I am the new President of our PTO this year. As officers we decided to send Thank you cards to the volunteers after each event. In the past, the previous officers awarded volunteers by giving their children gift cards at the end of the year. (I think it was the top volunteers). But we decided this year that volunteers should not be "bought" but instead, given a simple thank you.

Welcome to the vice presidency. C'mon in, the water's fine! I am also VP. What we do to recognize our volunteers is to list each and every one and the event or task they volunteered for in our monthly newsletter that is emailed to all parents of the school. Of course, we thank them in person too when they volunteer and/or at the event we are working. It also helps when the Board is very involved, supports and works each event along side any and all volunteers. If new people have questions, there is always a "veteran" there to provide answers and encouragement.

Also, in our first meeting I pledged support to any and all volunteers, including chair people that myself and The Board will not let them fail. We will do whatever it takes to give them the resources they need to succeed. Hopefully, that will reduce any anxiety people have about raising their hand and also show that they are appreciated.

I am new to the PTO this year and was wondering how all of you go about thanking your volunteers. Do you send individual thank you notes after each function/event that they participated in? I want to make them feel more welcome. I'm the VP this year, so, I'm trying to make little changes without stepping on the Pres. toes. I plan on making bigger changes next year as Pres. Any ideas would be MUCH appreciated. I know there has probably been much discussion on the boards about this in the past, but, I seem to be going round and round in my efforts to find specific discussions.