Question: Helping at Fundraising Events

Your school is having a fundraising event and you ask for volunteers. You have you volunteers all listed out where they will be. One parent shows up (who has not mentioned they would like to volunteer), and heads to the door to collect money for the event. You, the PTO President, tell her you have 2 people assigned to the door and she is not needed there. She should have sent an email, like every other volunteer, and stated she would like to volunteer. She turns her back to you and continues to collect the money. You ask her for the money. She again ignores you and holds the money high over your head so you can't reach it. What would you have done?

Asked by suzptohelp

Answers:

Community Advice

Mich3ll5 writes:
This is a stressful situation for sure. My goal as P.T.O. President is to welcome all volunteers, make them feel a part of something great, and never sweat the small stuff. In this situation, anyone that comes to volunteer, let them. She may have felt comfortable there.(with a friend) I agree it wasn't right for her to hold money over your head. When you have a situation like this again let cooler heads prevail. Turn it over to another P.T.O. member. Let them handle the situation and move on. You will be better for it in the long run.

Advice from PTO Today

Rose H writes:
Mich3115, that is great advice! I would say if the situation has reached the point where someone is holding the money over your head and out of reach, then that's the time to walk away and be the bigger person. Then, once the event is over and time has passed, you might want to reach out to her and ask her for her point of view. Ask her how to work together more effectively next time. What Mich3115 says about her comfort level is probably true. She may have not felt comfortable or confident working anywhere else at the event. So, it came off as if she was ignoring you, but in reality, she may have been feeling unsure of herself. We have a great (and really popular!) article on working with difficult people that might give you some helpful tips about working with various types of people. Good luck!