Dates for YOUR 2010 Diary
bookfair2010
OUR GREAT CHARITY BOOK FAIR
FEBRUARY 18th to 20th, 2010
We're nearly ready for the off! Advertising has been organised in
local papers, magazines, libraries etc and specialist bookseller
sites, banners are waiting to go up, and we hope that all members
and friends of EMC have been talking enthusiastically to all and
sundry about our splendid Book Fair, which last year raised £21,000
for our Development Appeal and Action for Children. We have arranged
to borrow and transport tables, the catering team is ready to spring
into its always magnificent action, the rooms are booked, with the
friendly co-operation of various EMC groups, and thousands of
leaflets are prepared, printed and ready for distribution. This
year, though it would be unwise to make financial predictions, we
can't help hoping that we shall make a great deal of money for our
new, desperately needed, Youth Hall. The Treasurers are gearing up
for a very active four days.
Because our Book Fair is now pretty famous (let's not be unduly
modest!), books, etc are already coming in steadily and being
accommodated in "safe houses" where the storage is clean and dry.
The torrent of donations, however, will arrive in the days leading
up to the Fair; so from
Thursday Feb.11th to Tuesday 16th we shall badly need lots of
people in the Lower Lounge to sort thousands of books, cd’s, etc.
Our success depends to a great extent on how well we organise our
stock. You need not commit to any particular time: just come as
often as possible and stay for as long as you can. If you haven't
done this before, there will be friendly veterans to explain the
system, so that soon you could do it in your sleep - and might find
yourself doing just that! - But only for a few days.
Please come and help if you possibly can and bring friends
and family too.
You'll be seriously surprised at what fun it is. You'll meet old
friends and make new ones, and be an absolutely vital part of the
miracle that is our Book Fair.
The miracle also depends on having the right boxes for shifting and
displaying books.
We need thousands of strong cardboard
fruit boxes from supermarkets, who will be happy to
give them to us instead of crushing and recycling them. Please bring
them to EMC and leave them
on the stage as soon as you can. (Please note that
banana boxes are not suitable for stacking and have holes in
the middle!)
We depend very heavily on
Delivering our distinctive orange Book Fair flyers.
At the snow-bound time of writing this, in mid-January,
foot-slogging isn't an alluring prospect. We hope that very soon you
won't need to be so intrepid and that the bundles of flyers will
have been steadily disappearing from the Welcome Area, with the
vital corresponding ticks on the nearby list of roads.
There's still time to help now,
even if you can do only one or two roads near where you live. At
least three of our regular and most energetic deliverers, though
still willing, aren't able this year; this could seriously affect
our local coverage, unless we have some more recruits. (The Scouts
did deliver leaflets with the Christmas post and we hope for some
more help from them too.)
The same three stalwarts also won't be able to collect many books
from donors this year. Our flyer encourages people to bring their
donations to EMC, but some can't manage this, and
our collection service
is much appreciated. If you are able to help here, please tell Chris
Watts in writing, if necessary specifying which areas you could
cover.
We need to tell students and staff in
local schools and colleges
that the Book Fair is a Really Good Thing. The range of our stock is
amazing and we keep our prices low. Our previous attempts to get
this message across through official channels have found little
response, but personal
contacts often work much better. So
if you work in a school or college
or you know someone who does, please take some flyers and spread the
good news. Could you get a flyer up on a staff or parents' notice
board or a glowing recommendation in parents' newsletters? A visit
to the Book Fair could be a useful half-term activity!
Then, when we're glowing with success - and more than a little tired
- please come to help with another, subsidiary, minor miracle:
The Great Clear Up on Saturday,
Feb 20th, late afternoon
and early evening.
Yours gratefully, and
hopefully,
Janet de Bourcier,
Audrey Oldfield, Jacqui Raggett and Chris Watts
