Not to be defeated by lockdown, PTAs are using Patchwork to organise brilliant virtual school fairs. The kids can still join in the fun and raise vital funds for their schools. You can too! It’s super easy and you can have a brilliant virtual summer fair page set up in minutes. With competitions to enter, cakes to be made, Pimms to be drunk and games to be played. It’s guaranteed to be lots of fun (at home) this year, You can also raise lots of funds for your amazing school!
The best news? There’s no setting up or sweeping up mountains of cake crumbs and glitter afterwards.. WINNER!!!!
How can I organise a virtual school summer fair?
It’s that time of year – the kids are usually gearing themselves up for the overdose of sugar, sunshine and excitement that always comes in the form of the summer school fair. It’s also the biggest fundraising event for most schools across the country.
This year is a bit different of course with Covid-19 dashing hopes of putting on the usual crowd-drawing events. However, Patchwork can help! You can organise a brilliant, fun, and most of all profitable school fair. This will also be a lot less work than usual!
Yes, that’s right, you can organise your school fair virtually. In reality, this means families can host their own “school fair” in their homes or back gardens. They can donate funds to your school via your online Patchwork page.
It’s super simple. Here’s how:
How can I set up a virtual school fair Patchwork page?
Set up your virtual summer fair Patchwork page in minutes by using our readymade template. Next edit the template with your school details and date.
You can add or delete patches, add your own images or use our gorgeous photo gallery. It’s easy to edit prices, and add patches so that people can “fund” “make” or “do” things that will make the fair a huge success. Patches can be rearranged and resized, and it’s so easy even a technophobe can do it. You can be as creative as you want – so have a play!
How to raise funds at a virtual school fair
Fundraising is super simple with a Patchwork virtual summer fair page. Just link your page with your school’s bank account via Stripe, our card processing partner. Stripe allows parents to donate easily and securely via a debit or credit card.
Details of all contributions are stored in your account. You can see who’s doing what, generate post-fair reports and calculate revenue.
People can also leave messages on the page sharing what they are doing to support the fair or just letting you know they will take part! It’s a great way to build that community spirit again and get everyone together, albeit virtually for now!
Ideas for a virtual school fair
A virtual bake off: Charge a small entry fee, ask entrants to bake their masterpiece on or before the day of the fair, then email photos of their cake, and a description of it for a virtual bake off competition!
A pet show: Get the pet owning families to send in pics of their furry friends for a small entry fee and judge the cutest / fluffiest entrants!
A doorstep family photo competition – keep it simple with some rules or themes. “Dress as your superheroes”, or “wear your school colours” are easy ways to do this, and it’s one the whole family can join in.
Name the teddy: Ask the children to guess the name of a soft toy for a small charge (put a photo of the toy on one of the patches) and pick the winner after the fair. The winner gets the teddy!
Games to play at a virtual school fair
Encourage parents and carers to get involved by setting up a hot dog or pizza stall at home, or a lemonade and Pimms bar. They can get the kids to design posters, decorate the space indoors or out, and play some summer party tunes to get in the mood.
If they have paddling pools or a trampoline, make these part of the fair too. Face painting, jolly jars, a make your own burger stall, tin can alley, egg and spoon race, beat the goalie, guess the name of the teddy, soak the teacher (or this year, soak the grown-up!) are all great ideas for summer fair games. Then give the kids some pocket money so they can recreate that summer fair experience at home, have lots of fun and raise money for your school at the same time!!
If you’ve been inspired to set up a page for your school check out our easy to customise template. Next, link your payment details and share the URL of your page direct with your school families so that they can start preparing and donating! Then sit back, enjoy a Pimms and watch the funds roll in! Let us know how your goes by sharing pics with us on Twitter – using #virtualsummerfair and don’t forget to follow us on FB and Insta too.