Small Business Expo helps raise money for cancer patients

Twenty-two vendors lined up at the Osage Centre in Cape Girardeau on Saturday, July 15, each selling handmade goods and supporting a local cause.

The fifth annual Show Me Care Bags Small Business Expo helped raise funds to send support to cancer patients.

Jennifer Preston founded Show Me Care Bags to send items and messages of support to those fighting cancer after she and her husband lost several relatives to the disease. The business expo is one of three regular events of its kind in Cape Girardeau; the group also hosts similar expos in St. Louis.

"We have multiple vendors who come every time, then we have a lot of vendors who are new and become repeat vendors," Preston said. The expos give small-business owners a chance to sell their products while funds from table slots and raffle tickets go toward shipping out the care packages. "... It's kind of a win-win for everybody," Preston added.

The business expo was previously known as the Women's Expo, but Preston said the name was changed to be more inviting to more vendors and customers.

Amanda Ayers, second from left, shows shoppers her collection of handmade mushroom accessories during the Small Business Expo on Saturday, July 15, at the Osage Centre in Cape Girardeau. Like many other vendors, Ayers turned a hobby into a small local business. This was her second year participating in the expo.Christopher Borro

Amanda Ayers, second from left, shows shoppers her collection of handmade mushroom accessories during the Small Business Expo on Saturday, July 15, at the Osage Centre in Cape Girardeau. Like many other vendors, Ayers turned a hobby into a small local business. This was her second year participating in the expo.Christopher Borro

Among the vendors Saturday were young twins Sydney and Bentley Walpole, who started their confectionery company S&B's Sweet Treats with the help of their mother, Michelle.

"We actually came up with this when we were little," Bentley Walpole said. "We thought it would be a fun job to have our own business with some baking stuff, and just a few months ago our mom helped make it a reality." The twins sold chocolate-dipped cookies and pretzels, as well as banana bread and rock candy.

Michelle Walpole said her children wanted to raise funds both to pay for their extracurricular activities — Sydney does cheer and Bentley plays basketball and volleyball — and to support Show Me Care Bags. This was the twins' first time selling their goods.

Jessica Winkler of Bloom Beauty Company was another first-time vendor. She started her business — which sells jewelry, skin care products and hair care products — in July 2022.

"Everything is made from natural ingredients and it's all handmade," she said.

Winkler described the expo as similar to farmers markets she has done. She said she first learned about the expo when looking online for things to do; when she read more into it, she decided to attend as a vendor.

Other vendors have more experience at Show Me Care Bags events, including Teresa Gegg, a friend of Preston who has attended all of Preston's events in Cape Girardeau and St. Louis. While she sells handmade bags, cozies and other knit goods, she said she most enjoys helping out her friend.

Each vendor donated an item to be raffled off at the end of the expo. Selling raffle tickets is just another way Preston said the events helps with shipping costs to keep care packages cost-free for cancer patients.

"It's just something that can let a patient know they're being thought of," she said. "They're not alone in their journey against cancer."

The next Show Me Care Bags vendor event, "Fall Y'all", will take place Saturday, Oct. 14.