To ask why you don’t volunteer for school / PTA / Parent Council Events?

[whyismykid]

Is it because you are too busy? Don’t think it’s important? The people who organise these type of events are irritating? Think the school have all the funds they need so it’s not worth the bother?

What would enable you (or persuade you) to help out?

200 people attended the event I planned today and had a good time but only 8 people volunteered to help. I understand that the planning and preparing for events is time consuming (it totally is!) so I’d only expect a small number of people to be able to take that on, but it should be different for on the day help I would think? I made sure each volunteer slot was only 45 mins long, so that people could also take part with their families, and made it clear what each volunteer job involved. Online sign up
so super easy.

What else can I do? it’s a school of 750 pupils and I have a summer fair to attract volunteers for next, any ideas?

'Utter contempt' is playing the martyr

No it isn't.

If someone volunteers, I think the least they can expect is not to be criticized or called names. I know from experience that some (not all) people are quick to criticize but wouldn't know the first thing about how much time and effort goes into something like running a PTA.

As we've seen from this thread, people have a whole host of reasons why they don't volunteer, many of which are very valid. Even the reason 'I don't want to' is valid. But some of the nasty comments aimed at people who, at the end of the day, are giving up precious free time for the benefit of all the children, not just their own, are completely out of order, and are often the actual reason that people give up on volunteering.

I remember a quote from an open letter written, if I remember correctly, by a Guide Leader. It went something along the lines of 'Forgive us for not being the kind of leader (volunteer) you would be if only you had the time'.

I really cannot get my head around this.

We used to have to beg people to come and help at our events. We asked people to commit to an hour (even though that was an organisational pain in the arse to try and co ordinate and then show the newcomers the ropes, deal with replacements not turning up and having no one to man a stall...) and yet these events were always well attended, particularly any event where children could be dropped off and left. Eventually we decided that we couldn't face putting on a summer fete with all of the planning and work that meant for the 4 of us on the committee. We wrote to all parents requesting help, stating that if the help wasn't forthcoming we wouldn't run the fete that year. As we got minimal support we decided not to go ahead. The outrage that this caused was unbelievable. So many parents approached us demanding to know why it wasn't happening, that their children looked forward to it etc etc. So reading here that most people would rather PTA events didn't happen, or even better, that PTAs ceased to exist id quite a surprise to me. Wish I'd known years ago!

On this thread it seems like it's PTA volunteers that can do no right but funnily enough a while back when a brownie or cub leader posted, asking why parents wouldn't help out once in a while, the same criticisms were dished out about cub and brownie leaders. Helpers were made to feel unwelcome, they were territorial etc.

It seems like some people are attempting to assuage their guilt at not helping by blaming the volunteers.

''If someone volunteers, I think the least they can expect is not to be criticized or called names''

They arent being criticised for volunteering, its an observation of the types the PTA seems to attract.

"'Utter contempt' is playing the martyr. If the question is being asked why don't you join it and this is the given reason, its simply answering the question"
Really? Bitch, cow,cunt, glory hunter, viper, martyr etc are all "simply answering the question?

"They arent being criticised for volunteering, its an observation of the types the PTA seems to attract."

Birches, cows, cunts..........

Well said budgiegirl

I didnt use those terms, self important and small minded was the description I gave.

@BertrandRussell

I think many people view volunteers as some kind of hired help and therefore fair game. They seem quite oblivious to the amount of our own time, money and effort we put in to raising money for the benefit of all the children. We never picked what we paid for. The Headteacher would request funds, our only stipulation was that it shouldn't have been paid for out of capitation so if any patents had an issue they should have complained to the Headteacher or even sent in suggestions for consideration.

The absolute venom that has been directed towards the volunteers has really shocked me. No matter how well we did, or how much we did, we still did more than those who did nothing.

" I didnt use those terms, self important and small minded was the description I gave"
Don't forget "and not particularly nice". But you didn't say bitch or cunt, so that's all right.

@Tartanscarf

Actually I did. The last secondary school that my daughter attended required a voluntary contribution. Names of the children still owing the voluntary donation were read out in assembly.

I hate to even try to add up the amount of money that I spent during my years on PTA and as a governor. The cost of printing aline was ridiculous. I never claimed a penny in expenses.

I am not a martyr by the way. I did it because it's not the school's fault that funding is so bad, because teachers have enough on their plates without trying to provide pens or sports kits or any of the other stuff that we supported, and mainly because it's good to look outwards and help your community rather than to only focus on you and yours.

I don't care that you all slate us. I am proud of what we achieved, of the support that we gave the school and mostly of the example that I showed my children - to give, not to take.

Exactly how many separate posters have called PTA volunteers bitches, cows, cunts, arseholes or whatever. The thread is very long but a on quick scroll through I saw none. Bertrand seems fixated on repeating something a tiny minority have said over and over again in reply to pretty much anything.

Tartan, nobody has characterised you as lazy. They really haven't.

I was at our school PTA AGM last night, haven't been involved for past 18m as just too much other stuff on. I try and help when I can but can't add anymore meetings.

I'm chair of our local community centre, and that takes up the voluntary work slot in my life at the mo. A good friend of mine always says that she only has one committee in her at a time. It's a good rule I think!

I have a young DD, no help for childcare and husband works FT. If I was asked to help in the evenings or weekends I might but it’s always straight after school or during school hours.

catinapatchofsunshine I agree, I can't see anyone using those terms except one poster. Repeatedly. Odd, really...

OP, at DD's primary school the PTA give each class a stall that they need to run. Then it's up to the class reps to sort out a rota of parents to cover it.

Maybe online sign-up is efficient, but just to easy to ignore?

@Tartanscarf

Yep it was £250/year for 1 child. I'm assuming that your £50/month was in total for your 3 children as you posted earlier in the thread?

I don't agree with it at all. State schools should not be pressurising parents but,despite the number of PPs asserting on here that they would rather write a cheque, apparently not many people contribute unless pressured into doing it. That's why I would rather fund raise where no one can see who has or hasn't contributed or how much they've given. I am just quite upset by the level of hatred expressed here.

And my post above, was not meant to infer that you personally had slated me. It was a comment aimed at the wider audience.

Too busy working full time.