In a matter of ten minutes the, now former, PTO President met with the school's director and disolved a PTO it took five of our to keep going for over ten years. She "just couldn't anymore". Fine. (roll eyes here!)

No time to be bitter because I have been asked to take over all the fundraisers the PTO did for the school (no brainer- I chaired them anyway:) ) but the former Prez. was the one that took care of volunteers and that is on my plate, too. YES, we are signed up the Volunteer Builder but it is three years outdated and I really think I need to start from scratch. HELP!!

The school does require background checks for ALL volunteers, so I have names but little to no contact information (all the form asks for is a phone number- so I have 500 phones numbers).

I don't need to reinvent the wheel but feel like we need four new tires!

I will take any advise! And yes, she is gone, the bridge is still smoldering, not kidding .
Just not sure where to start.

Thanks!!

My school also requires background checks and the principal and secretaries keep them on file, maybe see if there is a file in the office that you can get the list of names, then call them first, We are not required to have clearances for evening events, just to be in the building when school is on otherwise you have to be escorted. We are going to try for a 4 hour rule, this way we can get parents involved. Start with volunteer sheets at 1st event, days and times when you need help might be the best start.

I have the list of approved volunteers and there are 500 names with 500 phone numbers. I am thinking about having a table at registration but not sure if I should ask parents that are approved to just go to the PTO Manager site and sign-in/sign-up or what.

I do know, and have spoken with the person that does the background checks to make sure she gets an e-mail with a phone number!

anyone who volunteers in our building, if it be for pto or for the school district, has to be approved by the school district. Maybe you district has already run background check on a number of those people

Hi Mykidsmom-

What format is the your list of 500 names?

With Volunteer Builder you can import all the volunteer's information from an Excel format or have the volunteers enter their own data by giving them your Volunteer Builder link. A lot of people use Volunteer Builder as a tool to track background checks. They "approve" any volunteer in the database that has been cleared. Then you'll know who's cleared the background check since they're approved in the database. Also check out our file exchange so you don't have to re-invent the wheel if you want to create flyers to solicit new volunteers:PTO Today File Exchange

~ Lisa

okay--this is hokey but one of the easiest things I've ever seen. At the open house we put out file folders that are opened and have an event description on the left, expected hours required and on the right side is a lined paper asking for name, contact number and email.

When the night is done, you can just hand the file folder to the event chair and they can commence with the contact process. I suspect in your case there will also be an intermediate step of ensuring the vetting process with background checks is complete before contact.

Hope this helps
d