Thanks so much for your input. Our Family Fun events have always turned out well. We've done Bingo (free) and Karaoke. The free food and door prizes always helps, too! For speakers, try your local colleges, extension service, hospitals, library, etc. Do a search on the internet for "outreach -city-" and you'll get a bunch!
I am also doing a money management seminar which will probably get the biggest audience. We shall see....I'll report later!
I am new to this site, and am looking for ideas on that very issue. Living in a small county (3,000 students) our primary school PTA is suffering from a lack of interest, except from the same core group of parents & a very few teachers. Therefore, we have decided to extend invitations of membership, meeting attendance, and program participation to business owners, senior citizens, college students, elected officials, and other interested persons within the county. Limiting our exposure to "the school" has thus limited our membership and involvement levels. It is time for us to think "outside the box" and outside neighborhood boundaries. We are still looking for ideas on programs to sponsor, though we are leaning toward more traditional family events like fairs, dinner/dances with parents as dates, big band dance classes, art classes, etc. One thing we have learned is that advertising is definately key. The further out into the community your ads reach, the more interest and involvement you will generate. Hope this helps, and good luck! [img]smile.gif[/img]
I say do it and advertise the heck out of it. This year I told them that for every event we had that advertising was the key. In the past years no one knew what was going on at any ont time. Take our Fall Festival and Bingo. I found a 5-6 bug bunny at the local flea market. I carried him around to each class and the car rider line. I handed out flyers the "family night...come have dinner and fun on us.. get mom out of the kitchen type" we had a trumendous turnout. The same with the hallooween festival that our town holds. I have lived here 9 years and didn't know they had one. Last year we advertised it more than just their newspaper item, add flyers to store windows, Stand outside of walmart and pass out flyers.I was even told that we had gotten the word out to much, well over 500+ more there, it was great. In comparision the school did a family reading night it was not promoted well (one flyer sent home) and the turnout was not very good. I asked the Principal if she woule like me to make up flyers and to advertise it for them her answer was "thanks but no thanks we have a committee for that" This year I will advertise for these programs and show them how much more impact that will make. You have to get people excited about the things that are going on, get it in front of their eyes and minds and keep it there. Yes we still have a ways to go to get people at our meetings, I have cut these down this year and I am trying a few ideas that I received from this forum. Thanks to all who post here. Hoping that they will work. Good Luck. Just make everything exciting, promote, promote, and promote.
Has anyone invited the community as a whole to your PTO/PTA events? If so, what kind of turnout did you have. I am getting somewhat discouraged from the feedback I have been getting from you all. I am planning many informative speakers to talk about discipline, peer pressure, etc. Many of you have had a poor turnout. Since we are also here to help our community, I was wondering if you think I'm taking on too much? If only 10 people show up to my seminars, I think advertising in our small community newspaper might help!
Thanks for any advice,
Lisa @ Tx [img]smile.gif[/img]
