't station competing exhibitors near each other.
- Don't block doors, alarms or fire exits.
- Place wires and electrical cords out of walkways or cover them with tape.
- Allow for easy access to restrooms and for wheelchair access.
- Make sure the temperature and lighting are appropriate.
- Set aside space for a registration table where people can sign in and get all of the information the need about the event. Make sure it is in a place where people will not miss it as they enter. Design the area and staff the table adequately so people will not be held up in long lines when they arrive.
- Entertainment shouldn't steal the show. Place entertainment away from the other exhibits so that it doesn't interfere with conversation or detract from the information provided by exhibitors.
2. Materials. Before the day of the fair, prepare all of the printed materials and collect all of the items you will need. These might include:
Checklist. To avoid forgetting essential things at the last minute, make a list of everything you will need at the fair such as electrical equipment, tables, chairs, easels, VCRs, audio-visual equipment, pencils, paper, tape, microphone, paper and scissors.
Signs. Create signs for the following:
- Registration table/door prize sign-up
- Exhibit table numbers/exhibitor names for each table
- Direction signs (parking, registration, exhibits, restrooms, seating areas, and portions of event not in the main room)
- Sponsor recognition
- List of door prizes
- Numbered sign in sheet to keep track of how many people attend the fair
- Map of exhibits (remember to include sponsor list)
- Nametags
- List of any activities or entertainment (include sponsor list if not on other materials)
- Bags to hold the items attendees receive
- Fair evaluation survey
3. Set up and take down. Depending on the size of the fair, allow enough time for the exhibitors to set up their exhibits. Allow 30 minutes set up time for a ten-booth fair. A larger fair will need more time. Find out ahead of time if exhibits need to be taken apart by a certain time and who will be responsible for cleaning up the site.
Wrap Up
1. Evaluation. Evaluation is an important tool for planning future health fairs. During the fair, you can provide a feedback form for attendees to comment on what they liked and disliked about the fair. Keep the form very brief and include open-ended questions as well as questions that allow people to rate aspects of the fair on a number scale. If you do not want everyone to fill out the feedback form or don't think many people will want to, you could approach every tenth person as they are leaving to get verbal feedback or have them fill out an evaluation. After the fair, talk to the planning committee, exhibitors, and others involved with the fair about their perceptions. Write a short report to summarize the event and what you learn from the evaluation.
2. Thank everyone involved. Send thank-you notes to people who helped out and were key to the success of the fair including staff, volunteers, sponsors, exhibitors, event site contact and staff (e.g. custodians), people who helped with publicity, and entertainers who performed for a reduced rate.
Context
Wilder Square decided to have a Health and Wellness Fair because it seemed to be the best way to distribute a large volume of information to the greatest number of residents. Wilder Square hadn't had a health fair for a number of years and in the past it had been very helpful.
Wilder Square provides affordable, service enriched housing for adults 55 years and older and people with qualifying mobility impairments. The Square is a 136 unit, HUD subsidized high rise located at 750 N. Milton, St. Paul, MN, 55104.
Wilder Foundation is a health and human services organization that has served the greater Saint Paul, Minnesota area since 1906, operating more than 100 programs and serving people of all ages and backgrounds, with a focus on low-income individuals and families, people needing support during critical times in their lives, and Saint Paul's central neighborhoods and communities.
Established in 1982, Wilder Center for Communities (WCC) is a national center for capacity building with deep roots in the local community. WCC provides consultation, training, and other capacity building support to over 300 nonprofit agencies, foundations, and multi-sector organizations or networks each year. WCC also trains 8,000 to 9, 000 leaders in the United States and other regions of the world and publishes capacity-building materials that are used in over 70 countries. WCC has five programs dedicated to this work including Vital Neighborhoods -- programs that promote community cohesion and pride, develop knowledge and skills within geographic and cultural communities, and bring together resources so that a community can reach its own established goals.
Outcome
A health fair has the potential to:Posted On
November 23, 2004For More Information