Community Enrichment Fair

The annual community enrichment fair is focused in the center of the community providing immediate access to opportunities for financial, educational and career growth for individuals and families. Many individuals who live in and have grown up in low income communities have had the experience of going out into the world and trying something different, but having a door slammed in their face. This can squelch the motivating factor and cause us to retreat into our comfort zones and what we know i.e. poverty. By placing the community enrichment fair in the center of our communities we are able to remove the fear factor of leaving your comfort zone to find something new. Our goal is to be placed in such a way that you can scarcely get from point a to point b within any given community without seeing the fair.

This is where we first meet our potential participants. We will have volunteer counselors, social workers, life coaches, etc.… present at the entrance of the fair to have a short but in-depth conversation with potential participants. They will give them some direction on who they should talk to and provide them with an incentive to follow through. This allows us also to introduce the idea to our participants that they are responsible for shaping their own future. Direction is given based on what the participant says to the volunteer, the volunteer is simply there to provide support and guidance. This will be a major theme of the program to ensure that we are not inadvertently forming a dependent bond but empowering individuals to trust in themselves.

Lastly, at the community enrichment fair we will invite speakers to tell their stories. The story of where they came from, what they have been through, and how they managed to grow through their situation to reach a level of success and comfort. The goal is to encourage members of the community by showing them that growth and change are possible. This also means that while some are speaking with volunteers and gathering information from vendors, others will have the opportunity to listen to these individuals and be inspired to act.