Continuing this topic with a question in another post from MYKIDSMOM >>>>>>
MYKIDSMOM>>>.....you mentioned a volunteer form....how does that work? I have had so mant parents tell me they would love to be involved but are unable to because of their job. Is this form something that would have phone
numbers/e-mail address and what they would be able to do? .....
JHB>>>The vast majority of our parents work outside the home, and I'd guess at least 75% of our Board Members and really active volunteers do as well. So we just accept that "working parents" are a fact of life and very few are available daily. However, our parents are pretty good about pitching in with vacation time, lunch hours, flex schedules, etc. An amazing number of people have something other than the strict 8-5 schedules. I telecommute on Thursdays and live minutes from our school. So it's easy to pop in during lunch or shift my hours a bit for a school appointment. Several parents work flex hours or have virtual offices in their homes. It doesn't make everyone instantly available, but it's not as black and white as I think it once was.
Yes, we do collect the type of information (phone, email, etc.) so you may want to read the opening message of this posting as to the changes we are trying to implement and the feedback we are seeking. I'll send you our current draft.
I'd love to hear any further discussion on volunteer forms.
We have a PTO coffee both in the am (kids welcome) and at night (adults only). At the coffee we have a sign up for each specific activity with a description of the commitment required.
Our volunteer sign-up form isn't worth sharing, but...for bigger projects that involve more time (ex: Field Day), the chair sends home a separate volunteer request form a few weeks before the event. Typically, that flyer includes a blank schedule of times/needs and the parent fills it out, returns it to the office and the chair organizes them all. It can get confusing if we have the event listed as a committee on our initial vol signup form, and then a parent doesn't fill out the separate request form, too (you know the whine: "Nobody ever calllllled me!"). But, if your chair is diligent s/he can reach out to everyone who signed up, no matter when they expressed an interest.
Heads up! Sent an example your way. If you register (it does not take long) you could have provided a link to your email. Easier for us. Once we get our volunteer forms our volunteer coordinator makes a master list and hands of the names to the appropriate person. Chaperone field trips go to the staff, office help-goes to school secretaries, help with fundraisers go to fundraising and so on. This makes life so much easier for all involved.
Our PTO will be working to update our volunteer form this summer, and we'd love to see what some of the rest of you use. In the past ours had one area for name/contact info, had a list of abou 10-15 general areas they could check off, and then asked them to list their youngest child with teacher name(for backpack notes - the youngest child will be in the school the longest, saves time changing for next year).
Now, we plan to have name/contact areas for TWO volunteers to encourage mom and dad (or other adult family members) to be listed individually, with 2 columns of checkboxes so each person can volunteer separately. (We considered one form per person, but I dont' think we'd get many families returning more than one.) Also, we plan to have them list ALL their kids, so we can provide volunteer lists to teachers by class. These changes take up more space and we'd still like to keep the form to one page (our draft has done this, but we haven't added any new items to the check list).
My questions are:
1) For those of you with longer, more involved forms, have you had success with a two page format (front and back)?
2) Some of the committee would like to list more specific events and every possible volunteer opportunity - not just general areas. This will significantly lengthen the form (unless we go REALLY small on the font). What has your experience been with this type? I can see where it might come in handy. But we also don't want forms to appear overwhelming.
3) Any and all ideas are appreciated. Please post replies to the list so others can benefit, too.
4) Please email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you have any samples to share.
