COMPASSION UK EVENTS • event essentials 43 High Street, Weybridge, Surrey, KT13 8BB • www.compassionuk.org

event essentials

COMPASSION UK EVENTS

COMPASSION UK EVENTS • event essentials 43 High Street, Weybridge, Surrey, KT13 8BB • www.compassionuk.org

Events represent a wonderful opportunity to tell people about children living in poverty and present them with an opening to sponsor a child. Every person that walks past a Compassion stand represents a potential God-given opportunity for another child to be released from poverty.

So the way in which we present our stand and run it is crucial to raising the awareness of Compassion and connecting more children with sponsors.

PRAYERIt’s really important to make space for some quiet time and remember the Lord we are serving. At the beginning and end of each day, pray together as a team, thanking God for the joys of the previous day and committing the new day to His glory.

You may find these scriptures helpful:

"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy." Proverbs 31:8-9

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions, and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue, but with actions and in truth.” 1 John 3:16-18

“Suppose you see a brother or sister who needs food or clothing, and you say, “Well, good-bye and God bless you; stay warm and eat well” - but then you don't give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, it isn't enough just to have faith. Faith that doesn't show itself by good deeds is no faith at all - it is dead and useless.” James 2:15-17

“Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the orphan. Fight for the rights of widows.” Isaiah 1:17

WHAT TO WEARYou are the face of Compassion at the event so we ask that you wear your Compassion t-shirt with dark trousers or jeans whilst manning the stand. This will make you easily identifiable to both potential sponsors and other Event Volunteers.

EVENT KITYou will receive an Event Kit which contains various essentials for setting up and running the stand, including child profiles, Compassion literature,pens and a special delivery envelope.

YOUR ROLE AT THE EVENTManning a stand is a fun and fulfilling experience, but can be hard work. You will need to be proactive, but not too pushy, when encouraging people to sponsor a child. Event volunteers are involved in three main types of events and your role at each will differ accordingly.

SPEAKER-FOCUSED EVENTSAt this kind of event, usually a larger conference, one of the speakers will talk about Compassion from the stage. People will therefore most likely already have heard about Compassion when they get to the stand. Your main role will be helping them complete the RESPONSE FORM and answering questions about Compassion.

During the presentation the speaker may ask the audience to indicate that they want to sponsor a child and give them CHILD PROFILES.

If this is happening at the event, you will be briefed.

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COMPASSION UK EVENTS • event essentials 43 High Street, Weybridge, Surrey, KT13 8BB • www.compassionuk.org

Are you enjoying the conference?Have you travelled far to be here?Is this your first time at this event?What seminars have you been to so far?

Explain that the children on display are waiting to be sponsorsed. Engage their interest by placing a CHILD PROFILE in their hand. This makes the need more tangible for them and you can say something like:

This little one is currently waiting for sponsorship.

Once you’ve made the initial contact, let them browse at their leisure but be available to answer any questions.

If they are interested in sponsoring but cannot commit on the spot, they are welcome to take a CHILD PROFILE home. Explain that each child has been allocated to the event for one week so any completed forms should be returned to Compassion as soon as possible.

INTS & TIPSIt’s great to chat to potential sponsors and share your stories, but please remember to challenge them with a question like, “Would you like to change a life?” as this is ultimately our reason for being at the event.

LEADERSHIP-FOCUSED EVENTSOur Regional Partnerships team would love the opportunity to speak to church leaders who may be interested in partnering through a Compassion Church Partnership. You will meet many people at the event, some of whom will be in leadership positions within their church. Even if they are not, they may want to approach their church leader on our behalf.

If this happens, then the audience will be instructed to bring their CHILD PROFILES back to the Compassion stand if they wish to sign up or ask further questions. It is common for up to ten per cent of the audience to put their hands up and many of them will bring the RESPONSE FORM back to the stand afterwards.

This can result in large groups gathering around the stand, so you may be given clipboards, making it easier to move among the crowd and help people fill in their RESPONSE FORM.

Reassure potential sponsors that it only takes a minute to complete the RESPONSE FORM. If people are in a hurry, they won’t want to spend a long time at the stand. Time delay is one of the key reasons why people don’t sponsor right away.

STAND-FOCUSED EVENTSAt this type of event, the stand is the main way of drawing people’s attention to the work of Compassion. There is little or no exposure through an artist or speaker, so it’s your job as an Event Volunteer to engage, inform and inspire people as they pass the Compassion stand.

This requires a more proactive approach and you will need to gauge the openness of the people you speak to. It helps to start casual conversations with people, which will lead on to talking about Compassion. It is important that you are not too pushy, as this can drive them away.

You can start a conversation simply by saying hello and asking if they’ve heard of Compassion before. You could also use the following questions as a means of engaging people in conversation:

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COMPASSION UK EVENTS • event essentials 43 High Street, Weybridge, Surrey, KT13 8BB • www.compassionuk.org

How to start a conversationIf you find yourself speaking to someone who might be interested in having their church partner with Compassion, there are a few ways in which you could introduce the idea of Church Partnerships.

Would you be interested in hearing how yourchurch can help a church in the developing world?Would you like to hear how your church can get involved in mission?Would your church like to help release children from pover ty?Would you like your church to have a signif icant impact onthe mission field without having to invest huge amounts oftime and ef for t?Can I explain how your church can make a dif ference in thelives of children?

You don’t need to answer all the questions. If someone shows an interest, give them a CHURCH PARTNERSHIP BROCHURE and tell them you’ll get their local Regional Partnerships Manager at Compassion to contact them.

Please take their contact details by filling out and retaining the CHURCH PARTNERSHIP CONTACT FORM (at the back of the CHURCH PARTNERSHIP BROCHURE) or taking a business card. Explain that someone from the Compassion office will be in touch soon.

You can also refer them to the Church Partnership section of our website at www.compassionuk.org/church-partnerships.

Make a note on the CHURCH PARTNERSHIP CONTACT FORM or business card, stating which event it is from.

This is particularly relevant at events aimed at church leaders or if you identify that you are speaking to a church leader. This section will help you make the most of these opportunities.

What is Compassion Church Partnership?Church Partnership gives churches in the UK the chance to be involved with Compassion’s proven, long-running and strategic development programmes that respect and affirm churches in the developing world. Churches can either partner with our work globally or through a country of their choice.

Churches that partner with Compassion see significant numbers of children sponsored. We have Compassion Church Partnerships with less than ten children and the largest has thousands. On average between 20 and 50 children are sponsored – a great return from just one conversation!

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