We just had Round Up last week and for the first time ever our PTO was there w/a Welcome Guide that we put together. It had general information about the school and the PTO. Of course our registrar told us to only expect about 15 people to come to the visitation so we only made 20 copies of the Welcome Guide well w/in 10 minutes those were gone & we were frantically making more copies. We ended up giving out 46 Welcome Guides. I'm really trying to boost parent interest in our school b/c this year has been HORRIBLE. I hope to get those new Kindergarten moms & dads excited about our school. I'll be using the Welcome Letter that "almost used up" posted to put in the front of our guide when we do this again at orientation the week before school starts. Those welcome guides will be in nice little books.

Its kinda funny how all the companies our friends and family work for are so philanthropic (sp?) and they don't even know it.
:cool:
Thanks for the reply

Shawn,
Yes, the $10 is dues for membership and the seed money we use to start off the year. We usually make around $2500 from the drive. We also have a fall fundraiser where we sell gift wrap, candy and all of the other useless things we parents end up buying to support our kids school. That usually brings in around $4000, so we have a decent amount of money to fund our fall winter programs.
As I also put together the student directory, I can assure you that none of the membership money is used to produce it. I do it with help of my employers computers and copiers (sshhh).

Is the $10 membership dues?
What does it cover?

Nevermind, I need to learn how to read a whole post.. :confused:

[ 04-22-2005, 02:02 AM: Message edited by: Shawn ]

Don't forget about the site that someone made with all of these letters and things it is orgsites.com/ma/ptoinfo

Very good site!

Here is what I use. I have posted this letter other places on this site as well.

Print on PTO letterhead.
Welcome / Welcome Back to All Families.
September is an exciting time and we are looking forward to another great year!
As the (School PTO), we would like to introduce ourselves and give you some idea of what we do “behind the scenes”. The (School PTO)provides services that enhance our children’s everyday educational experience and strives to give parents a more direct voice in what happens at our school. We coordinate many programs that all the students enjoy, such as assemblies, fund class parties as well as coordinate family activities including pumpkin carving night, holiday gift shop and our annual fun fair. We are able to do all these things through our fundraising activities throughout the year which are primarily membership dues, fall fundraiser and our spring basket auction.
The success of (School PTO) is dependant upon people who are enthusiastic about volunteering at our school. We have many committees that are active at different times of the year and require various levels of commitment. Parents who work with computers might help by doing electronic committee work,(e.g. e-mails, faxes, copying) while parents with time during the day might come to the school to help out with a committee( e.g. School Store, Life Skills.) Our basket auction, which takes place in the spring, is by far the largest event we sponsor and needs many volunteers. Whatever your own level of flexibility, (School PTO) always appreciates their parent volunteers, as do our teachers and staff. Keep in mind that by volunteering, you will get to enjoy interacting with the kids, become friends with other parents, and accomplish things that truly make a difference.
Attached are the (School PTO)membership/directory/volunteer forms. Please take the time to read the committee descriptions and sign up for the ones you find interesting. As the year progresses and the committees come together, you will be contacted by phone and/or e-mail from the chairperson. Another great benefit to joining the (School PTO) is you will receive a school friend finder.
Please return the membership dues of $10 per family and membership/volunteer forms to school via backpack by Sept. 30.

Warm regards,
(School PTO)co-Presidents

Attached to this I include short blurbs on all the committees we have, a directory information form, authorization to list children in directory and a committee volunteer form. This packet is given to parents during new parent orientation and sent home in September.