H.O.P.E.+ Initiative

As the date approaches, you want to review and make sure you have all the materials and equipment ready to go to support the agencies and participants. Remind agencies to bring the items you cannot provide for them. If the health fair is outdoors, the use of canopies is recommended, notify the agencies if they will need to bring their own. At this point you can begin thinking of the last details to make your health fair welcoming. Think of bringing music, posters and signaling, decorations, or anything that can make this an attractive and enjoyable event. This will make attendees enjoy the health fair and attract newcomers. People who see this while passing by might be inclined to stop by and receive services, notify others of the services available, or be interested in joining as a volunteer/agency in the future. Since it is a fair based on health, you want to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) like facemasks, gloves, and hand sanitizer for those who may need it.  

You want to have sign-in forms for participants to track the number of people attending the event. A sign-in form for the collaborating agencies is also needed to keep track of those in attendance as well as to keep a record of the services you offered at the event. Bring copies of the event map and the health fair flyer. Make sure to bring enough copies of the station card to distribute among attendees, you can base the number needed on the amount of promotion that was done, the number of agencies present, and the number of members of the community you are serving. Plan what materials you might need to transport to the location, how and when will you able to transport them. Think about how much time it will take to set up, depending on the location of the fair, possibly set up a day or so earlier. You are prepared for set-up on the day of the event. 

H.O.P.E.+ example: Days before the health fair events would arrive, we would make sure to have all the materials prepared and ready (materials printed and stapled, pens ready to use, clipboards, flyers, copies of the maps, copies of the coordination and services list). We would have the tables, chairs, and canopies loaded up and ready to be moved to the health fair location. We would have participant registration forms, consent forms, station cards, copies of the map, referral forms, each station’s folder, sign-in sheets, flyers, pens/pencils, name tags, exit surveys and volunteer certificates. All the materials listed were provided at each event and personalized for each health fair location. All our items would be loaded up into our H.O.P.E.+ mobile unit.