Sample Event: Candy Cane Sales
- During the holiday season, we sold candy canes for UNICEF for $1 each
- We sold at school hockey games and at middle school and high school lunches
- Group members donated all the candy canes
- We put up candy-cane-shaped posters around the school with the time, dates, and location of the UNICEF candy cane sales
- We affixed labels to the candy canes explaining UNICEF’s cause and enumerating what supplies $1 could buy for a needy child (see www.inspiredgifts.org/)
- We posted the event on our website
- We created a facebook event
- We had big signs at the sales table
Who helped at our event:
- Club members who sold candy canes
- The schools – they granted permission to sell the candy canes
- The lunch catering company (they allowed us to sell the candy canes)
- The sports arena – allowed us to set up a table & granted permission to sell the candy canes in addition to their usual concessions
- Everyone who bought candy canes from us
- The group members who donated candy canes to the cause
Blueprint
- Choose a venue at which to sell your items: local sporting event, the lunchroom, etc.
- Choose an item to sell: school spirit items, baked goods, seasonal candy, etc.
- Obtain permission to sell your chosen item at your chosen venue
- Obtain the items. If possible, ask for donations from your group members or from the supply company, explain that the sales are for a good cause.
- Set a price
- Publicize what is being sold as well as the cause, location, time, price, and date around school or at the location in which the sales will occur
- Put up posters and hand out brochures about your cause or use some other method to disseminate information and raise awareness
Thank everyone who purchases an item or donates
What worked at our event:
- We raised money
- Because all the supplies & concessions were donated, all the proceeds went to our cause
- The High School sales were popular
- Candy canes were a good seasonal choice because they were inexpensive for students to buy, they were something different since they are only seasonal, they were considered a fun item, it was easy to affix labels to the candy canes
- We raised awareness for UNICEF and our club
- Our labels were impactful and easy to affix and buyers could immediately understand the cause
- Each label had a picture of an item that $1 can buy to help impoverished children & a brief explanation, for example: Thank you for your purchase. Your dollar bought 35 high energy biscuits to feed starving children
- Club members got into the event and had fun creating the labels and decorating the tables
- Club members got practice publicizing and working events
- Hockey game sales did well & hit an additional audience of families and younger children
What didn’t work at our event:
- The middle school sales didn't raise as much money as we hoped
- Hockey sales did well, but we didn't have enough people to man tables for all times at all games
- We didn’t publicize the event enough
- Believe it or not, some kids at the middle school stole candy canes so sellers had to be extra vigilant
- We had more than enough members to work some lunches and hockey game time slots and not enough to work others
Tips:
- Decorate the table/area in which you are selling
- Have music playing if possible
- If possible, have several peppy people selling the items
- Don’t be afraid to ask for supply donations
- Make the table/stand from which you are selling look as visually appealing as possible
- Publicize the sales with posters, face book events, etc.
- Use the event to spread the word about your cause
- Sell items which catch interest at the time, like homecoming Tshirts before the big game or candy canes at Christmas or heart candies at Valentines