Charities Fair 2022
On Friday 21st October we represented Conquest at the Charities Fair which was held in a very airy and spacious hall at the Dell Centre, St. Giles’ Church, Ashtead. About 15 charities (ranging from the Cats Protection League to the Epsom and Ewell Refugee Network) set up ‘stalls’ at the event. There had been extensive publicity inviting local residents to attend and we charity representatives were able to talk to them about volunteering opportunities.
Lesley Lee (Trustee and group leader) brought the Conquest Art pop-up banner together with paintings done by members of the Stoneleigh group and some leaflets. We put these on and around the table which we had been supplied with and sat there waiting for ‘custom’. We weren’t disappointed because many people stopped to talk to us about Conquest Art. Some had friends/acquaintances who might like to become members and one or two showed an interest in volunteering. When there was mention of potential members (one an artist from the Ukraine) we supplied the contact details for the relevant groups.
We also talked to people representing other charities and found some interest there. The representatives from Age UK, Epsom and ALDAG (a charity which provides training opportunities for people with learning disabilities) were interested in arranging occasional workshops with Conquest and agreed to email our Head Office about this. Lesley also had a very useful talk with representatives of Cruse who had never previously heard of Conquest but felt that what we offered could benefit some of their members.
Overall we felt this had been a useful exercise even though Debbie Cook (the organiser of the event) said that attendance had been slightly lower than at the Fair which had previously been held, but the wet weather may have had something to do with it.
Charlotte Atkinson, Trustee
