Before Your Bead Party….
Set a date and order your beads 2 weeks prior to your party.
• Invite family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors. Send out Bead Party Invitations, Evite, etc. Follow up with reminders a few days before the party.
• Once you receive your beads read the important information on the Tracking Sheet. Count the inventory in your BeadParty Package, make note of any discrepancies, and set Tracking Sheet aside for use after the party.
• Accept credit cards at your BeadParty! We will email you the link you will use along with detailed instructions one week before your party. It’s as easy as ordering something online!
The Day of your Bead Party:
• Make a creative bead display! Feel free to spice up your party with your own creative ideas! Display them at different heights by draping small boxes or overturned bowls with cloth. Place the beads on black fabric if possible to highlight the colors. Baskets or other objects from your house will add depth to the table.
• Have a mirror (or two) handy for your guest to try on beads so they can decide what looks good on them.
• Display printed materials, including biographies of the beaders, BeadParty Guest List, and the Outreach Uganda Creation Story and Community Development pieces. Include anything you may have downloaded from our website. Place the price list above the beads.
• Set up your computer and bring up the Outreach Uganda homepage so your guests can browse our website.
• Place Outreach Uganda Brochures and Take Action Handouts on the table for people to take if they are interested in learning more about how to get involved. Also, make copies of the Outreach Uganda Creation Story to hand out!
• Designate a place to collect the money and have your money box ready. If you are able to accept credit cards, have the webpage open and ready for the first transaction. We suggest asking a friend or two to staff the sales table.
• Play African back ground music.
• Offer writing materials so guests can write letters to the beader’s and a basket to place them in.
During your bead party:
There are many ways to host a great Bead Party, some suggestions:
• Welcome your guests and invite them to look at the beads and materials for the first 30 minutes or until everyone has arrived. Ask guests to sign the guest list.
• Gather everyone together and thank them for coming. Share why you were inspired to host a Bead Party.
• Initiate a short conversation about extreme poverty and the importance of ordinary citizens getting involved. Read one or two of the beader’s biographies.
• Invite people to write to the beaders. We also welcome photos from parties, which we often share with the women in Uganda.
• Have fun trying on the beads and helping each other select the perfect piece of jewelry!
Payment:
• Give each person a gift tag for every item they purchase.
• Your guests may pay with cash, checks made out to ‘Outreach Uganda’, or credit card.
• Track credit card sales on a separate piece of paper. You will need this information later when you are reconciling the money and the remaining unsold beads.
• Donations are gratefully accepted. If you or a guest would like to make a separate donation, please provide the following information for each donation so we may send a receipt: Name, Address, and Donation Amount.
Note: Outreach Uganda Jewelry purchases are not tax deductible.•
After your Bead Party:
Fill out the Tracking Sheet according to the instructions. The ‘# of items sold’ will equal the ‘items shipped’ minus the ‘# of items to be returned’. Remember to mark any donations separately on the Tracking Sheet.
• Deposit the cash into your own account, and send a check or money order for that amount to Outreach Uganda.
Place the following in the return package:
• Unsold items (please remove any gift or price tags you’ve added to the jewelry)
• Tracking Sheet
• Checks (including the check or money order for the cash)
• BeadParty Guest List
• Notes to the beaders or party photos.
• All materials from the folder including informational materials, DVD, CD, and leftover gift tags. We re-use our materials whenever possible to reduce our environmental impact.
• Put the pre-paid UPS return label included in your folder on the package, and take it to a UPS location. Find the nearest location at www.UPS.com.
• Please ship everything back to us within 2 weeks of your party end date. If you would like to keep the beads longer, please send an email to kate@outreachuganda.org and put “Extend Bead Return Date” in the subject line. We welcome and appreciate your efforts!
• We will email you once we receive and process your Bead Party return!