How to Organize a Low Cost Elementary School Volunteer Orientation

Holding a volunteer orientation at the beginning of the school year is a great way to encourage parents to volunteer at an elementary school. In order to get parents to attend the volunteer orientation, you need something to draw them in, but funding is generally limited. You can put together a volunteer orientation breakfast at a low cost that will encourage parents to learn about volunteer opportunities and increase their volunteer involvement throughout the school year. Here is how to organize a low cost elementary school volunteer orientation.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Elementary school's tax ID number
• Letter from elementary school's principal

1. Write a letter to local businesses about the event. Print the letter out on school stationary and ask the principal to sign the letter. The letter should tell the local business about the event, including what the school hopes the local business will provide.
2. Solicit donations from local businesses. Go in person with the letter in hand, and bring along the elementary school's tax ID number. Ask for the manager because he is generally the person with the authority to make a donation to a local school. Tell the manager about the free advertising you will give the business for sponsoring the event. Be sure to visit popular coffee shops, restaurants and grocery stores for donations.
3. Advertise the event. Send fliers home to the parents, run an advertisement in the elementary school's newsletter and post information about the event on the school's website. Include logos for all of your sponsors so businesses who make donations will reap benefits from contributing to your event. Inquire about discounted rates for making copies of the fliers.
4. Recruit volunteers to help with setting up and cleaning up. You will need to pick up most food donations either the night before or the morning of the event, so you will need other people to assist in this. Also, some donations might require manpower to prepare, such as slicing donated bagels.
5. Host the event on the elementary school's campus. There is generally no charge to host a volunteer orientation on campus.

Tips & Warnings

• Once a local business has sponsored an event, bring along a copy of the prior year's flier advertising the event. Showing the businesses that they received free advertising for the donation last year encourages them to sponsor the event again.
• You can generally find each company's logo on its website.