Our school hols a volunteer appreciation luncheon close to the end of school and invite all the volunteers as the guests. The teachers and staff provide the food for this wonderful event and the PTO buys fresh flowers as door prizes that are drawn throut the 2 hour event. It is a come between these 2 hours for food and fun, and not for 2 hours participation unless you wish to stay. The staff and teachers also come in to share this time with us and the student council serves our drinks and cleans up after us. It is fantastic.
I must say that I am sadden by the parents who say they will cut back or stop volunteering because they did not get a personal thank you. How many times have you told a teacher, principal, school secretary.......thanks for what they do, answering the phone, cooking your child's meals, cleaning their rooms, reading a book to them during library...... the list is endless of the things all people do for the betterment of our children. Yes, recognition is nice, yes, thank yous should be expected but we must first remember that we must also do the same. I do not volunteer for recognition or thanks, I volunteer to make a difference in the lives of my children and others.
Think about it.
I always try and personally thank- each and every one at the events, and I have them sign a paper that they helped. Then after, I send them a personal thank-you card.
And or, at big events ( Game day , family nights ect.) , I make sure I have drinks ( water, pop , coffee ect.) and a snack for the helpers. Plus a big Thank -you.
Sometimes I have them fill out a entry slip for a small Thank You prize.
Or make something small for them.
it doesn't have to be a big thing, just make them feel like you noticed they were there and were needed.
TPSparent;141005 wrote: I find that one of the simplist forms of thanking volunteers is a note card with a written message. It really shows that someone made the effort to recognize the time each volunteer gives.
Sometimes I have worked with the staff to have a volunteer appreciation luncheon or one year we did desserts. The teachers really liked the idea that they could say thank you to parents that really go out of their way for the school.
I have also worked with the teachers to have students create thank you notes or artwork. That was probably the most talked about by parents... they loved it.
The personal note is a great idea. I think it's very important to thank people and to make sure everyone gets a moment of appreciation.
Somethimes even this can be complicated. I've seen people get offered a diner because of their work at the heart and stroke foundation and seem disappointed because the money should have been put towards the cause.
The personal card says a personal thanks while letting most of the money go towards the source.
Also - at big events where we had door prizes or bag raffles - we usually had one strictly for volunteers. Either everyone got a ticket for volunteering or one ticket per shift (but it's gets hard to figure out what's fair with those who do so much pre-work and planning if you give multiple tickets). This was always a nice gesture and a visible sign our volunteers were valued.
Our elementary principal felt strongly that the annual volunteer appreciation event should be hosted by the school. They plan a come-and-go lunch that lasts about 2 hours. The school pays for big commercial pans of lasagna and the teachers bring salads and desserts. They spend a lot of time compiling a list from every teacher, staff member, and PTO of possible volunteers - anyone who helped the school in anyway and invite broadly. The principal says a few words of thanks and they hand out certificates of appreciation that look like big checks. The amount is for "one million thanks". It's really cute.
I love the idea of recognizing volunteers and know this is something our school has not been doing well; but I'm amazed at the events you have for volunteers. Doesn't it take more volunteers to run these appreciation events? How do you thank them? Does anyone get upset that you're spending money raised for school programs on volunteer appreciation?
I'm just curious, because our incoming PTO President thinks we should have a budget for a volunteer appreciation dinner or breakfast; but I think parents will be upset by our using our scarce resources on a parent function instead of funding student programs.
