Booster Club

Today I have a couple of questions for you:

Is there any booster club that you know or are part of?

 

I just became one of the members of the Booster Club at Diego school, which is a public school in our area. As any booster club, the main idea is to raise money for the school, which translates in a better education for our kids. I learned that this group started up last year only, so it needs lots of growing in all directions, from parent involvement to strategies to raise money efficiently.

Diego school is nice and small and the parents are great. I have been getting to know some of them little by little. But the thing is that they're not strongly united. They're great individually but we're missing that sense of group that is the key for the success in any school.

My second question for you is:

Would you share some ideas with me?

Maybe you have some experience from having done this before, from having being part of a booster club. Right now I think that the main thing is to attract parents to the club. I am thinking about how to approach them but I still need to find the best way to do it.

There is already a small group of parents that are willing to put their energy and creativity into the club, but we need to come out with great ideas for raising money. Something great is the club is in the process of becoming a non profit organization, that will help a lot legally. Also, One of the parents is going to invite 2 ladies from another successful booster club to share their secrets with us. Our next meeting will take place on Nov. 3rd.  I'm trying to gather some information and feedback from other parents to bring to the meeting.

I would love to hear from you!

Have a wonderful Friday and a happy weekend!

Elsita :)

(My brother Rene keeps doing better and better everyday, yay!!)

Comments

[Veronika / Lalomino]

Hi Elsita,
Yes, in England this club is called PTA. At Max's school it is PTFA which stands for Parents, Teachers and Friends Association. It stands for supporting the children, the school and raising money for the school to benefit the children.
Our PTFA is fantastic! They are absolutely super busy and help keep the school community together. It might help that our school is a village school, and only has about 120 children which makes it very family like, I don't know.
I will email you Max's school website and under 'Calendar' you'll find the PTFA newsletters which will give you some ideas what you could do to start your Booster Club off! :)
If you like I could get in touch with the chairlady of the PTFA and ask if she'd be so lovely and give you a few tips?
Veronika

[Unlikely Nomad]

Hi Elsita!

What a great idea! I have been very involved in my kids school, volunteering with the Parent teacher organization, for the last 3 years. Lots of super ideas to share. I worked as the the communications officer (writing, promoting and planning fundraising and social events), and generally helping out at school. If I were to sum it up the most important thing for me was to help to build a sense of community at the school, by arranging ways for people to gather and become friends (barbeques, coffee mornings, nights out). Once the school community began to jell, ideas for events and volunteers came out of the woodwork with contributions and volunteer time. I always felt that our mission was to listen to and reflect the wishes and the needs of the parents, as opposed to imposing something on them predetermined before hand.

If you want to talk about this more directly I think you may still have my email address?
If not comment and I will leave it.

Hugs for all the good you do! Unlikely Nomad

[Elsita]

Thank you so much Veronika!
Your PTFA sounds like a wonderful organization.
I'm sure that being a s small school helps a lot.
Diego's school has 250 children, it's considered a small school compared
to Natalie's which has double of that number of kids.
That's why I really see lots of potential for our booster school to become like a family.
I will check my e-mail now to get the we-site address, I can't wait to see it!
Thanks a lot!
:)

[Elsita]

Thanks a lot Unlikely Nomad!
I couldn't agree more with you. The very first thing is to build a sense of community.
I saw that from the beginning when I arrived at Diego's school in Sept. we need to build that little by little.

I also loved what you wrote:
...I always felt that our mission was to listen to and reflect the wishes and the needs of the parents, as opposed to imposing something on them predetermined before hand.

That's another important element that I will keep in mind.
I will write you an e-mail to keep the communication about this.
Thank you again!

[Donna Bridy]

Dear Elsita,

It is a good idea to have some parent socials to allow the parents a chance to really talk to each other and realize all those common bonds we all have (especially when it comes to our children). A potluck dinner is an inexpensive way to do that. In the beginning you might only have a small group but over time it will grow.

The biggest money maker for our Home and School Association is an annual walkathon. Our school is in Philadelphia, PA, in the historical district. Each year we pick a theme based on history, dedicate a week of lessons to it, and then map out a route for all the students to walk (usually only 1-2 miles). Each student asks their family and friends and neighbors to pledge money for the walk. The first year we raised about $5,000. Eight years or so later we are up to about $14,000 collected. There is no overhead in doing this except for some prizes we buy as incentives, so it is mostly profit. We pay for a music teacher with this money.

[Elsita :)]

Wow Donna!
The walkathon is a wonderful thing.
I'm really impressed by the amount of $ raised, I will bring this idea to our club.
Such a simple way to raise money and also have the kids and parents involved. Then, the best part is that with that money the kids get to have a music teacher.
Really inspiring!
Thanks a lot for sharing!!

[Josje]

Hello Elsita,
I have been a member of my son's elementary school PTA for 8 years now and this is my fifth year as the chairman. It is wonderful to be involved in my son's school this way. Our group aims to facilitate communication between teachers and parents, organize social and cultural events and organize fundraisers.
As for the fundraisers, we organize two types: for specific goals and for a general top up of school funds. If we have a specific goal we want money for (i.e. new climbing frames for the playground or a theater company coming to perform in school) we organize a one day event, like a walkathon (runathon, laps around the soccer field), bingo or fancy fair. Just like Donna said, the walkathon requires little organization and is our biggest moneymaker as well. Bingo (kids love this) and a fancy fair take a lot of organization, but so much fun for kids and parents alike and have an excellent return.
Our latest fundraiser was last Friday when we held a second hand childrens book market for all the kids in school. We asked people to donate childrens books (only in good order)to the school which we sorted by reading level. On Friday morning we had all the books laid out on stalls and the kids came with their class to buy a book for 50 cents. It was wonderful to see how enthousiastic they all were. The younger children loved to make a choice all by themselves and then pay for it themselves too. The students all had a fantastic morning, we stimulated interest in books and reading, and raised 330 euros for the school library! Not bad for a school which only has 200 students.
We also raise funds by entering into recycling schemes. It makes the students more aware of the environments and raises some cash for the school. Three times a year the Salvation Army comes by to pick up textiles (clothes, blankets etc.) which the parents will bring to school that morning. We get paid a small amount per kilo, which results in a few hundred euros each year. Not to be sniffed at for so little effort on our behalf!
Every three years we can participate in the local paper recycling scheme, which requires more organization from us but brings in more than 2000 euros! There are some more recycling schemes we take part in all year round which take little effort (like collecting empty printer cartidges) but will yield a nice income.
Goodness, my answer is a long one, but I hope it will give you some ideas. Good luck with the booster club!

[even]

At a school where I used to volunteer, we held a yearly art day. The funding went specifically to arts including music and visual artists in residence (professionals who come and teach at the school, show work, and put on performance). The school also added a yearly large art project made by the eldest class like a sculptured gate, a tile mural, or large group painting (this was facilitated by the artist in residence).

To prepare, each student made small works during regular art hours. Themes, mounting the works (even on construction paper), and enrolling professional artists to come and host a class help with creating more refined works with every age group.
Each class made one or more large projects such as painted furniture, art quilts, tile murals, decorated playhouses, etc. Local businesses donated materials (get the kids to take a letter in to the owners with a wishlist).

The week prior to the event a box is placed at each classroom, everyone can silent bid on the individual pieces. The night of the event a large auction for the big pieces is held and the winners of the small pieces are posted next to the piece. Some refreshments are sold. Donated gift baskets can also be silent auctioned, especially good are those that have art themes.

The first years the school made around 20,000USD and now it is often more like 75,000USD as the popularity has grown in the community and art collectors/hobbyists love to check out the work too. Make sure to invite the community beyond the school, anyone who would be interested in art!

[McKenzie]

Hello,

I think what you're doing is great! I work at a small Montessori school and it's my job to plan gatherings and encourage a greater sense of community. Something that really made me think was watching a film called Transition 101.

http://vimeo.com/8029815

It really helped me think about how important a sense of community is. People really come together when it comes to the health of their children. We have an organic vegetable garden at school. Every spring we hold a garden party and the children, parents, and teachers plant seeds. In the fall we have a harvest party. There is always a potluck dinner and we discuss our intentions together. I've envisioned a lot more too. For example, could we hold pancake breakfasts for the homeless (donations welcome to help the school)? Could we host a farmers' market? Could we host outdoor movie screenings? Schools are amazing venues for coming together as a group, and in my opinion, nothing does it better than a simple vegetable garden.

Good luck! :)

[Maiz]

We just organized a CSA delivery as a fundraiser at one of my son's school. (We're making about $600 every 8 weeks, for very little effort, and hoping it will grow.)

As far as that sense of a group goes, at our other school we do lots of potlucks, sometimes at school and sometimes at people's houses, and they're great for community building. We also organize a few weeks of meal deliveries to support families when they have a new baby or some other need. People just sign up on a calendar if they want to drop off a meal. At that school, lots of parents hang out with their kids on the lawn after school every day, and there is a real community spirit there.

You're doing a great thing there, and they're so lucky to have you!

[excire]

Наткнулся на данную статью непредвиденно. Но не сожелею. Статья очень понравилась. Интересно было читать.

[Tina]

The three fundraisers at our school that I've enjoyed most are the annual auction, the art show/sale, and the school photos. The auction is a silent and live auction. The silent auction is items donated by parents and community businesses. It's not a very efficient fund raiser though as I think it takes months to prepare. It's the biggest fund raiser.

The art show/sale was artist parents and friends donated art for a one day show/sale in a local art gallery. That raised a few thousand dollars.

The final fund raiser that I like is a couple of the parents are photographers. Instead of contacting with a company to take the school photos, the photographers take the photos of the kids. Then parents can purchase photos through an online vendor. All profit goes to the school.