You, too, can take action

Create your own display to promote the Make Poverty Hostory Campaign in your school

By Trixie Ling
September 2006

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As a Make Poverty History supporter, I wanted to promote the campaign and educate others on poverty by making a display board and setting up an information booth. An attractive display can be made in two hours.

To get started, I ordered Make Poverty History campaign materials from their website:
www.makepovertyhistory.ca. You can also email them materials@makepovertyhistory.ca. I then purchased a three-sided white board from an office supplies store. With scissors and tape in hand, I was ready to begin.

The first thing I did was put Make Poverty History barrier tape across the top and bottom of the display board. You can also make barrier tape with a strip of cloth or paper and writing "Make Poverty History" across it, or you can use a black marker and write the message directly on the board.

Next, I placed a Make Poverty History poster in the centre of the board. From the campaign website, I downloaded four pictures and printed them in colour. The site's photo gallery has pictures of marches, White Band Days, celebrity supporters and Live 8. I taped the pictures around the board with a short description beneath and a border around each to make them stand out.

On one side of the display board, I posted the campaign platform. The message is clear: More and Better Aid, Trade Justice, Debt Cancellation, and End Child Poverty in Canada. On the other side I posted facts and statistics on poverty from the campaign website.

I set up the finished display on a table covered with a white tablecloth and hung Make Poverty History posters across the front.

On the table were white wristbands in a small basket for people to buy. I ordered the bands from Ten Thousand Villages [www.tenthousandvillages.ca], an organization offering fairly traded products from around the world. There were also Make Poverty History sign-on sheets so that people could take action. Now I was ready to start campaigning.

You too can follow these simple steps and create your own display to bring an awareness of the Make Poverty History campaign to your church, school and community.

Trixie Ling worked at the Make Poverty History campaign office this summer preparing for the White Band Month of Action from September 16 to October 17. She returns to The King's University College in Edmonton in the fall to complete an International Studies degree.

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