to be really cross that NO ONE can be arsed to help at PTA fayre

[nicefleece]

I have volunteered to help out at the PTA Christmas Fayre. A note was sent out last week in all 410 book bags, asking for any volunteers to help set up / man the stalls.

3 people replied, one of them is the chair of the PTA

What the feck? Shall I ask the heads to mention it? Why are people so sodding selfish! I know people work, have other kids etc etc but really....

What next? Megaphone of shame in the playground? Sooooo cross and disappointed!

I think it CAN work if all the jobs are shared out fairly.I work nights so can't always commit to the manning stalls malarkey but last year took home and wrapped a gazillion or so (felt like it) pressies for the lucky dip thingummy as I felt Guilty.This year will be contributing cakes to cake stall and some stuff to bottle stall.Just haven't got time to actually man stall though.

being economically active,paying taxes is more valued than manning pta and crowing about working parents

actually schools are majority funded by taxes from central taxation

Sixtyfootdoll, I will ask you,although it is repetitive as I kind of asked others earlier.

Why 2 hours a year to the PTA? Why not two hours to cancer relief, or the hospital, or picking litter in the park and on and on for a 1,000 other causes?

Why do some people think the PTA is more significant and more worthy of deeming people lazy/selfish if they don't do it? Why is the PTA more important?

SolidGoldBangers that's how I feel

SGB - at our school, a middle class primary in a small village in the well off south east, with relatively little unemployment, lower than average one parent families etc etc, a sizeable number of parents do not even give the voluntary £5 a year to school fund - asking for more would be treated as an outrage ..... however, these parents willingly spend £5 a child on raffle tickets and £££ on sweets and pop and stuff

and i repeat it is NOT all about raising money - some of our events are for family fun and community building - purely as an enjoyable event

and for those outraged that schools are underfunded and PTAs buy "essentials" - so you want to pay higher taxes?

Agree Emkana...would be good to know how many of the anti-PTA'ers attend the Summer Fair and other events.

I really don't have any angst with people who don't volunteer their time - I know what it's like to work, look after children, home, etc.. but really, the priority IS the children and I have seen firsthand that schools just don't have the resources they need and therefore, if someone feels like they should leave it up to the govt, they are sadly misled.

Solid Gold - because people won't give any! The PTA are on a losing battle - we get moaned at for asking directly for money, we get moaned at for asking for help doing something fun that will raise money (and give the kids some fun)

I do think we should pay higher taxes to fund the NHS and schools. My neighbour has a car sticker that says 'I wish that schools and hospitals had all the money they needed and the army had to hold jumble sales to buy bombs.'

I came home from a PTA meeting last year to find DC all asleep and a note stuck to the side of the bunkbed which said "thank you mummy for helping at the PTA so we can have a disco next week and new equipment for the playground", we have also had thank you letters from individual teachers, when we buy something off their wish list, and from children who attend activites we supply stuff for

the kids appreciate it even if the parents don't - and don't be a bah-humbug the events are FUN

Milly R - our pta rasied over £200 for Macmillan Cancer this year and have raised thousands of pounds for a local hospice over the years.....do you not think you're making unfounded sweeping statements as to what you deem to be paltry efforts by PTAs?

MIllyR - sadly people like you are in the minority though.

I like that car sticker

i am in the pta at our school i am part of a team of 7 our school has 1500 pupils
also sort out money and events for the scout group too

i love to be involved thats just me i dont expect everyone to do it

btw yes i do work full time (55hrs per wk) also do 1 training course per week for 3hrs and paperwork from work in my own time

our PTA has supported local hospice in the past and is having a children in need event too

POWN - thanks for being a voice of reason.
Our 'PTA' is pretty new and seems to be a core group, some helpers (and some whingers ) I am nicking most of your very sensible ideas if you don't mind and am going to just get on with it.
I do have some time at the moment and want to be more involved, if others don't that's their choice.

DUBB, that is wonderful and a really good example for the children about helping people.

Many parents will be helping in all manner of ways other than through the PTA. I don't think that it makes any real difference what way people choose to help others, and I don't think any of us should make assumptions about what other people do.

Many people do not want to talk about their voluntary work because of confidentiality issues.

And the money raised from our PTA this year is going towards a donation to a cancer charity - why? Because one of our parents died this week of cancer and his children deserve to have their dad honoured by the school community.

It's a community. The community is our children. Can't see why that's such a struggle for you lot.

Ususlly ds school sends out a couple of leters,the first a "We are having our Christmas Fayre on xxx at xxx,any help would be welcolme from parents".The second usually has a more pleading note..."We are short of volunteers to do xyz...".This is when I am usually guilted into getting off fat arse to contribute in some way and usually it all goes fantastically well.Maybe a pleading letter is in order,OP?

Soory for terrible typos,am 2 finger typer and not spellchecking!

feetheart - by all means take our ideas, happy to trade tips

other than summer and xmas fair we do not run the same event two years running - for variety

so one year we would do an autumn disco, the next a quiz night, the next a talent show

in the summer we do a sponsored walk/family picnic, or a treasuire hunt round the village with BBQ afterwards

some things take more organising than others, some things are simple to organise and garunteed to make £500

I think its sad that people dont have time to join in with school events, i am a member of the PTA at our school and although i find it a bit of a pain (i work full time and have 3 kids),it feels good to be involved with dcs school .I think society has lost out,through everybody being busy with work all the time. However, i completely understand why people dont get involved with PTA and wouldnt get too worked up over it.

Not everyone sees the DC's school as 'the centre of the community'. People may well get their sense of community from other things, family hobbies/charities/campaigning organisations/their friends outside the world of the school. For quite a few families, school is somewhere you have to send your kids 5 days a week but neither parents nor kids want any extra involvement because they have other things going on in their lives.

POWN - thanks. Very interested in swapping ideas and might start a new thread tomorrow (should have been in bed hours ago but got sucked in by the horror of a lot of this )

well said SGB

Without involvement and interest in our children's schooling we are quite frankly fucked.

No wonder so many children do so badly.

Anyone who thinks that the point of being in a PTA is to organise a tombola or man a cake stall is officially mad.