Minnesota Milestone:
Pro-Life Booths at All 94 County Fairs

By Phil Picardi, Communications Director
Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life

"We were on a mission," declared Marice Rosenberg, vice president of Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL). "We were determined to extend our fair outreach to every nook and cranny of Minnesota, and we did it!"

For decades Rosenberg and a small group of mostly part-time employees have tirelessly cultivated the state's 193 grassroots chapters. Thanks to their tireless efforts, for the first time, MCCL's chapters sponsored educational booths at all 94 Minnesota county fairs this past summer.

Education is the hallmark of a pro-life county fair booth - - teaching the pro-life "ABCs" to thousands and thousands of Minnesotans. But there are other benefits as well. The booths also bring new people into the movement, enhance an organization's visibility, and offer a wonderful opportunity to collect petition signatures for legislative action.

The MCCL Model
To illustrate just how important having a presence at county fairs is to the organization, MCCL dedicated an entire chapter newsletter to setting up what it calls "the perfect fair booth." The newsletter contains photographs and step-by-step instructions on how to construct an inviting display that will attract the eye of fairgoers.

In addition, the MCCL state office puts together fair booth kits for its chapters: packets of petition sheets, educational literature, special reports, novelties, and booth instructions.

"We want our chapters to present a unified message," Rosenberg said. "We want the public and state legislators to see that we are a significant presence with clearly defined priorities."

Most fair booths have a similar look for a very good reason. MCCL has designed an attractive banner which features the distinctive MCCL logo and "circle of life" photograph. Chapters may order a personalized banner from the state office for $45. Many of the fair booths also feature a set of fetal models.

"These little ambassadors of life really capture the attention of children," said Rosenberg. "Kids love to cuddle 'the babies' and they have all kinds of questions about the models for mom and dad."

To ensure that each fair booth displays fetal models, MCCL helps chapters raise money to purchase a set or the organization sends them a set on loan. Another effective fair booth tool is the ultrasound video. If a booth has an electrical outlet, the state office provides a continually running video of an ultrasound.

Fair Booths Are Attention Getters
"The goal is to get people to the booth," Rosenberg said. "Many of our chapters hand out 'choose life' balloons, and some hold contests to attract people and raise money." People from the community make and donate baby quilts, teddy bears, and other items to MCCL chapters and the chapters, in turn, offer them up as contest prizes at fair booths. Most of these contests are simple drawings, but some chapters get more elaborate and stage a "cutest baby photo" contest.

Perhaps the most valuable component of the fair booth is the petition. Each chapter is encouraged to collect petition signatures and send them to the state office. During the summer of 1999 alone, more than 35,000 petition signatures were collected at fairs. And to date, nearly 5,000 new MCCL members have joined from this effort. Rosenberg said, "Members read our monthly newsletter, get a better understanding of 'life' issues and become active, volunteering for chapter work and calling lawmakers."

Media coverage is another key component of MCCL's summer fair outreach. The state office encourages chapters to write up news releases about their fair booths and send them, with photographs, to local newspapers both before and after the fair.

"Even if a paper only runs a picture and a caption it's worth the effort," said Rosenberg, "but some of our chapters have had brief stories about their booths appear in the paper." Unlike Minnesota's large daily newspapers, the small-town weeklies are often looking to fill space, and the activities surrounding a pro-life fair booth make for a good human interest story. There were 49 newspaper articles about chapter fair booths this year!

Fair Booths Save Lives
Over and over Rosenberg uses the word "coordination" when talking about pro-life county fair booths. The MCCL office keeps a schedule of all 94 summer fairs and is often called upon to help solicit donations for booth applications and materials.

For chapters, too, coordination is key. Organizing a volunteer workforce to take concurrent three-hour shifts for an entire weekend requires ingenuity. Still, Rosenberg believes the importance of these fair booths cannot be overstated.

"This outreach is critical because it attracts people who have never before been approached by MCCL," she said. "County fair attendance is soaring and volunteers see the fair booth as the perfect way to spread the message of 'life' in a non-threatening, non-judgmental way." Volunteers are also able to see firsthand that they are making a difference. "Each year a booth visitor will tell us that our materials convinced a sister or a friend to 'choose life,'" Rosenberg asserted. "Who knows how many countless lives have been changed - - or saved - - as a result?"