School Volunteer Appreciation Gifts

Give greeting cards that feature art by schoolchildren.

School volunteers give many hours of their time to classroom assistance, chaperoning activities, participating on committees, planning school events and countless other tasks. Recognize the volunteers by giving them a small token of appreciation and increasing the likelihood that the volunteer will want to return to assist in the coming year.

Art Cards

Create greeting cards that feature student artwork as gifts for volunteers. Each teacher can select a few notable art projects and scan them into a computer. Print cards in color onto card stock and fold in half. Include envelopes of the appropriate size with a collection of six different greeting cards for each volunteer. Tie each collection of cards together with a ribbon as a finishing touch.

Discount Cards

Make family outings a little less expensive for school volunteers by giving them discount cards for businesses in the community. Ask restaurants, movie theaters, bowling alleys and other establishments to agree to offer a discount of 10 to 20 percent off any purchase for volunteers. Print up a list of the business names and available discounts on a wallet-sized card to give to volunteers.

Tea and Flowers

Host a volunteer tea to give school administrators a chance to meet with all of the volunteers and thank them for their time. For best results, arrange the tea as a drop-in event for a couple of hours so the volunteers can stay for a few minutes, munch on treats and speak with some of the staff at the school. As volunteers leave, give them each a packet of annual flower seeds to plant and enjoy over the summer. Mail a packet of seeds to each volunteer who was not able to attend the tea.

Notes From Children

A handwritten note from a child makes a touching gift for any school volunteer. This type of gift is ideal if there is no budget in place to pay for volunteer appreciation gifts. To get the notes, divide the names of volunteers among all of the teachers and have the teachers give a name to each student or group of students to write a thank you card. Students can also draw pictures on their cards.

References

• Energize: Volunteer Recognition