What an August! Non-stop Action for the Oxfam Action Corps!

This week may have been one of our most active months yet, with activities ranging from music fests to radio shows to farmers markets all over the country! Take a quick look at what’s been happening in the Oxfam Action Corps nation:

Getting petitions signed in Des Moines!

Tabling in Chicago

 Burlington, Albuquerque, Madison, Des Moines, Chicago, Philly, NYC, Austin, AND Seattle have all   been tabling at their local farmers markets. Woo what a mouthful! That’s over half the Action Corps cities!

NYC was rocking out at the Mint Green Music Festival and the Catalpa Festival! All this and a relaxing weekend retreat!

Chicago sparked some interest at the 2012 Leaky Con! (See post here)

Austin stayed up late for a Cinema East film screening of Girl Walk//All Day, then woke up early to help out at a local food bank!

Kansas City set what must be a record with their first meeting attendance of 11 new people! Wow!

Minneapolis at the Homegrown Experience

 Minneapolis grabbed some good eats at the Homegrown Experience, a local food festival!

Burlington spread the word with a segment on Goddard College’s radio show!

Boston and San Francisco started the World Food Day buzz by hosting a Grubwithus dinner and a local potluck! (For more, see post here)

Columbus and Philadelphia jammed with our musical partners Sidi Toure, Wilco and the Bare Naked Ladies! 

Boston volunteers at a Coldplay concert!

What’s the best part about all that's happening? It’s only a small portion of what goes into every day and happens every week with the Action Corps. Each of our 15 cities has been doing so much this month that it can’t nearly be squeezed into one blog post- and there’s only more to come in September! For more information on your city, “Join Us” in the upper left hand corner to sign up for local updates!

NYC Volunteers at the NYC Action Corps Retreat!

Albuquerque Tabling at a local Farmers Market

Burlington Action Corps tabling at Summervale Farmers' Market!

Chicago Oxfam Action Corps at the Leaky Con

The Chicago Oxfam Action Corps recently tabled at the Leaky Con, a conference for devoted Harry Potter fans that has recently become more involved with various humanitarian outreach initiatives. Read this great post by Chicago's Jessica Benoit to hear how this unlikely connection turned into a fantastic event for Oxfam!

Bonnie Wright, Oxfam Ambassador, during her trip to Senegal

What do Oxfam and Harry Potter have in common? I couldn’t come up with anything at first, but then I realized: they are both committed to making their 

community a better place. That’s why it made perfect sense that the Chicago Oxfam Action Corps posted up at the Leaky Con for 4 days in order to gain support for the GROW campaign. For those of you who have no idea what I’m referencing, the Leaky Con is a 4-day annual conference held for Harry Potter enthusiasts from around the globe. Fans come from literally all around the world to this sold-out conference to spend a long weekend among those with a similar love for Harry Potter to attend meetings, discussions, classes, concerts, plays, and more in the name of Harry Potter fandom. One of Oxfam’s biggest connections to the Leaky Con is the wonderful Harry Potter Alliance itself. Their Imagine Better Project is currently working on a campaign called Hunger is Not a Game, where they encourage others to pledge and support Oxfam's GROW campaign. Additionally, one of Oxfam's very own ambassadors is the lovely Bonnie Wright, who plays Ginny Weasley in the Harry Potter movies. It was great to be among so many others who are concerned about world hunger and willing to stop and learn a little bit about what they can do to help.

Our Goal!

Having set quite a lofty goal of getting 1,000 signatures of Leaky Con goers, Oxfam Action Corps members had their work cut out for them. We set up our table in the vendor section of the conference, but were challenged by being placed in a far corner of the hall with semi-low fan-traffic flowing through. Not to be discouraged, we set to the halls dressed as a banana, talking to the fans waiting in line for events about Oxfam America, the GROW campaign, the GROW method, and how they can get involved with Oxfam in their own communities. We even joined the crowds at the Leaky Con ball on Saturday night, complete with an Oxfam sticker-skirt and banana suit. Among the costumes, ball gowns, and “butter beer,” we managed to stand out, gather a few more signatures, and have a great time. The enthusiasm expressed by almost everyone we approached was welcoming and encouraging, though we fell just short of our goal. Wrapping up the weekend with a total of 698 new GROW pledgers was an amazing feeling, and all our hard work certainly paid off!

A huge thank you to all the volunteers who came and supported us, and helped us inch closer to our goal. We could NOT have done it without all your enthusiasm, energy, and dedication! Check out the pictures below to see more of the fun:
-J.Benoit

View film from Bonnie Wright's trip to Senegal here

 Can the Harry Potter Alliance inspire their world of fans to do a world of good? Let us know your thoughts! Comment below or email actioncorps@oxfamamerica.org