Bag Pack ‘07
Bag Packing Information Sheet
Virtually all the members of the Working Party have undertaking bag packing in the recent past to raise
money for our Squadrons. This information sheet contains information that we have found to be useful.
It is not intended to replace your local knowledge or to cut across any relationships or practices that you
have established locally although we do encourage you to read it through as it does contain information
specific to the national event such as health & safety and permissions.
Well before

Identify the store(s) in which you would like to bag pack.
o Think about location of store – is it in your recruitment/catchment area?
o How many cadets are you likely to want to take? No good doing a big store if you only have
6 or so cadets as you won’t be able to cover all the tills.

Visit or call the store and arrange a meeting with either the store manager or the charity/club
coordinator. Many stores have a person dedicated to arranging bag packing by local charity groups.

Have a clear proposal/outline of what you want to achieve, explain what the money will be used for
(see Commandant’s letter, FAQs and posters for more information). Some stores may ask you to
donate a proportion of your takings to their own charity.

Ask if they have a restaurant or any food outlets as sometimes the store may allow you (and pay for
you to use) their own internal restaurant so that your cadets get a break away from the public eye.

Be clear on the hours you will be packing – as a rule you don’t want to pack for more than 6 hours
in a day as the cadets become very tired. If you can, have 2 shifts – one group of cadets in the
morning, another group in the afternoon. 10am til 5pm works well on a Sat with 10.30 – 3.30 or
11.30 – 4.30 on Sunday depending on the opening hours of the store.

If you want a recruiting stand, agree this with the store manager in advance and agree the location
and anything they can provide for you in detail (e.g. table & chairs).

Once you have gained agreement from the store manager or his nominated deputy, ask for
confirmation in writing. It is helpful if this includes details of the store’s liability cover (the name and
amount) although you will also be insured through the ACO Insurance.

As this is a national event there is no requirement to raise local paperwork as it has been preapproved by HQ Air Cadets.
Training cadets & staff

To make bag packing an effective fund raising tool, the staff of the squadron need to be prepared to
take an active role – that means actually packing bags on the day. Lead from the front – cadets
respond well to seeing the Squadron Commander rolling up their sleeves and packing on a till.

Give the cadets some basic training. Get some food in or some toy food and encourage them to
actually pack some bags  (see training pack).

Write a letter for the cadets to take home, stating when and where you are bag packing as you will
often find parents will change their shopping habits to support their children.
Bag Pack ‘07
Your briefing
Things to consider

Cadets and staff will need regular refreshment and comfort breaks, plan these into the day. Some
stores will allow a small bottle of water on the checkout, others won’t – check the rules in your
store.

Ensure all cadets and uniformed staffs are in blue uniform. Civilian Instructors and committee
members should be smartly dressed and be easily recognizable as belonging to our organization.

All participants need to know what you are packing for as they will be asked!

One or two staff members need to be ‘on the back’ – behind the checkouts making sure the cadets
are OK. Their sole task is to ensure the welfare and safety of cadets. Don’t let them be distracted
particularly with recruitment queries – just direct them to the recruitment stand.

If someone does not want their bag packed, the cadet (or staff) is to leave their donation bucket at
the end of the till and step off to one side. Don’t leave the till or the bucket as you will often get a
donation at the end.

Always be polite and smile, even if you aren’t enjoying it. Brief the cadets to have some examples
of activities ready in case they are asked. Depending on the people in your area you may wish to
brief the cadets to talk about all activities except for shooting.

Cadets are not to leave the store – they are not to push trolleys out for people. If a member of the
public wants this service one of the uniformed staff on the back or one of the store staff is to do it.
Actively discourage any cadet from leaving the checkout area unless on a supervised break or for
the toilet – supermarkets are busy with a lot of people and you need to know where your cadets
are!

Don’t allow cadets to rattle tins as this is against the law.

Buckets will be provided by the RAFBF. Please let HQ AC know the number you require and your
location by filling in the attached proforma

Think about how you are going to handle the money you collect. The store may be prepared to bank
it for you in which case you will need to supply account details etc. You may be able to use an area
of the store to count money as the day goes on. This is a role for adult staff or committee members
and should always be done with 2 people present and signed by both as correct.

Running a competition encourages cadets to attend – even small rewards like a £10 HMV voucher
for cadet collecting most works really well. Publishing the results on the notice board (particularly if
they have beaten the CO!) is good motivation for next time.

If your supermarket requires a deposit for the trolley and the trolley return is inside or near the
recruiting stand put a cadet with a bucket nearby – often the pound coin comes out of the trolley
and into the bucket!
Bag Pack ‘07
On the day

Ensure cadets meet in one place

A staff member should sign into store and make their presence known to checkout manager on
duty.

The Store manager will often come down to say hi 

Re-brief the cadets especially on welfare and health & safety.

Issue buckets.

Smile and pack 
Don’t forget to have on hand:

Information packs

Recruitment literature – national & local

Gizits – national and local – they love stickers – forget pens etc it’s all about the stickers!
o
See Recruiting Information Sheet for more hints and tips – coming soon!
After the event
Call to say thank you to the coordinator and the store manager, ask for feedback and then follow up with
formal letter stating all this again and how much you took. It is also worth sending a thank you note to the
staff and customers and asking for this to be displayed.
And we’re here to help…
If you’ve got any questions or queries or just want to talk things over the Working Party is here to help. You
can contact us at [email protected]