Healthy living is a concern for everyone. It seems that every time you open a magazine or turn on the TV, there is a new health risk or issue on the rise.
That's why health fair fundraisers are a great way to help your charity raise some funds while spreading awareness about a topic that everyone cares about.
Health fair fundraisers can help introduce your community to the various organizations that provide health information and screenings to the public. Health fair fundraisers will typically include one or more of the following screening tests with charity dollars going to the related association:
- Blood pressure screenings
- Diabetes screenings
- Mammograms for early breast cancer detection
- Prostate health check-ups
- Cholesterol screenings
- Nutrition seminars
- PSA (prostate specific antigen)
Please note: Local clinics will need to bring health screening equipment and provide qualified staff for insurance purposes.
Regardless of the prime focus of your healthcare fair, information on various health-based topics can be showcased at informational booths in addition to your chosen form of health screening. Additional or complimentary information about general health can be provided through health services, and via guest speakers from the medical, nutritional and fitness community.
Really, your healthcare fair can cover a wide variety of healthy living topics such as stress free living, back health, the benefits of physical education, yoga, healthy eating, and offer a variety of health-themed raffles, gift bags, or other promotional items to participants to put them on the road to healthier living.
Healthcare fairs raise funds primarily by charging a per-person admission fee to the fair. However, they can also encourage extra donations through donation boxes, food drives, raffles, drawings for donated big ticket items, and even through guest speakers and educational events.
Regardless of what you include at your health fair, your fundraiser will require cooperation and participation from your community medical professional team in order to ensure its success. Start by soliciting physicians, hospital administrators, health screening labs, nurses, and people from the fitness industry (personal trainers, yoga instructors, nutritionists, health coaches) to donate their time and services to aid the health of their community, in exchange for a little free promotion as well.
A collection of healthy activities showcased at your next healthcare fair will help you grab the most attention and support from the public. Here are our favorites:
Cut For The Cure
Who would have ever thought that getting a haircut would be a great way to raise awareness and funds for a charity? Well, don’t knock what works. Haircuts for the cure is one of the most popular and successful activities at healthcare fundraisers, although they are also most popular with organizations trying to raise money for cancer awareness.
So how do you organize a cut for the cure? With these easy steps:
- Ask local hairdressers and barbers to donate their time and scissors for a few hours.
- Look for community sponsors willing to donate money, concessions that you can sell, or prizes you can raffle off in exchange for advertising space.
- Find people willing to have their hair cut. It’s these volunteers who will seek out individual pledges. Money can be pledged in a flat amount, or per inch of hair cut off, so finding volunteers with long locks can be very profitable.
- Encourage extra donations at the event by offering low-cost haircuts and raffles for spa items.
You will be surprised how many willing volunteers you get when people feel they are donating to a cause without actually donating money.
Health Advice From The Experts
Ask a local nurse, doctor, chiropractor, or health educator to give a lecture on a health-related topic, and ask the crowd to contribute nominal donations for their attendance. Allow local healthcare groups (nonprofits, wellness centers, hospitals, doctors, dentists, chiropractors, etc.) to set up health information booths and offer free public health information for a small donation to your cause.
Healthcare Demos
Allow fitness clubs, yoga studios, martial arts centers, and gyms to set up demonstration areas where they give short demonstrations or classes for a small donation.
Healthy Cooking Demos
No one can resist the smell of good food, especially after a 20-minute workout, and especially if it’s healthy! Ask local health food stores and restaurants to donate food and cooks for the day, and have a local dietician on hand who can demonstrate some healthy recipes and give nutritional advice. Samples can be handed out for a small donation.
Healthy Activities
Arrange a fitness-focused group activity. The group could gather and enjoy the fair, then take off for some:
- Walking
- Golfing
- Tennis
- Bowling
- Soccer
- Cycling
- Hiking
- Running
