To wonder why more people don't help at PTA events ... and what would encourage more people to do so ...

[onthebus]

In common with many other schools, our PTA had its annual summer fayre a couple of weeks ago. The school has quite a small PTA (about 6 people) and every year for this event they send out a note asking for volunteers for people to help set up/run stalls/clear away. Every year about 2 people volunteer and the PTA then run themselves ragged trying to do everything (and generally failing).

I'm not on the PTA by the way, though I do offer to help, and it strikes me that this really can't be the best way for anyone.

I understand that some people don't help because they are looking after small children/are at work/think the PTA are too scary/just don't want to but I'm really surprised that so few do. I did suggest to PTA members that if they actually asked people rather than sending out a note they might get more helpers but they are loathe to do this.

So ... I think most people appreciate that funds raised by the PTA are worthwhile. If you do/don't help out at PTA events, why is that, and what do you think would encourage you/other people to do so?

encountered the busy bum mums nursery also.trying to reserve seats at plays etc .conspicuously going on about how much the contribute

yes thats what so delicious.the she cant sit there vibe

our pta organised a camping event - couldn't think of anything worse than spending a night with them......

The meetings are in the evening and himself works shifts we have no babysitters.
Ours seem rather overbearing I dont really want to get involved with all that. I have the wrong attitude to it all really.

"Take a simple thing like a cake sale. If I make a cake, for a cake sale, it costs £2 for materials and and hour of my time. I then spend £4 buying it back and an hour volunteering to run the cake stall.

In total I spent £6 plus another 2 hours valued at minimum wage. In total the PTA gets £4 but I spend £18 in cash and time spent." I so agree with this it's so frustrating when they say buy an easter egg to end in then you have to buy a raffle ticket so your child might win one of the donated eggs, so effectively i've paid twice, I'd rather just give the school the money in the first place.

I stand by my first post, they really do sit there and think of shit ways to rip you off.

Yes, honey. That's exactly what we do.

We meet, once a month. We get together, giving up our own time, when we could be doing something else. All for the sole purpose of thinking of shit ways to rip you off.

We have a competition. The PTA member to come up with the best shit way of ripping you off gets a prize. It's a raffle-donated easter egg, naturally.

I'm pondering several ideas right now. I'm hoping that they really fuck you off.

Why does everyone assume it's all about raffles and baking cakes?

Since our committee was formed 10 months ago we (6 members only, nobody else could be bothered) have raised over £20,000 and not a single raffle ticket in sight.
Parent consultation evening last week, I stood handing out info about what exactly we do and why we need more helpers. I asked one dad if he would be interested in helping out in the future. He just gave me a withering look and said "No", but I might ask the wife if it gets her out of the house for a couple of hours". Charming.
We have already sent out letters to all the parents informing them that we need more members or we may have to close our pre-school, but the indifference is staggering.
Still, they'll all be first in the queue to moan when they turn up one day to find it closed down.

Nick, I hope that you spent a respectable amount of time thinking up shit ways to rip parents off. You cannot call yourself a PTA member otherwise.

I find that schools are split up into 2 categories. PTA members, and moaning buggers that can't be arsed.

Nick - don't parents already pay for pre-school?

If they do, I guess they don't see why they have to pay again with their own time.

Well, no. Children get free care from 3.

Just write me a letter tell me you need X amount to buy XYZ and be done with it.

every PTA member at my children s school just spends their lives crawling up the teachers arse and sucking up. I just can't abide the arse kissing niceness. and the group clickyness.

And lets face ultimately how much you raise is going to be largely based on the incomes of your parents which once again increases the divide between the have and have nots. School should just be properly funded in the first place. then there is less likely to be a difference in the quality of education.

Pfft - yes I thought pre-school was from age 3. Before that it is surely nursery or childcare which parents pay. If it is a playgroup parents traditionally stay with their children.

Nick - I suggest you just charge a fee.

Also everyone assumes that the "20,000 came from the parents who use the pre-school, it didn't. I was adamant that any money raised should not come from the parents as
a) it would just give them another reason to moan
b) the amount we could raise from them would be piffling (unless we had a secret millionaire in our midst)

We targeted local big businesses, any grants we could legally apply for, any competitive awards going, etc.

When the parents bring their DCs back in September they will find it totally refurbished with a new garden and a new safe play area outside.
It will be completely redecorated inside, with new storage, new toys, and a new interactive kitchen for the children to cook in.
Of course, they will just look pleasantly suprised and just assume the money to pay for it all came from the schol fairy.

Forgive me for being a miserable shit, but I no longer take part in any school fundraising because in the majority of cases, the money hasn't been spent on the children.

But Nick you are talking about something compleatly different a community run pre school. is NOT a government funded school. so they are not eligible for the community grants etc. School PTA's get all their money from the parents. But schools should be properly funded in the 1st place,

I realise that schools are different. My point is really that the total lack of inter interest shown by the majority of parents is bad.
It's almost as though they just want to dump their kids at school then bugger off. They show no interest whatsoever in helping out, they just want the benifits that other parents put in.

No, I want the benefits of a state funded education. So I can hold down a job. and my children can be educated.

I totally agree that parents who work or cannot get to meetings, etc, have a valid reason. But there are also many parents who do have the time to offer, they are just not interested.

'pta is activity for housewives'

I disagree. At my DC's primary school the PTA is a mix of working/stay home mums and dads. The meetings are always evening. But it IS very cliquey and long term members are now leaving because of the rudenes of some members.

Another thing, PTA people may be helping at school fayres etc. but what about the rest of us spending money at these events? If we all helped who would spend the money!!

I have small child, but help where/when I can, which is not often. I helped at the Year 2 bake sale, the disco, the summer fayre and the Father's Day wrapping room recently, because I could on those occasions (DD2 at play school/looked after by DH or in the case of the bake sale, was in her pushchair).

A great way to get people to help at an event they're likely to attend anyway - school fayre, for example - is to send out a help request with each duty divided into half hour slots. So if the school fayre is 2 hours long, then people could sign up for half an hour on the coconut shy and still enjoy the rest of the event with their family. Does that make sense? If people are coming anyway, it's no biggie for them to give up half an hour to help so long as they have someone with them to take the children around. People get daunted by the idea of having to give up the whole (say) 2 hours and not get to enjoy family time at these things IMHO.

HTH

NickRobinson - you do sound like a control freak tbh, rather like the Chairwoman of our PTA. They raise over £16,000 a year and I wouldn't give a chuff if they packed up tomorrow. I can pay for any extras that DD needs and so can the other parents.