Alternative Ways to Get Involved With a PTA

How to Participate Without Attending Time Consuming Meetings

Aug 10, 2009 Carmen Sofia Grant

Some parents don't have time to fundraise for the PTA. Here are alternative ideas on donating resources and personal talent instead of going to meetings.

Getting involved with the PTA is something that every parent aspires to do, but not everyone has the time. A 6 p.m. meeting during the week can be brutal, if not downright impossible for working parents. There are other innovative ways to get involved with the PTA.

Donating Items for Fundraisers or Events

Send quick emails to the PTA president or chair of a committee to see what is needed for an upcoming event. Quick, easy donations for napkins, cups, plates, etc. are usually always needed, and always welcomed. Another thing to consider, especially for small private schools, is to consider donating items directly to the school so that the PTA can focus on bigger projects. Items can include toilet paper, pencils, paper, and other craft items. Check with the school director to see what the school could use.

Donating Items for PTA Meetings

Parents can send or drop off a carafe of coffee and a platter of pastries or healthy treats. Not only is it a wonderful gesture, the caffeine and treats will keep the parents at the meetings going and creating wonderful ideas for the PTA. Another idea is to donate items that the PTA uses often such as white or colored paper for flyers and newsletters, ink cartridges, markers, pens, etc.

When dropping off the kids in the morning, parents can send them in with a tote filled with pads and pens for the meeting. Write down questions or suggestions on one of the pads so that individual items can be addressed at the meeting and answers can be returned via email, or even on the same pad that the child can return to the parent.

Writing a Newsletter

A parent does not have to attend meetings to compile a newsletter. The secretary at the meeting can take minutes and forward them to the newsletter writer. Individual parents can also volunteer to write certain sections like a teacher interview, planning for college, and special events articles. These can then be forwarded to someone who has the skills to quickly format a newsletter.

Keeping a PTA Blog

Consider starting a blog for the PTA and update it weekly with information from PTA meetings. Minutes from the meeting can be emailed to the blogger who can quickly type them up, expand on ideas or comments from the meeting, and post links to articles about educational and fundraising topics. It is the perfect modern way to keep parents connected to the school. A PTA blog is also a good way to add widgets for some of the more traditional fundraising programs such as BoxTops.

Parents should donate not only their time, but their own personal skills. Not every mom or dad can bake. Modern parents are more on the go, as are their kids, and finding ways to help out with the PTA should evolve just as society is evolving.

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Donate Time and Resources in Different Ways