You asked about 5th grade graduation ... email me. I've done this a few times and have one to do this year as well. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Our Dads & Doughnuts starts before school and the work day. There is no need for a parent to miss a day of work. It's possible they could be late to work if they don't plan accordingly but they should be able to spend time at school w/their child and leave in a timely manner to be at work on time (if working locally.) The one thing I have learned while being involved with PTA is that there is no way possible to please everybody. We try pretty darn hard but that's just a fact of life. We try to think of every single thing that could cause a parent to complain, make the event a failure or success, what works best for parents, students, & teachers but in the end there is always someone who complains. The complaint is addressed and if it's a large number of complaints then of course, we take that into consideration for future events. We also ask if they'd like to be on any of the planning committees for future events so they can have input.

We have a Grandparents day at our school and it's a huge success.

We've never put any kind of pressure on anyone to feel one way or another. I believe it is an issue of huge insecurities if one so easily feels like a deadbeat. I can't imagine anyone not understanding if an event doesn't work with ones work schedule. Yes, it is indeed called life. I do feel for the children who don't have a male role model to bring, my kid being one of them. In the beginning we would play hooky that day but then my son actually told me it wasn't necessary!

I'm sorry "Concerned" that event doesn't work well for your family and hopefully your school has other events that your children can share with their significant others. I believe it is the ultimate goal for parent/teacher associations to provide such events. I don't think the goal is to single anyone out and make them feel like a bad parent.

It is a 1/2 hour...I don't think anyone is suggesting that you take an entire day off! Why would you mention Grandparents day. If something special was offered on Grandparents day then someone would complain about that. That is what complainers do. They don't help, just complain. If a Dad can not make it due to work, etc. then you simply explain this to the child. It is called life...

We just recently had a Donuts for Dad walk-to-school day that has been going on for the past several years that I know of. There have been many children crying at home when they do not understand why Dad cannot participate. It is not about "getting another family male member to do it" for these kids. They are sad because their Dad cannot. The concept behind the Donuts for Dad is an insult quite frankly. It is for the children to feel the support of a significant male in their lives on that day (in other words making men feel like they are all deadbeats and need to prove otherwise to the PTA). My husband is their hero and cannot and should not have to take an unpaid day to prove to the school that he is fit. My parents are in their 70s and it would have been a cold day in &*%$ that my Dad did not go to work to prove his worth up at our school. I think putting food on our table, roof over our heads, and clothes on our backs is proving what a wonderful father he is. Calling him out in front of his kids and having them cry for several days is shameful on the schools part. Nobody talks of the tears because they are afraid to speak up and be "the one" in front of the PTA. We make it to Open House night. We make it to Parent/Teacher nights and all other important events. Why on earth are you making issues in our households on a topic that quite frankly does not concern the schools! People work folks! What is interesting is that "grandparents day" is a thing of the past. Why is that? Don't want to single anyone out?

We host our Dads & Donuts/Moms & Muffins events as a "give back" and do not charge or expect to make money. We do put out a donation jar and it's always fun to compare how much the Moms donate vs. the Dads, with the Dads always...ALWAYS donate more money by the hundreds! We send flyers out two weeks in advance, then the next week and the day before as our school sends a folder home every Tuesday w/info/flyers for the parents to look over. We simply call it "Dads & Donuts" but also say "Students get to bring that special lady/man in their life and enjoy muffins, coffee, and juice compliments of XXX PTA." We have the event in the multi-purpose room for an hour before school starts which usually works well with working parents who still have time to get to work. To try and increase parental involvement we always have our volunteer sign up sheet handy and usually have a membership table w/a drawing to win a school logo shirt for signing up to be a member.

Regarding supplies: Our local McDonalds will donate coffee if we have a container which we never do as finding and transporting that much coffee proves difficult. Our local Panera bread sells coffee in handy vessels and they deliver. They also offer all the condiments to go w/coffee. Cups, REAL 1/2 n 1/2, artificial and real sugar, stirrers, etc. We purchase milk & orange juice from Costco as well as the really small cups (milk/juice), napkins, small plates. The super small cups are perfect, you'll think their too small but they really are not. A lot less waste this way.

We have never had a failure. It's always very well attended. On occasion we have had them bring a book to read but keeping it simple works best.

We also have a nice and polite sign display stating: Be kind do your neighbor and just take one...or something to that extent. Only a handful ignore. We have rarely had any left overs and order 70 doz. donuts! We came to this amount through a lot of trial and error. We have run out, just make note and order more next year. Most parents are understanding with only a handful that complain and are they type that are never happy with anything.

Also, for Moms & Muffins we buy from Costco and since the muffins are so large we cut them in half and it's the perfect serving size. You can cut right through the plastic covering then just wrap once w/more plastic and they stay fresh. We do this the night before to save on having to be at school two hours before.

Oh, and we print the flyers half sheet to save on costs. We have found that trying to get parents to commit w/a RSVP doesn't work very well. They just want to show up. There are ALWAYS parents who say they never new anything about the event, never received any info on it etc., even though we sent home notices three separate times. There are always those people and you learn to politely deal with them.

Lastly, (long post!) we spread out as many donut boxes as our large cafeteria table (or we use the cooler boxes in the cafeteria) with as many boxes at it will hold and adjust as necessary as the hour goes by. We have several volunteers stationed to help select, pick up if they can't reach etc. Two to three volunteers to pour & keep filled the juice & milk, and just one person to oversee the coffee. Don't congest the coffee area. You'll get backed up if you don't have the creamers on a separate table next to the coffee. We also have a volunteer to greet at the door and hand out a plate, which makes it go so much smoother & faster! Btw, sadly it is usually our own children who are the volunteers. Getting help is not easy!