Dear Parents: Here's What Your PTO Wants You to Know

We recently asked the PTO Today Facebook community a simple question: What’s the one thing you wish parents knew about your PTO or PTA? The answers came back with a pretty clear message: you don’t have to do it all. When lots of parents pitch in—30 minutes here, an hour there—it can make a big difference for the entire school community. 

One response summed up the theme we heard again and again: "Even the busiest of people can help somehow, someway."  PTO and PTA groups don't need every parent to join a committee or spend countless hours at the school every week. There’s a way for everyone to help, even if they only have a little time to give! 

So, from the PTO and PTA leaders who are making school events happen, supporting teachers, and creating experiences for kids, here’s what they want you to know.

@ptotoday If your PTO or PTA is asking for volunteers, say yes. Even just one hour can make a big difference. You won’t regret it. 🩷🩷🩷 #ptopresident #fyp #ptolife #sayyes #volunteer ♬ original sound - certainlybee

You don’t have to volunteer for everything under the sun.

Joining the PTO doesn’t mean volunteering for every event, attending every PTO meeting, leading a committee, or taking on a board position.

Maybe you can do one shift at the school carnival, or help for 30 minutes at Glow Bingo. Maybe you can send in snacks for the teachers' lounge. Whatever you can do, it all counts.

And if you're thinking, I can't commit to anything big right now, that's OK. Your PTO probably doesn't need you to.

Just one hour helps a lot. (Heck, we'll even take 30 minutes.)

One of the biggest themes we heard: a little time from a lot of people is much better than a lot of time from the same few people.

"If each parent in the school dedicated just 1 hour to an event, we would have a surplus of help to go around!"

"If you can only give 30 minutes, we totally get that...and will gladly have you volunteer for 30 minutes."

Many PTOs rely on a small group of parents who show up again and again. In fact, 97% of PTO leaders we surveyed say the same small group of volunteers is doing most of the work, leading to burnout. They're working, raising kids, juggling schedules—and still finding time to make things happen for the school. 

So, just imagine what would happen if every family chipped in an hour here and there. If you can't give three hours, give one. If you can't give an hour, ask if there's a 20-minute job you can do. You might be surprised how many ways there are to help! That's the idea behind 1 Hour for Schools, a national volunteer movement from PTO Today that encourages parents, caregivers, grandparents, and other members of the school community to find at least one hour to volunteer. One hour can help cover a shift, stuff a few hundred goody bags, set up chairs at an event, sort supplies for the school store, or greet students on High Five Friday.

✨ Take the 1 Hour for Schools pledge. Your school could win $3,500, and you could win a $100 Walmart gift card!*

We really do understand that you're busy.

But...PTO leaders are busy, too. PTO parents don't have unlimited free time. Most of them have jobs. Kids. They have sports practices, appointments, dinners to make, and approximately 27 things happening on any given Tuesday. To make volunteering a little easier for today's busy parents, many PTOs are pushing short volunteer shifts and flexible opportunities (even tasks you can do from home). 

"You can volunteer for an hour at a time or less depending on the event. Just cause we ask you to volunteer doesn't mean we are asking you to do everything."

The PTO is for the *whole* school.

It's easy to think of the PTO as "those parents who run the fundraiser" or "the people who organize the school carnival." But PTOs and PTAs actually support the entire school community.

Their hard work funds everything from classroom supplies and teacher appreciation to literacy and STEM programs, field trips, assemblies, student activities, family events, playground improvements, and more. They stock the care closet, support teachers’ wish list projects, and organize things like the Halloween costume swap.

And they're doing it for all the students and staff—not just the grade their own child happens to be in.

"I wish every parent knew that behind everything our PTO does is a group of volunteers who genuinely love our school and our kids. We’re doing our very best to give every student the richest, happiest, most memorable elementary school experience we can—whether that’s providing supplies, funding field trips and assemblies, supporting teachers, helping families who need a little extra, or simply creating moments where our kids get to have fun and feel like they belong. We won’t always get everything perfect, but every decision, every fundraiser, every event and every volunteer hour comes from a place of wanting the absolute best for our students. At the end of the day, they’re the reason we do all of it."

There are lots of ways to help.

"If parents volunteered for one event, we’d have plenty of help for all events throughout the year."

Volunteering doesn’t have to mean giving up a whole afternoon or signing up for a regular shift. There are plenty of ways to pitch in that fit different schedules, skills, and comfort levels.

• Donate supplies or items for an event
• Share a professional skill or talent 
• Help with graphic design, photography, technology or social media
• Make phone calls or send emails
• Shop for supplies
• Prepare something for an event
• Help with setup or cleanup
• Make a financial contribution when possible
• Simply spread the word about an event or fundraiser

Here's the part PTO leaders sometimes wish parents could see from the other side: those seemingly simple school events don't just happen. Someone sends the emails. Someone orders the supplies. Someone creates the Sign Up Genius. Someone stuffs the goodie bags. Someone picks up the pizza. Someone assembles the glow kits. Someone sets up the balloon arch. Someone sets up the books for the book fair...and makes it look cute. Someone stays late to put chairs away and clean up.

And very often, it's the same handful of people doing those jobs over and over.

That's why a parent who says, “I can take the 5:30–6:30 shift” makes a bigger difference than they probably realize. You're not just filling a volunteer slot. You're helping make sure the PTO doesn't burn out its most dedicated volunteers.

You don't have to be an expert—or even know anyone.

Another misconception? That you have to already know the PTO board, have been involved for years, or understand how everything works. You don't.

Most PTOs are made up of parents who started somewhere. And plenty of them would be thrilled to have a new person walk in and say, “I'm new. What can I help with?” 

Plus, volunteering at school is a fun, low-pressure way to make friends with other parents who also live in your community. There's something about working alongside other parents to help your school, and that makes it a lot easier to strike up a conversation. Before you know it, you might just find your people.

And one more thing: PTO volunteers are volunteers.

PTO and PTA leaders aren't paid school employees (here at PTO Today, we like to say they get paid in smiles). They're parents and caregivers volunteering their own time to support the school community. 

They may have different opinions about how things should be done. They make mistakes. They occasionally send an email with a typo. Maybe they spend hours trying to set up that balloon arch for the fun run, but failed miserably (and then had a good laugh about it). At the end of the day, they're doing all this because they care about their school, the students, and the staff. 

So, parents, here's the takeaway: Your PTO isn't necessarily asking you to do more. They're asking you to do what you can. Thirty minutes or one hour here and there. Because when a few people do everything, everyone gets tired. But when everyone does a little...that's when the magic happens.

Not sure where to start? Start with one hour. Take the 1 Hour for Schools pledge and find a way to volunteer that works for you. Plus, your school could win $3,500!* 

*No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. See official sweepstakes rules.