The NFA Guide to Hosting an Informational Event

March 5, 2008

To commemorate Fibromyalgia Awareness Day 2008, the National Fibromyalgia Association is encouraging support groups across the country to host informational fibromyalgia or health-related awareness events in their communities on or around May 12, 2008. Following are some suggestions:

• Organize a Health Fair
• Hold a Take the Fibromyalgia Pledge to Care event
  • Invite friends and family
• Invite a doctor or other healthcare professional to speak to an audience of FM patients and answer their questions
• Show the "Living with Fibromyalgia" or "Show Me Where it Hurts" DVDs and hold a Q&A session. Use this link to order DVDs from the NFA online store: https://secure2.convio.net/nfa/site/Ecommerce/51583099?store_id=1181&FOLDER=1044
• Host a Support Group Open House to share with community groups about FM and your group
• Contact a local pharmacy and request permission to hand out FM materials on Awareness Day

Ready to start planning? Follow this timeline to host your own event.

TWO TO FOUR MONTHS BEFORE YOUR EVENT

1. Form a planning committee. Consider general areas that may require individual coordinators, such as exhibitor recruitment; site logistics; sponsors; equipment; publicity. Remember to recruit members of your committee from your support group, local healthcare professionals, family, and friends.
2. Establish a budget, if needed. Develop policies for reimbursement of expenses. Be specific! Consider these expenses as you develop your budget.
   • Location permits or usage charges
   • Insurance policy
   • Equipment (tables, chairs, canopies, etc...)
   • Flyers, T-shirts and other event-related materials (see NFA order form for NFA, fibromyalgia, and Pledge to Care materials)
3. Develop a timeline. How long will your event last?
4. Choose the site for your event. Be creative!
   • Local hospital (perhaps making use of an area in the parking lot)
   • Local school on the weekend
   • Library or civic center
5. Contact management at your top venue choice, and see if you can book the venue for low or no cost
   • Be sure to explain the purpose of your event is to increase awareness of health issues facing people with FM and chronic pain.
   • Have the Fibromyalgia Fact Sheet at hand so you can offer information and statistics about FM, in case the management representative is unfamiliar with it.
6. Consider these factors as you narrow down your location choices:
   • Is the location conveniently located, so participants and sponsors can easily access it?
   • Is it available for use on the date of your event?
   • Are there electrical, water, and restroom facilities?
   • Is there sufficient parking, and is it easy for cars and people to flow to and from the location?
   • Are there accommodations for the elderly and disabled?
   • Is the cost of reserving the location within your budget, or can you negotiate a lower price or free use of the location?
   • Do the location's regulations prohibit any of your plans (for instance, will exhibitors be allowed to sell products?)?
7. Check with local law enforcement and your city to find out if you need any permits to hold your event.
   • Find out about insurance. Ask the location property owner and the city what their insurance requirements are and then contact your insurance agency to get the policy (the appropriate policy will differ, depending on whether it is a group, nonprofit or an individual purchasing it).
8. Contact exhibitors. Be sure to keep your event a manageable size, and try not to duplicate exhibits (having two competing chiropractors, for instance.) Keep track of which organizations you have contacted, and the person you spoke with at each. Set a schedule for follow-up phone calls. Following are some suggestions for potential exhibitors. Don't limit yourself to this list. Be creative!
   • Local Hospitals
     • Health promotions department may perform health screenings
     • Food and nutrition department may provide a dietitian to work a booth
     • Marketing department may offer brochures
   • Pain clinics
   • American Heart Association, American Lung Association, American Diabetes Association, and other groups may perform screenings or provide wellness information
   • County or state health departments
     • Chronic disease department may perform screenings or provide information
     • Office for women's health may perform screenings or provide information
   • Local fitness vendors, including sporting goods stores, running stores, fitness centers, massage therapists, chiropractors, etc.
   • Local health food vendors. Think beyond health food stores-try your local grocery store, too.
   • Local occupational clinic or physical therapy office
   • Local businesses may be willing to provide goodies to walk participants
   • Local police and fire departments
   • Local nonprofit or community organizations
9. Contact potential sponsors to donate financial support, materials, equipment, and services. Try community groups, businesses, and individual community leaders. Local businesses-even if they are not in the health field-can get involved, too. For instance, a local printer may be willing to donate paper for fliers, or to print fliers at a reduced cost. Local restaurants and shops may be willing to donate goodies for giveaways. Be sure you recognize sponsors in your publicity efforts-in your press releases, in fliers you print up about your event, and in signage at the event itself. Keep track of which organizations you contact, and the person you spoke with at each one. Set a schedule for follow-up phone calls.
10. Book entertainment. Will you have live music at your event, or some other form of entertainment? What about face painting or other activities for attendees' children?
    • Develop a list of local officials or celebrities to invite to your event
    • If you have requested a proclamation from the mayor, governor, senator, or other official, invite those individuals to present the proclamation at your event

TWO MONTHS BEFORE YOUR EVENT

11. Once you have booked your venue for the right day and the right length of time, be sure to register your event on the NFA web site:
    • On the NFA website (www.fmaware.org), click on Community, then Awareness Day to find the link to the Awareness Day Events listing and event registration form.
12. Provide a written confirmation to exhibitors including all pertinent information: the date and location of your event, set-up and tear-down time, general guidelines, and reminders to bring any special equipment they may need, such as extension cords, adapters, etc.
13. Send out press releases to newspapers, radio stations, and television stations. Don't forget to sound calendar announcements to local publications, your local cable stations, and local radio stations.
14. Recruit volunteers to help the day of the event. Remember that volunteers need not be members of your support group, or even have FM! Try local Scout troops, community service organizations, church groups, senior centers, and advocacy groups.
15. Develop easy-to-understand signage so attendees can find the exit, the bathrooms, registration, etc. Make sure each exhibitor table or booth has a sign with the exhibitor name on it.
16. Design and print fliers. Distribute them among your support group; ask each member to place fliers at the places they frequent-a bulletin board at their place of worship, in their doctor's office, at their favorite stores and restaurants.

ONE MONTH BEFORE YOUR EVENT

17. Post event fliers around town. Athletic stores, fitness clubs, massage therapists, and doctors' offices, chiropractors, hospitals, pain clinics, libraries, and community centers are all great locations to pin up fliers (be sure to get permission!) and help publicize your event.
18. Make a map of the event to distribute to attendees. Be sure you don't place competing exhibitors near each other.

AFTER YOUR EVENT

19. Send thank-you letters to everyone who participated: your committee members, participating exhibitors, sponsors, media who covered the event, site management, etc.