A couple years ago we announced we were going to cancel the winter festival due to lack of volunteers and I don't think anyone took us serious. When it was cancelled I had a lot of people call me that I knew and asked why we cancelled and if I would have called them personally and told them we really needed volunteers they would have done it. I explained that when we need a lot of volunteers, we can't follow-up with everyone personally, especially since it was already addressed in PTO meetings, newsletter, flyers and weekly in the school letter from the principle.
My feeling has always been that this is our school and everyone needs to play a part. If I, or any other officer, have to bend over backwards personally with little or no assitance and work the entire events to make them happen, then they don't need to happen. If they are that important to everyone, someone else will step up. We all have kids and I can do something else with them - which we did.
The following year we had over 150 volunteers and it was a huge success.
Wow, have you thought about giving them a call and asking for their help anyway? Some times a parent who has moved onto middle school will come back and help if needed, at least at our school.
Also, this year, due to lack of volunteer help, we set up tables and had half the class color while half the class shopped. Made for much easier looking and check out. Then they swithced. We held ours in the library, so the teacher was there to supervise all students.
We had three volunteers run ours each shift. Two to check out and one to help the shoppers pick out gifts. A couple shifts only had two people. I guess you could always extend it a day or two to spread out the classes for maybe a little less chaos.
mommtlc...has it been announce that the Santa Shop was cancelled because of lack of volunteers?? I would make sure that it is put out there, not in a 'negative' manner but just to let parents know. Maybe they depend on the same ones too much and now they may see that it needs to change.
"When you stop learning you stop growing."
We had to cancel our Santa Shop this year because we have 150 new students this year due to school closings and there is no way we will find enough volunteers to help out. It is so sad that parents aren't willing to help out and show their own child that they care.
Two Moms that we could always count on moved on to middle school this year as well. I'm still sad about that because they went above and beyond the call of duty to help out.
Same problem we are having. The people who volunteered for reading night didn't do anything so we had to find new people with about three weeks till the date of the event. I currently am having trouble finding volunteers for the Christmas Shop also...Sure miss the parents who moved onto middle school this year and last...they were always there and could be counted on.
We don't have to worry about this at our school because no one ever steps forward to volunteer. That leaves me and two other Moms to do all of the work, but we get it done. I think everyone should just work as a team to get things done. It doesn't matter who does what, as long as the work gets done. I'm the PTO President at my son's school, and I find that it causes too many headaches worrying about who is going to chair what committee. If there are people at your school who are slacking in their duties, then everyone should just pitch in to get the work done.
