Fifa World Cup Watch Party: How a Postponed Event Became a Learning Experience
Updated: Aug 19
What better way to get people together than soccer? We had the same idea, which is why for the past week and a half, our interns have been working on a FIFA World Cup Watch Party for the third-place game on July 18th.
Money-management can’t just be taught through a slideshow; the best learning comes from doing.
We handed our interns $2500 (well, the Friends of Egleston Parks did) and supported them as they planned the event.
After establishing a partnership with the Friends of Egleston Parks, we’ve been coordinating an event that included a free live screening of the game, t-shirts, henna, a pop-up soccer station, and of course, financial literacy tabling. Our interns reached out to JP Licks and Nicole’s Pizza to coordinate free ice-cream and pizza for the guests. Many trips to the Egleston Square Peace Garden were taken, and flyers were hung up and distributed to local businesses in the area. Our interns designed posters, Instagram posts, and edited reels to market the event. Multiple spreadsheets and shopping lists were created, and even more phone calls were made.
However, it seemed like Mother Nature had another plan for us. On the day of the event, we realized that the forecast was not in our favor. Heavy rain and thunder was expected right when the game began.
Rather than fully cancelling the event, we decided to pivot. We spoke to our interns to decide what we wanted to do, considering we had already ordered food, ice cream, and the shirts.
Eventually, we came up with a plan. We distributed the pizzas to locals around the neighborhood and kept some of the ice cream in the cooler. The next day was the World Cup finals, and the park had another organization coming in for a showcase. One of our interns, Elamin, set up shop that day with financial literacy tabling, Fortune Avenue flyers, and free T-shirts to give to the public. People were able to watch the dance showcase as well as learn more about financial literacy and Fortune Avenue.
Even though the event wasn’t what we envisioned, it was still a success. The interns not only learned how to organize an event, but also how to budget, communicate, and make quick decisions when things don’t line up. All in all, it was a great learning opportunity.
Thank you again to the Friends of Egleston Parks for the funding and support!
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