For every event, I (PTO Pres.) have been working in conjunction with the principal to send personalized thank yous to every volunteer. The volunteer coordinator supplies me with a list of everyone who showed up. I send them home through their child's teacher. The note encourages volunteerism by reaffirming the importance of parental involvement in our children's education. It also says that the example of community service that they have set will be followed by the next generation. For the end of the year, I gave every member of our BOD a small flower pot filled with a small bag of dirt, thyme, hershey's hugs and a 100 Grand Bar. The note attached said the gift has special meaning. 10 Hugs-One for every month of the school year which you have selflessly given to our school. A 100 Grand Bar- You are worth a million but I can only afford 100 Grand and Thyme-to replace the immeasurable amount you have given up and continue to give up. A heartfelt thank you for your dedication and hard work. Also attached was a volunteer poem. Our PTO also has an annual Volunteer of the Year Award in which we recognize an outstanding contributor to our school. People are nominated by parents, faculty and students. Then the BOD votes on nominated candidates. A plaque in the main foyer holds the recipients names. The award is presented at the end of the year awards ceremony. Sorry to have gone on so long , but you can see volunteer recognition is very important to our PTO.

For the volunteers I bought trial size bubble bath and gave them out at our April meeting. April is volunteer appreciation week. I also read a volunteer poem. Throughout the year I have written a thank you note to all the chairpeople. I have been surprised by everyones thank you to my thank you. It seems that this is the first time most of them have ever gotten a written thank you from anyone for their volunteerism. I know this is a simple thing, but it is much appreciated.

For "Teacher Appreciation Week" (we include cooks, bus drivers, assistants, etc.) we did daily activities, but I think the biggest hit was the Car Wash. We made movie tickets that related to the wash. Then had the teachers turn them back in, writing their name, vehicle information or license number on the back so we would know how many cars would be washed. The next day we had the staff label their car keys and place them in a basket. We "valeted" the cars to the wash lot, cleaned them and returned them to their spaces. As a humorous side-note, I recorded the radio station or type of music each vehicled played and presented it to the Prinicpal to have fun with. All positive comments! Loads of 'thank you' notes!

My name is Kaitlyn Cronin and I'm a new writer for PTO Today. My focus will be on the "Chalk Talk" section of the magazine.

I'm currently looking for fun or interesting ways you've recognized volunteers. What methods have you used to make volunteers feel appreciated or more motivated?

Did you hire a plane to sky-write their names? Send them a candygram? Or just give them a big hug at the end of a long day?

Any stories you have would be greatly appreciated. Please post them to the discussion forum. The best and the brightest will be included in next issue's Chalk Talk. Thanks in advance for your help.