Plan a Care Fair

What Is a Care Fair?

A Care Fair is a student-led event where kids explore causes, learn about real nonprofits, and share how they care through creativity, teamwork, and action. It brings learning to life by turning curiosity into contribution — all in a fun, fair-style format.

Students use a Care Fair Passport to visit booths, ask questions, and show support, while student creators present their cause posters and care plans (their mini ideas for helping).

• Quick Steps to Planning a Care Fair

  Quick Steps to Plan a Care Fair

  1. Choose the format

     • Kid-led (students host booths) or adult-led (nonprofits or helpers host)

  2. Prep students ahead of time

     • Complete cause lessons

     • Create cause posters

     • Fill out care plans

  3. Set up the fair

     • Tables or stations by cause

     • Care Hard action wheel or challenge

     • Passports or stamp cards

  4. Make it interactive

     • Games, art, movement, or demonstrations tied to each cause

  5. Wrap it together

     • Reflection, celebration, and next steps for continued caring

  Why It Works

  • Builds confidence, empathy, and civic awareness

  • Helps kids practice communication and teamwork

  • Makes abstract causes concrete and age-appropriate

  • Reinforces that care isn’t just a feeling — it’s an action

What Students Do

• Learn about causes they’ve explored in class (health, schools, planet, food, art & sports, and more)

• Create a Cause Poster explaining why it matters

• Design a Care Plan that shows how they would help (a skill, stand, product, or service)

• Practice explaining their idea to others

• Use a Care Fair Passport with tokens or stamps to “contribute” and support peers’ ideas

This helps kids see that their ideas matter — even small ones.

For Educators

You don’t have to build this alone.
👉 Use the Care Fair Planning Guide for layouts, schedules, student sheets, and examples to make it plug-and-play. Use the Care Plan template to support kids to create their micro-businesses for the Care Market portion of the fair.

• Steps to Creating a Micro-Business

  Steps to Create a Care Plan (Micro-Business Style)

  Using the Care Plan Passport, students will:

  1. Choose a Cause
     Pick a cause that matters to them (from Care Fair nonprofits or classroom causes).

  2. Pick a Care Path
     Decide how they want to help:

     • Care Products (selling or gathering items)

     • Care Stands (lemonade stand–style giving)

     • Care Skills (teaching or learning a helpful skill)

     • Care Cards (encouragement, gratitude, connection)

     • Care Creators (art, media, performances, or projects)

  3. Design Their Idea
     Name their “care business,” decide what they’ll make or do, and who it helps.

  4. Plan the Details
     Think through supplies, helpers, timing, simple goals, and how they’ll give back.

  5. Create a Poster
     Each student makes a Care Fair poster that explains:

     • Their cause

     • Their care idea or product

     • Why it matters

     • How it helps people or the planet

  6. Take Action & Reflect
     Students carry out their plan, then reflect on what they learned, how it felt, and the impact they made.