Dependent care fairs are an excellent cost effective way for agencies to
provide their employees with information about child care, parenting, elder
care, aging issues, and community resources. A Child/Elder Care Fair can put employees with
dependent care needs directly in touch with appropriate services.
This guide is intended to make fair planning as easy and painless as
possible. It provides step-by-step directions and includes sample letters and
lists of child and elder care organizations to invite. Consult the lists of
child and elder care organizations found in Appendix A and Appendix B.
Keep the following tips in mind when planning a fair:
Obtain agency permission before proceeding with any plans.
- Determine if and when
employees can take work time to attend.
- Determine if the union
should be consulted or involved.
- Organize and plan the
fair at least eight weeks prior to the actual date.
- Stay organized.
Use letters like the samples found in Appendix C.
Consider how long the event will last (several hours or all day).
Should questions arise, contact the Office of Work/Life Programs (202)
606-5520 or workandfamily@opm.gov
for assistance.
Good luck and enjoy the fair!!
Goals of the Fair
Before planning a fair, consider the goals, theme, and audience. Who is
the audience? What information do they need? What topic(s) is being
addressed? Be precise in defining the fair goals. For example, a child care
fair can cover an array of issues from parenting, after-school care, and
children's health to the needs of teenagers and college-age young adults. The
fair probably will not cover every facet of such a broad topic. As the fair
organizer, define the topic whether it be narrow or broad in focus and plan
accordingly.
- Fair goals, theme, and
audience are identified.
- Fair theme is not too
broad.
- Audience's needs are
considered in the planning.
Select a Fair Date and Time
When selecting a fair date and time, consider the following: (1) Try to
select a day in the middle of the week. The best days to achieve maximum
employee attendance and vendor participation are Tuesday, Wednesday, or
Thursday since Mondays and Fridays are popular days to schedule flex days off
and vacation time. (2) Avoid weeks surrounding the holiday seasons such as
Christmas and Thanksgiving. (3) Select a date that is amenable to the
agency's calendar of events. (4) Check with the office responsible for
building services to determine open dates and availability of space. Do not
select a day or week when another major agency event is scheduled.
CHECKLIST
- A day in the middle of
the week is selected.
- Event is not scheduled
around a major holiday.
- No other agency events
are scheduled that day.
- The schedule request
is approved by building services.
Secure Building Space/Notify Building Services
Contact building services to ascertain the amount and
location of floor space available for table set up. Ask to use an area of the
building where employee traffic is heavy such as the lobby or near the
cafeteria. It is important to work closely with building services in
coordinating the event. Usually, a building services office must prepare for
safety and security matters for special events in the building. Keep them well
informed and write down the name of the person responsible for the arrangements.
Potential conflicts and problems can be avoided if you allow building
services to do their job.
Building services also should be notified of other fair details including
parking for vendors, unloading of vendor materials on the day of the fair,
delivery of vendor tables, and request for vendor chairs if needed (see Appendix C for sample letters and forms).
CHECKLIST
- The building space is
approved by building services.
- Space is accessible
to employees with special needs.
- A letter is sent to
building services about the event.
- Building services are
informed of any changes in the schedule.
Make Security Arrangements
Notify security services in your building well in advance of the event.
You may be unaware of security rules that might exist for special building
events. It is best to meet with security personnel to determine their needs.
Follow up the meeting with a formal letter (see Appendix C). Include
specific details of the event (time, date, building space to be used, etc.)
as well as security arrangements discuss at the meeting. For instance,
special security arrangements may be necessary to facilitate vendor movement
in and out of the building. If fair details change, notify the security
office.
CHECKLIST
- Building security is
notified of all fair plans.
- Meetings are held
with building security to discuss their concerns.
- Movement of vendors
in and out of the building is addressed.
- Building security
is continually informed of planning changes.
Vendors to be Invited
You are now ready to assemble a list of potential vendor participants. The
number of organizations to invite depends upon the vendor space available in
your building and the size and focus of the fair. Since some
organizations will decline, invite more agencies than you expect will attend.
Consult the List of National Children's Organizations (see Appendix A) or the List
of National Aging Organizations (see Appendix B). These
lists provide the names and addresses of national organizations in the fields
of child and elder care. Most are located in Washington, DC; however, many
national organizations have local chapters.
For those organizations with local chapters, invite representatives to
attend your fair. If no local chapters exist, ask the organizations of
interest to send copies of informative brochures, pamphlets, or books. You
may be able to obtain bulk copies at a nominal cost or no cost.
Also, your vendor list should include local organizations that provide
child and elder care services in your community. For instance, hospitals and universities often provide excellent information about children and the elderly. These
organizations usually are willing to send representatives to a fair along
with written materials.
CHECKLIST
- A list of organizations to invite to the fair is
prepared.
- Fair themes are considered.
- The list of organizations includes national and local
groups.
- The list includes extra organizations since some
agencies will decline the invitation.
- Available space for table set up is considered in
constructing the list.
Contact Vendors
Your next step is contacting organizations. A single phone call can help
pinpoint the appropriate organizational staff person responsible for
community outreach and introduce your event to the organization. Most
organizations will request a formal written invitation explaining the purpose
of the fair and general logistical information such as time, date, and
location. An organization will sometimes provisionally accept or decline the
invitation by phone. However, many agencies will need time to check their
schedules and staff work loads. Keep in mind that people and organizations
are constantly in flux. Nothing is ever definitive until the day of the fair.
Remember, if an agency declines, invite them to send materials instead.
CHECKLIST
- All organizations are
invited by phone.
- A formal written
invitation is mailed to all parties.
- Organizations that
cannot attend are invited to materials.
Formal Invitations
Send a letter of invitation and a form of confirmation to interested vendors.
Following up a phone call with a written invitation and response form encourages
organizations to address your request in a timely manner. Depending upon time constraints
and personal preference, email, mail or fax the information. See Appendix C for a sample invitation letter and response form.
Letters should include the following: (1) the event name, date, time, and
place; (2) the program objective and audience; (3) what is expected of the
vendor, e.g., distributing literature and answering participant
questions; and (4) a return date for completion of the confirmation form.
The confirmation form should ask for the organization's name, address,
phone number, website, the contact person's name and phone number; and
a brief description of the organization's mission. Recognize that many
agencies are short staffed and providing a fair representative for a one
day event can be difficult. Include an invitation to send materials if an
organization representative cannot personally attend. Remember, most organizations want
to participate in some way. Make it easy for them to do so. Also consider giving
vendors the option to share table space. Some organizations may not have
enough materials for an entire display.
In writing letters and creating forms, address any individual circumstances or concerns
associated with the event.
CHECKLIST
- A detailed letter and
confirmation form are mailed to each organization.
- Organizations are
invited to send materials if they cannot personally attend.
- The letter specifies
a return date for the confirmation form.
Organize
Organization is essential for successful fair planning. If working with
10 or more vendors, it will be difficult to remember pertinent information about
each one. Acceptances will be staggered. Organizations will call with
questions or for assistance. Be prepared. As acceptances are received, keep
careful track of the vendors and their individual needs and concerns. A
sample tracking form is included in Appendix C which helps
to record important information on the invited organizations. Include the
contact person's name; organizational email address, fax and phone number; a
vendor's desire to share a table or only send materials; the date, time,
method, and delivery of materials; and any special requests.
CHECKLIST
- A tracking form is used to record important information about the vendors.
Vendor Floor Plan
Construct a floor plan for placement of vendor tables. Once you know where
the tables will be set up, decide where each vendor will be placed. Remember
to consider vendors who have requested shared table space. Place tables with
only literature (no agency representatives) in the least desirable
space. To generate maximum communication among vendors and participants,
vendor representatives should be placed at tables where they are clearly
visible to attendees.
It is not necessary to make the floor plan available to the vendors or
fair attendees. Unless there is a large number of vendors, fair participants
can easily find information by simply visiting each table. The fair staff can
direct vendors to their assigned tables when they arrive.
CHECKLIST
- A floor plan is constructed in blueprint form identifying the actual location/table for each participating organization.
- The floor plan should includes organizations that are sharing table space and sets aside
tables for agencies who are sending materials.
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