About Us
What/Why
So many of you have said we want opportunities to learn more about what fellow agencies do, to network, and to educate the community about what resources exist in Anderson County. We hope many organizations will set up informational booths and be available to answer questions at this Community Resource/Missions Fair so that we can do just that! The more knowledgeable we are and the more we work together, the more we can help our neighbors in need by connecting them to resources.
Who
Those welcome to set up booths are: helping agencies, benevolent ministries, and public-service government organizations—anyone providing helpful services to the public in Anderson County, TN (please see attached a list of those we are directly inviting—if you have others to suggest that we haven’t thought of, please let me know, have them contact me, or forward this to them).
The TARGETED AUDIENCE for this event will be community members—potential partners, donors, volunteers, those who work at other agencies, and those in need of services, etc.
Advertising
We plan to advertise every way we can think of. Please see the attachment laying out our advertising ideas/plan and let us know if you can think of additional ways for us to advertise. Please also see the attached event flier and post this wherever you can. It’s always very hard to tell how many people will come. The more agencies we get to sign up, the stronger the draw of the advertisement and word of mouth.
What’s Provided
Food (hot dogs, chili dogs, burgers, (veggie burgers & veggie dogs), chips, sides, dessert, drinks, etc., will be available for free. Children’s activities will be provided in a select area (face painting, carnival-type games, etc.). If it’s a nice day we might set up some eating tables outside with corn hole, horseshoes, checkers, kids activities, etc., as well. We can provide a table (we have both round and rectangular), 2 chairs per table, and a sign with your agency name (if desired you must let us know exactly what you want put on the sign). Some agencies bring their own tables, chairs, and signs, so be sure to request these if you desire ours. Connection to electricity can be arranged if requested.
What to Bring
Though not required, please consider bringing some sort of freebie to give out—free stuff is often a draw for people attending these events (pens, pencils, highlighters, cups, keychains, frisbees, candy, etc., etc.). Also bring a table cloth (if you want one), and any fliers, brochures, business cards, signage, displays, etc.
Notes/Changes
The surveys taken at the last resource fair were very useful in helping us make some changes/improvements this year. We do not plan to have the Agency Forum Area again this year (a separate space where select agencies can give a brief overview to people while they eat, listen, etc.). It was not well attended, though many commented that it was a good idea on the surveys. We may revisit this idea in the future, but not this year. We also do not plan to have music playing in the table area this year, as many said it was too loud for conversations. We hope to expand on the advertising, food, and activities this year. We are also attempting to increase our social media presence by using the coined phrase “Are you ‘In the Know’?” to our event this year—we plan to have a social media selfie/hashtag photo booth where people can take their picture wearing a sticker that says “I’m ‘In the Know’, More Love to Show! AC Community Resource Fair” and then post it on social media.