FOOD FAIR

CHARITIES - THIS IS WHY WE HAVE FOOD FAIR!

'The Charities Committee carefully considers the sponsorship requests made by parishioners and submits its recommendations to the Parish Council. The final list of accepted charities is published in the spring of each year. HERE you'll find the projects chosen in 2011 (with the money raised at Food Fair 2010).

For those who missed last year's fair here's some background information

WHAT IS FOOD FAIR

The Parish of the Church of Our Saviour sponsors a large-scale charity event called Food Fair. On the third Saturday in November every year our our many different nationalities come together to prepare and sell their own national food specialities, wines, pastries etc. There is a huge bookstall and also handicraft, Fair Trade and bric a brac stalls. Each country or region takes pride in decorating the booths with national flags and colours and working together as a team. There are activities for children, such as face painting, fairytale stories and other fun events. Our largest source of funds is from our raffle where local sponsors donate wonderful prizes. It is a great opportunity for everyone in the community to come together and volunteer their time and talents for a greater cause.

Not only does this promote community spirit but has a much deeper purpose, namely to take the proceeds (€50,000 from the 2010 Food Fair) of the event and offer them to a range of charitable organisations operating around the world. Our parishioners are the ones who identify suitable projects to be considered and these have included such things as farming ventures, building, women’s support, street children education and rehabilitation of homeless people, to name just a few.

The Food Fair is organised by a committee of volunteers, many of whom return year after year - but, of course extra volunteers and new ideas are always welcome!. Much of the work is done well in advance of the event itself: the date is set about one year in advance; sponsors are often contacted as early as May or June; permits are arranged months ahead, P.R. activities are continuous throughout the year.
Food Fair takes a great deal of planning and involves many more people than just the committee:

all the generous sponsors;
booth chairpersons and all their many helpers;
electricians to plan and set up the power supply;
security workers to direct traffic and generally look after us all;
cleaners to keep the tables, floor and the toilets clean;
raffle tickets touts;
supply workers to provide the cups and dishes;
stage crew to provide sound and lighting;
performers to entertain on stage;
a doctor to attend to any sick or injured;
money runners and counters;
and, last but not least, all the visitors who come and buy the goodies.

RAFFLE

The raffle is one of the biggest fundraisers of the Food Fair and so each year we ask for your help in selling tickets. Every ticket bought or sold makes an important contribution towards bettering the lives of people around the world. Over the years the Food Fair has provided help, hope and enrichment for thousands of lives.

Every year we are looking for sponsors to provide the prizes at the raffle - it's never too early to start investigating whether your company would be interested in donating something.