2015 Supplemental Resource Packet

2015 GCDC Host
Supplement
Additional tips and tools to help you host a
successful GCDC event.
Contents
EVENT CHECKLISTS ........................................................................................... 3
PRE-EVENT CHECKLIST (RECOMMENDATIONS) ......................................... 3
DAY OF EVENT CHECKLIST (RECOMMENDATIONS) ................................... 4
RECOMMENDED STAFF (DAY OF EVENT) .................................................... 5
RECOMMENDED SUPPLIES (DAY OF EVENT) .............................................. 5
INDEPENDENT WITNESS CHECKLIST ................................................................. 6
VOLUNTEER MANAGEMENT ............................................................................... 7
Recruiting Volunteers .......................................................................................... 7
Utilizing Volunteers ............................................................................................. 7
Thanking Volunteers ........................................................................................... 8
VENDOR MANAGEMENT TIPS ........................................................................... 9
SUPPLEMENTAL ACTIVITIES AT THE GCDC ................................................... 9
Activities ........................................................................................................... 10
Classes ............................................................................................................. 10
Informational Tables ......................................................................................... 11
Potluck .............................................................................................................. 11
Earth Day Fair .................................................................................................. 12
Baby Expo ........................................................................................................ 12
FAQ’s .................................................................................................................. 12
EVENT CHECKLISTS
Many hosts find it helpful to use checklists as they coordinate the logistics of their
event. Use these to guide your planning, and to ensure you don’t forget anything
important before or during your event.
PRE-EVENT CHECKLIST (RECOMMENDATIONS)
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Confirm you have determined and acquired the necessary local permits
and insurance (if needed) for your venue. If you are located in the USA,
you may use the RDA’s liability insurance. Contact Mary Green at
mary@realdiaperassociation.org with your name, the name of the venue,
and the full venue address.
Consider how your participants will register with you. In the past, hosts
have found Facebook and EventBrite to be effective means of preregistration and communication in their communities. Registration forms
are not a requirement of Guinness and we do not require you to send them
to us.
Consider collecting donations to the Real Diaper Association as part of
your online pre-registration. You can have donations sent via PayPal to
payment@realdiaperassociation.org if that’s easiest.
Secure your Witnesses. You will need two (2) Witnesses for the first 50
participants and one (1) Witness for each additional 50 participants. Ask
your witnesses to bring official letterhead on which to write their statement
if they have it.
Secure a photographer (there is no age restriction).
Secure staffing to run the event (we recommend one check-in person for
each 15 pre-registrants).
Familiarize yourself with the procedure for submitting evidence. All
evidence will be submitted electronically. You will receive the link for
submitting evidence prior to the official event.
DAY OF EVENT CHECKLIST (RECOMMENDATIONS)
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Set up the registration tables at least 60 minutes prior to when you
anticipate participants to arrive.
Meet with your Witnesses 30 minutes prior to the beginning of registration.
Review the guidelines and their role in the process.
Check in participants.
o Confirm each adult participant is 18 years or older. ID check those
that look younger than 25.
o Confirm height of child is 39 inches or shorter.
o Confirm clean diaper meets Guinness requirements (100% reusable
and commercially available).
o Confirm each adult participant signs the photo and liability release.
These do not need to be submitted with your evidence, but it’s a
good idea for you to hold onto them for your own protection.
o Accept donations on behalf of the RDA. You can place a secure
donation container such as a jar or box on your check-in table and
encourage people to contribute when they check in.
o Tell participants they will be able to order certificates of participation
directly from Guinness after the event is certified. Instructions for
ordering these will be provided to Hosts after the event.
Gather and organize electronic evidence. Guinness requires the following
evidence be submitted for each venue. Please note that these materials
become the property of Guinness.
o Collect photos documenting the event. Before (1) and after (1) shots
are sufficient taken at 300dpi in a 15cm x 15cm size. Try to get the
full set of participants in each picture.
o Scan or photograph the appropriate number of signed witness
statements based upon the number of participants.
o Collect and read all witness statements to ensure they are complete
BEFORE your witnesses go home! Confirm that the Overall Witness
Statement includes the total number of participants in his/her
statement.
Submit your evidence. The deadline for submitting evidence is Tuesday,
April 21, 2015 at 9pm (Pacific Standard Time).
o When you have organized your evidence and followed the
instructions for preparing it for electronic transmission, upload the file
using the instructions on the password-protected Hosts page of the
GCDC website.
o Do not send your evidence directly to Guinness.
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Send Donations to RDA. Do not send cash. Donations can be forwarded
directly to the RDA by sending a check or money order to:
Real Diaper Association
PMB #155
3401 Adams Ave, Suite A
San Diego, CA 92116-2490
RECOMMENDED STAFF (DAY OF EVENT)
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Staff to Check In Participants (we recommend one person for every 15
participants)
Whistle blower (bell ringer, etc.) to signal start of event
Independent Witnesses (see above for appropriate number)
One Ticket Taker or Two Clickers (they will also monitor the entrance/exit
area)
Photographer
Evidence organizer (This should happen immediately following the GCDC
event on Saturday. The more time that passes, the more difficult it is to
round up the necessary documents.)
RECOMMENDED SUPPLIES (DAY OF EVENT)
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Check-In & Registration Tables
Pre-Registrants’ Paperwork Organized
System for accepting donations to the Real Diaper Association
Whistle, bell, or other loud noise maker
Either tickets for entrance or two clickers (if you use one of these counting
methods)
Materials to designate outdoor area—chairs, rope, or other barrier
Signage
Swag bags, logo gear, etc. (optional)
Extra cloth diapers (optional)
We recommend providing the following checklists to each witness at the
event to ensure each statement has correct and complete
information. The hand written witness statements must include all the
following information for your location to qualify for the Guinness World
Record.
INDEPENDENT WITNESS CHECKLIST
The following checklist is meant to be used as a guide only. All witness
statements must be handwritten and personally signed by each of your
witnesses. Guinness World Records will not accept a checklist as an official
witness statement. In order to qualify towards the world record, you must submit
hand written, and personally signed, witness statements written in English, (or
translated into English), from each of your witnesses. Use the following checklist
to make sure your witness statements contain all the necessary information
before you release your witnesses after the event. Each witness statement must
contain the following:
___Name, address, phone & email
___Profession (One independent witness needs to have knowledge of cloth
diapers and communicate it in their statement. The overall independent witness
must have standing in the community.)
___Communicate what they observe
___participation
___1 adult paired with 1 child (39” or shorter)
___changing into a 100% cloth (reusable) diaper
___counting method used
___location
___address of event
___time
___what was used to commence the event (whistle, bell, etc)
___number of participants they observed (needs to be 50 or less per
witness). The Overall Independent Witness must document the TOTAL
number of participants.
___number of participants that qualified
___number of participants that didn’t qualify
___Signature (in own handwriting, not typed)
VOLUNTEER MANAGEMENT
Volunteers are helpful and can be essential in running a successful event. There
are several ways to recruit volunteers and put them to work, which will help your
event run smoothly. People who support the idea and the vision of the GCDC
are usually willing to help if they can.
Plan in advance the number of helpers you will need in each area including
pre-event, during the event and clean up after the event. Always schedule a few
extra volunteers if you can, in case of last minute cancellations. Communicate
clearly what is expected of each volunteer. After your event, do your best to
thank each volunteer and make them feel appreciated.
Recruiting Volunteers
We recommend you begin recruiting and securing volunteers at least a month in
advance of your event. Businesses and support groups connected with cloth
diapering or natural parenting are often good sources for volunteers. Here are a
few suggestions of ways to find people willing to help:
● Facebook – As you promote your event on social media, you can also ask
for volunteer help. Look for volunteers on local cloth diaper group pages,
parenting support groups, and local followers of your own business page
and GCDC event page on Facebook.
● Local cloth community - If your local community has any RDA diaper
circles, cloth diapering 101 groups, or mom's groups you are involved in,
this is a good place to ask for help.
● Friends - Yes it is ok to ask your friends! They probably already support
what you are doing, and often times they’re willing to pitch in and help you
have a successful event.
Utilizing Volunteers
Volunteers can help in any area that you would like. Often parents with young
children prefer to help for a set time period, rather than agreeing to open ended
all day help. Past GCDC hosts have successfully utilized volunteers in the
following ways:
● Pre-Event Organization – Pre-event tasks can be completed easily by
organizing a group volunteer session prior to your event. Volunteers can
help ease your workload as you finalize your GCDC event. Enlist them to
help prepare SWAG/gift bags, make signs, organize registration
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information, prepare the official change area of your venue, and set up
vendor or information tables.
Set Up - Pre event set up can be done quickly and easily with volunteer
help, and it is a good way for people to help ahead of time if they will be
attending the event with small children and don't feel they can help during
the event.
Registration - The registration table is a high traffic area. Volunteers can
easily be trained to register participants and hand out giveaway bags or
relay information.
Photography - A photographer is essential to the success of your event.
If you have a volunteer photographer, make sure they are reliable and will
get the job done.
General Help - When scheduling volunteers inevitably there will be a
cancellation here or there. It is good to have a few extra volunteers in the
wings to plug into an area if you have a no show. Also things can get
hectic during your event, having an extra pair of hands can make your day
run smoother.
Clean Up - Volunteer clean up help is always appreciated at any event,
any time. This is another great time for people to help that want to attend
the event, but don't want or are not able to help during the event.
Thanking Volunteers
Saying thank you can be done in a number of ways. The important thing is to let
those people who went out of their way to help you know that they are
appreciated.
● Feed Them - If you are having food at your event, make sure your
volunteers are feed and taken care of. If you are not having food, consider
having a small snack or water bottles etc just for volunteers.
● Card or Personal Note - A personal note or Thank You Card from you the
organizer thanking your volunteers is a good way to show appreciation.
● Free GCDC T Shirt - If your budget permits, offering a GCDC T shirt for
volunteers can be an incentive for them to help.
● Giveaway Bag - If your volunteers are not already eligible for a giveaway
bag, giving them one is a nice thank you.
VENDOR MANAGEMENT TIPS
Having vendors can be a great way to help advertise your event, boost
participation, make the event more than just a diaper change, and help cover
costs such as rental space, bags, advertising, etc. Vendors certainly aren't
required to have a fun and successful GCDC event, but they can be a great
addition. Here are a few tips when planning to have vendors.
 Charge vendors a fee for table space. Many hosts require that vendors
also donate a prize for event raffles or goodie bags. Some hosts have
lowered the vendor fee for higher value donations.
 When searching for vendors talk with local business. They don't have to all
be baby centered (sometimes mama needs a little something for herself!)
Talk with Work-At-Home-Mom’s (WAHM’s), specialty retail stores, music
class teachers, diaper service/stores, "green" businesses, local bakeries,
or vendors from your local farmers market.
 If you use a professional photographer as your official evidence
photographer, work out a trade of their time and talent for a free vendor
space. Some events have had photographers set up creative photo
booths, where participants can get their picture taken for a small fee. It’s a
great advertisement for them, and your participants will love the keepsake.
 Tap some of the vendors to do demos or talks to help entertain guests and
pass the time. Music classes, baby yoga or a baby wearing class are great
ideas to entice people to spend more time at your event.
 Have vendors available before the diaper change. Most participants would
rather come early, walk around and visit, and then leave right after the
GCDC.
 To keep vendors happy, and willing to participate in the future, provide
drinks and a snack. Everyone likes to be pampered a little bit!
 Some hosts have suggested, or required, vendors to donate a small
percentage of their sales during the GCDC to the Real Diaper Association.
 Lastly, have a contract that outlines exactly the terms of their booth space,
vendor rate and any other agreement you have with them. You are putting
a lot of hard work in to this event and being clear with your expectations
will make things run as smoothly as possible.
SUPPLEMENTAL ACTIVITIES AT THE GCDC
Now that you organized all those people to come together for the Great Cloth
Diaper Change, why not add some activities, classes, and/or informational
tables? Many hosts find that it can be very rewarding to add additional activities
that increase the overall impact of the GCDC within your community. Your event
is what you make of it. You can choose to keep it as simple as a few families
getting together for a potluck or you can organize a day long Baby Expo around
the GCDC. Below are some ideas to get you started, but remember, you can also
choose to only have the Great Cloth Diaper Change without anything else.
Activities
 Art Project for Kids – Have kids decorate diaper, or GCDC coloring pages
and then hang them to display their art.
 Older Sibling Cloth Diaper Change with Dolls – This is a great photo
opportunity and the big kids love to participate in their own GCDC. You can
set up a cloth diaper change for the older siblings separate from your
official change area. Enlist a volunteer to blow a whistle for the children’s
GCDC at the same time and let the siblings participate in their own miniGCDC. They can change a toy doll’s diaper while their parent is changing
their younger sibling.
 Passport – Print a passport, which can be as simple as squares on a piece
of paper. Each vendor has a stamp and a short tip on something simple for
families to do to lead a greener life. When a family gets all the stamps,
they’re entered into a drawing for a small prize.
 Why Do You Cloth Diaper? – Provide paper diapers for people to write
their child’s name and why they cloth diaper. Hang these up to decorate
the area.
Classes
 Cloth Diapering Class – There’s a lot of questions that come from cloth
diapering. Have a quick class giving tips about how to wash cloth diapers,
successful night time diapering solutions, or demos of different diaper
systems.
 Story Time – Ask the local library to host a story time before the GCDC.
Both children and parents will appreciate an engaging activity while they
wait for the official event to begin.
 Baby Wearing Demo - There are a lot of baby wearing groups out there
who know all about wraps, mei tais, structured carriers, and beyond. It’s
just as confusing as the first time someone looks into cloth diapers. Invite
your local babywearing group leaders in to do a class on the different types
of carriers and showcase the benefits of babywearing.
 Baby Sign Class – It’s fun for parents to learn and an early way for babies
to communicate. Check the local library or local moms groups to see if
someone teaches baby sign language.
 Music/Dance/ Class – This is a great event for after the change. Have a
local music, dance, or yoga company come in and lead a short class to
shake those sillies out.
 Doula or Midwife Class – Invite doulas and midwives from your community
to hold a meet and greet session. Your GCDC event can be an opportunity
to share information with expectant moms about the various childbirth
support options that exist in your town.
Informational Tables
 New Parent Support Services – Being a parent is hard, especially in the
beginning. Check to see if there are any groups offering parenting classes
in your area that would be interested in setting up an informational table at
the GCDC.
 WIC – Ask a WIC representative to set up an information table. Often
people don’t know that they could qualify for these services. They
sometimes have Lactation Consultants at WIC Offices too.
 EDIS program (Educational and Developmental Intervention Services) –
Again, some parents are unaware of the available early intervention
services in their communities. Ask local offices to consider setting up an
information table at your event.
 Certified Lactation Consultant – Moms usually have some questions about
breastfeeding. Save them a phone call and have a Certified Lactation
Consultant set up an information booth at your event.
 Car Seat Check – Proper car seat installation is vital to a child’s safety in a
vehicle. Find a Certified Car Seat Technician to come to the event and
perform car seat installation checks. To find a Certified Car Seat Tech (in
the U.S.), check cert.safekids.org/
Potluck
 Use a website like perfectpotluck.com so people can see what everyone is
bringing to the potluck.
 Another way to ensure you don’t have too much of one item is to assign
everyone something to bring based on their last name. For example: A-I
brings a side dish, J-R brings a main dish, and S-Z brings a desert.
 Make it green by asking families to bring their own cups and plates or
maybe a local thrift store would let you borrow some of theirs.
Earth Day Fair
The reason the Great Cloth Diaper Change is held this time of year is that it’s
near Earth Day. Connect your event with other Earth Day events in your
community and encourage families to adopt a greener lifestyle in general.
Baby Expo
It’s the perfect time to highlight all the local baby businesses. Bring them all
together during the Great Cloth Diaper Change and show new families all the
amazing products and services in your area that they may not know about yet.
FAQ’s
Are swag bags and giveaways required?
No. It can be similar to any other play date, just add cloth diapers! Your local
event is what you make of it. No matter how small or how big, you will still be
doing your part to inform others about the benefits of cloth diapers. If you do plan
to do bags, you can expect to pay to least $1.50 per bag, plus shipping. The cost
of the bag could vary greatly depending upon the contents of the bag and
whether you seek donations or fund the contents yourself.
How can I find businesses willing to donate product; for swag bags, raffle
prizes, auction items, etc?
It is not a requirement of GCDC hosts to have swag bags, raffle prizes or auction
items. However many hosts find that attendees enjoy receiving giveaways. We
encourage hosts to reach out to local businesses in their community to ask for
donated products, raffle prizes and special offers. Securing local business
support helps connect GCDC attendees with the resources and local businesses
in their area, and it promotes small businesses. When you solicit donations, be
prepared to share the details of your event, the number of expected attendees,
and the amount of product you are seeking, so that business owners have a
good understanding of your event and the potential benefits to them if they
participate. If you are including vendors at your event, consider offering
businesses a reduced rate on a booth, in exchange for donated product. Be sure
to publicly acknowledge all contributions and business support on your
promotional items and at your event.
Do national manufacturers donate items for local GCDC events?
Although we would like each host to look to their local community for support and
collaboration, the reality is in many instances it makes sense for national
manufacturers to make donations. As a result, there will be a data base for hosts
to more easily and efficiently locate manufacturers that are willing to donate
products for swag bags, raffle prizes, auction items, etc. Check the password-
protected Hosts page of the GCDC website for the database of offers along with
guidelines.
Am I required to provide food?
No, but it is a great attendance booster. In the past, several hosts collaborated
with local restaurants and health food stores and received positive feedback.