Why are we volunteering?
There are many reasons why we volunteer our valuable time at our children’s schools. Hundreds of research studies show that when parents get involved, children do better in school. It’s a great way to show your kids that you take an interest in their education, and it sends a positive message that you consider school a worthwhile cause. So how does being up late with paper work contribute to that goal?
Where are all the volunteers?
Finding volunteers was the biggest challenge most P&Cs raised from a survey across Queensland. Coming into secondary school many people stop volunteering. There are many reasons this could be. Volunteer burnout and lack of time with parents returning to full time work are two of the common problems raised.
What are you volunteering for?
When going for a job there is a position description. This includes the role and responsibilities. That detail often does not go into how to execute. When starting a new job, you usually have someone to work with that knows how things are done. With the nature of volunteering having a good hand-over is rarely done.
How do you find what’s involved?
Taking on a position in the Executive can be a scary prospect. Volunteering for the roles of President, Secretary and Treasurer is a big responsibility. You become liable for the operations of the association. You can find out what is involved. There is over 450 pages I have found across over 60 documents of procedures, legislation, templates and check lists you could find and read. The information is great and valuable, but there must be a better way to get someone started in the role.
Ongoing responsibilities
Messing with Agenda and Minutes Word templates, print outs, paper work and chasing people up. Yes, I signed up for Secretary. Partly due to lack of volunteers and largely due to the ignorance of the work load involved. Handing that role over to someone else requires lots of arm-twisting.
I looked for a better way
When I surveyed P&Cs, and talked with many, I was looking for a way to ease my workload. The wealth of knowledge in the community and the willingness to share is wonderful. I found lots of tips and tricks and gotcha’s in running a P&C. Much of which I’m trying to share on this blog. However, I didn’t find anyone doing anything more than Excel and Word templates for membership, agendas, minutes, motions, action lists. So I decided to create something myself…