All the latest news and information about the group's activities and upcoming events will be posted here, so add this page to your favourites or click on 'follow this blog' (lower right corner) now!
This blog belongs to all of us and will only be useful if people really use it to communicate. Please comment on any posts (bearing in mind that this is a public page), and if you are organising an event or activity you may wish to be set up as an author of posts. If so please respond to the email I sent you linking to this page.
We'd also love to hear what you think of our new blog so that we can improve it.
Best wishes,
Julia
One World Fair - helpers wanted
Our next One World Fair will be in November 2009. However, we’ll need to start planning the event in the spring. As you all know, the One World Fair is our yearly volunteer run event that takes place at the Town Hall, bringing together around 40 stalls from a variety of local or national organisations, mainly Fair Trade, Environmental or Human Rights groups, to raise awareness and to sell lots of ethical goodies in time for the holiday season. The event also involves a vegetarian café which sells a whole lot of yummy quiches and soups and cakes made my our members.
We need a lot of member support on the day to keep this big event running smoothly, and whilst we had a lot of really enthusiastic members helping out this year we could still use more! But aside from the work on the day, we could really use help from more members on the workgroup, which seems to have been shrinking in the last few years. The workgroup meets every month for a nice cosy informal chat, and some distribution of labour. Amongst the main jobs the workgroup does are:
- organising publicity (posters around town, ads in the paper and online, flyers, a library display - starting about 6 weeks before, but particularly important for about two weeks a month before the event) – we could definitely use help with this;
- organising the café (checking we have all the equipment we need, rallying the troups to bake and cook, preparing price lists, liaising with the town hall etc… this really kicks in closer to the event) – this is pretty much under control but extra helpers very welcome;
- organising the stalls (contacting all stall holders from previous year with enrolment form, keeping spreadsheets up to date, collecting fees, getting their blurbs for the directory – though we may not have one this year. This requires bursts of very straightforward work that can be done from home on a computer, starting about three months ahead of the event) - this last job is one that we would really love to have help with as we’re down on workgroup numbers.
So please, particularly if you aren’t already involved with a work group such as the book fair group, and would be interested in getting a little more out of being an OOG member, do get in touch. Even if you can’t commit to taking on any of the bigger jobs, there are lots of little jobs that need doing and we would really appreciate the help. I look forward to hearing from you soon!
2009 is a massive year for campaigning for Oxfam, with the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December. World Leaders have so far failed to step up to the mark, either on reducing carbon emissions, or helping developing countries adapt to the effects of climate change. Oxfam believes that Climate change is the number one threat to overcoming poverty. Droughts, hurricanes, and rising sea levels – these are all already destroying poor people's homes crops and livelihoods. And unless we all work together, things are predicted to get a whole lot worse.
What’s the solution? Action on climate change, on a global scale – now.
So, I’m sure I’m preaching to the converted, but if you haven’t yet signed up to Oxfam’s climate change petition, do so now!
If you haven’t seen it yet, have a look at Oxfam campaigns’ animation Face the Music, which shows how poor people are being hit first and worst by the effects of climate change, even though they've contributed least to it.
Membership fees
You may have seen in lower down in the AGM report that the membership fees have been set at the same rate as last year. Those of you who pay by standing order will already have paid your contribution for 2009, but to those who haven’t, a gentle reminder! Please don’t forget to pay your subs asap to Chris.
Many thanks.
