Sorry for the late post. That holiday always throw me!!!
Parent Volunteers:
I always struggled with parent volunteers and was very envious of my band boosters as they seemed to have a lot of volunteers around all the time. The band instructor explained that the parents were “protecting their investment” as they pay for instruments and lessons for their child.
Some things I learned about parent volunteerism are:
1) Make a list of things you need help with and send home a survey so parents can see where they can help ahead of time and it helps them understand just how much needs to be done for a show.
2) Work Day Volunteers Bring coffee and doughnuts. Parents are just like kids. Give them some caffeine and sugar to get things started. This is a great time to thank them for helping and see if there is a specific task they would like to help with or share your assignments if you are able to do it ahead of time. Also consider which kids will work with them. Have a task list and ask them to pick what they would like to assist with. Anything that will make your life easier down the road. Even ironing costumes early on will help later. Also, don’t be afraid to do some cleaning during your work day. Parents are usually great organizers. One less thing you will have to do later! The more specific the task and the more structure, the more successful your work day will be. Make sure all the students thank the volunteers before they leave. It helps the adults feel valued and helps the students show gratitude.
4Show night volunteers- Having a parent backstage to help with keeping everyone quiet, assisting with hanging up costumes or setting up concessions can free you up to do other things. Don’t have too many volunteers back stage as the kids need to run the show. Parents are their back up!
Be careful about an all call for volunteers for field trips. Many times they can be your eyes on these trips but the last thing you want is someone who is going to fight with your students. Try to find those parents that give rides, help whenever you need them to help and seem to have a good rapport with students. Ask them privately for their help and be sure to get a small gift card as a thank you!
Keep a sign in list of parent volunteers and be sure to include them in your end of the year ceremony or awards night. If you have an exceptional volunteer consider making them an honorary Thespian. I still have many parents that became personal friends and am still in contact with them today.
Hope this list was helpful!
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Linda Phillips
Arizona
AZ
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