VOICE supporters and volunteers hit the streets for the Big Sell

Seven volunteers joined VOICE vendors and staff for the Big Sell, a vendor appreciation and awareness event held on the 16th Street Mall each February. (Credit: Sarah Ford)

By Sarah Ford

On Saturday, February 9, VOICE volunteers, supporters, staff and vendors took over the 16th Street Mall vending the VOICE together for the annual Big Sell. The Big Sell takes place in February each year during Vendor Week, the international week of recognition for street papers around the world organized by the International Network of Street Papers (INSP). 

This was the third Big Sell hosted by the VOICE, with 13 attendees. Volunteers were paired with vendors in small groups and learned the ropes of vending. 

Several volunteers acknowledged the challenge of vendors’ jobs, managing to sell only a few papers in an hour of vending. 

Doing the Big Sell was a great experience.  Albert was an awesome coach and was a lot of fun to work with,” said volunteer Bo Crew. “When some people didn’t show interest or ignored us, he was totally unaffected. Albert told me to just be friendly to everyone but don’t expect anything from anyone. It occurred to me that this was a great mindset to have not only for vending the VOICE, but for a lot of situations in life.” ■