• Thank you for Volunteering to Chair an Event!

    Two-Six Months Before (Planning Stages)

    *Think about, contact, and reserve the entertainment you would like to have. Be sure you check new or out of the ordinary entertainment by me. NYS PTA doesn’t insure many activities and we can’t do those!

    *Decide on refreshments or food.

    *Know your budget. All receipts and invoices must be turned in to our Treasurer. If you don’t know how much you have to work with, ask!

    *Find out who may have run the event prior to you – often they can share information and vendors!

    One Month Before

    *Try and attend the PTA Meeting to go over plans with everyone. This helps with the volunteer process as well.

    *Call parent volunteers and remind them that they signed up for the event. Give them time details of when you’ll need them. You can get a list of volunteers from Sandi. If you still need more, please be sure to let her know ASAP so she can get the word out for people to sign up!

    Some ways to encourage people to mark their calendars for the upcoming event

    a)Send home “Save the Date.” PTA has paper, a copy code and Linda in the office can give you numbers of children for each teacher. You make the copies, and put them in mailboxes for the teachers to send home. You can do this during the daytime, just be aware that teachers will be trying to make copies also and we try to let them in if they need it. Copies can be made until about 3:45pm. If this is difficult, try and delegate it to a volunteer OR give me a call and we can figure it out!

    b) Write a post on our Blasdell Elementary PTA Facebook page. (Aren’t on Facebook? Let us know, we’ll post it for you!)

    c) Send an e-mail to ptablasdell@aol.com – we’ll forward it to the masses!

    Two Weeks Before

    *If you need a headcount or for people to buy tickets – this is the time to get the information home. Generally speaking, you’d like to have your count about 1 week prior to the event so you can work with food, vendors, and entertainment appropriately and not stretch yourself thin at the last moment.

    *Send home a fun flyer describing the event. You should include the date, time, place, and a brief description, and an RSVP DATE if you need one. If you need a headcount or money, try and put a little sheet at the bottom for people to write. (This will require you to make copies and put the correct number in the teachers’ mailboxes. You can get the exact numbers from Linda in the office. It is helpful to her if she knows you are coming and can get the info. ahead of time. A quick call to ask her will be appreciated!)

    *Be sure that the child’s name is on that small slip as well as the number of people and teacher’s name. Suggesting they return it in an envelope marked PTA is a good idea as well.

    *We recommend asking for ticket money upfront. It does help make the event run smoother if you aren’t worried about that part the night of. You will still have people show up, but it will be less chaotic and stressful for you.

    *If you would like short (2-3 sentence) announcements made by Mrs. Lester to get the children excited about the event, please e-mail them to ptablasdell@aol.com

    Week of the Event

    *Send an e-mail to ptablasdell@aol.com asking the teachers to kindly put reminders in their agenda for the event. We will forward your e-mail to the teachers. We recommend this a day before you want it in the agenda so the teachers have time to add it. We will not send out an e-mail reminder on the day of the event. They will gladly add it any day that you ask in your e-mail prior to the event as long as they are notified ahead of time.

    *E-mail ptablasdell@aol.com to tell us exactly what you need set up in the school and where. Tables, chairs, etc. Drawing a diagram (nothing fancy), taking a picture and attaching it would be most helpful. Our custodians are amazing and set everything up for us (we are not allowed to do so) but need a week’s notice for what they will be doing. We don’t do much rearranging of the actual cafeteria. Ask if you have questions prior to your diagram.

    *Confirm with entertainment/food once you have a general head count.

    *Send a reminder e-mail to ptablasdell@aol.com for us to forward to your volunteers.

    Day of the Event

    *Arrive early to begin preparations. Plan to be there for the entire event – all the way until clean up. You should be the last person to leave.

    *If something needs to be moved or isn’t quite right from your set-up vision, Jeff is very helpful. Be mindful that he is working throughout the entire building with his daily duties. He might not be able to help you immediately but is happy to do so as soon as he has the chance.

    *Be prepared to delegate where you want people and what you want them to do. Don’t be shy. To run the event smoothly, you will need to communicate to people exactly what you expect and what your vision is.

    *Dress in cool clothes– you might feel stressed and hot.

    *You will most likely have teacher volunteers. They are really great at crowd control and placing them strategically in high volume or active areas is a great idea.

    Have fun! You are awesome just for volunteering! These are just tips – you don’t have to do what is written above, they are just suggestions on timelines based on past events and successes. Our kids will be so glad you ran this event and I will help you in any way that you need it! Contact me anytime with questions, concerns or worries. I’m here to help and if I don’t know the answer I will do whatever I can to find it! This all may seem overwhelming, but I hope, in the end, it is helpful to have a plan of what needs to be done prior to the event taking place. After planning your event, if there is something that I missed in the tips – let me know so I can add it for future use.

    President: Heather Caligiuri (call or text)716-289-0624; hmo0624@yahoo.com    

    ptablasdell@aol.com