Whew!And of course, none of it would be possible without the troops. At year’s end, it’s always worth showing your thanks to the volunteers who helped throughout the year. You’ll find that what really matters to volunteers is how you say thanks. When it is sincere and personal, it has an impact. So don’t worry if the budget is slim or you used up all your creativity dazzling the staff during teacher appreciation week. There are simple ways to let volunteers know they make a difference.
Here are a few suggestions:
- Remember the details: Thank volunteers with a handwritten note and include a specific detail about something they did.
- Make it public: Create a volunteer tribute on a bulletin board at school. Post public thanks to volunteers and make mention of specific projects they worked on. Photos are a great bonus!
- Family matters: Consider sending thank-you notes to the families of your volunteers. Let them know it helped that they shared their mom, dad, or spouse.
- Awards luncheon: Plan a simple lunch for volunteers and hand out certificates to attendees. Let the group know what each volunteer did to contribute to the PTO.
- Everyone can help: Ask teachers to write notes of thanks to individual volunteers, and encourage students to send their thanks as well. Suggest teachers a class poster, signed by all the students and thanking volunteers. Deliver these to volunteers at a special end-of-year event, like a luncheon or last day of school picnic.
Of course, a small gift is a nice touch. If you are looking for inexpensive ideas, check our Volunteer Appreciation board on Pinterest.
Also, we have a collection of letter templates, certificates, and gift tags that you can download for free, like our new "making lemonade from lemons'' gift tag. You can check all the volunteer appreciation files here.
Here are additional volunteer appreciation resources:
- Treat Your Volunteers Right
- Volunteers Get Well-Deserved Recognition
- Every Group Can Afford Thank-Yous
