Leave the WI to do what they do best!

About a month ago Northwood House in Cowes asked us if we would like to run a Cowes WI stall at their Summer Garden Fete they were organising. Of course we would we replied as it is great awareness for Cowes WI and potentially a lovely little fundraiser for us too.
We had the usual suspects offering to help by baking / providing items for the stall and offering their time to help on the day. I'm not sure how we get every member to join in and if other WI's have the same issues. It is frustrating at times especially when people say they will help but never come up with the goods (literally).

The fete was taking place on the first Sunday of Cowes Week and the forecast was good. We asked if we could do teas as well but were told 'no' as the house were offering teas and if we could stick to usual WI things that would be great! Isn't the WI associated with tea? We had cakes, jams, chutneys, biscuits, craft etc and once set up our table looked fab.

After a few minutes of being there we were being asked (a number of times) if we were selling just a cup of tea! Surprisingly just teas were not available at the house only if you wanted a cream tea. Seeing another opportunity I asked the organisers if we could get our tea urn and serve tea and coffee without upsetting people. So off we rushed to get the equipment and by the end of the day we sold well over 60 cups! Important lesson learnt for all - leave the WI to do what they do best.

No to Jerusalem?

As we were getting into the running of a new WI we made some pretty big decisions that would set us apart from other WI's and would probably make other WI's frown upon us. The first being a vote to see if we would sing Jerusalem. You may wonder why we even put this to vote and not just sing it. Well I have always maintained that Cowes WI is about the whole group, and to ensure our members support it, I wanted from day 1 for it to be a group effort not just about what the president or committee want. Plus we are an incredible young group and I really did not want to put younger people off by forcing them to sing a hymn that they have probably never heard before. The vote was cast and all voted against singing the hymn with 1 (Sarah) voting to sing! Therefore we do not sing Jerusalem we do however sing it if we visit other WI's and at the AGM. We understand and appreciate the WI policies and would never put down those that sing it. It is just not for us. Other big decisions was to offer free Tea and cake to our members and to date we have not paid for one speaker. I think this is the most surprising element when I talk to other WI's (who all pay for speakers). After all I am a sales person and therefor selling the benefit of talking to 40 - 50 women who may well then use their services is enough for most people who see this far better than cash payment. Plus our bank balance stays healthy.