We have the same problem at our school. We hold a "Welcome Back Night" two weeks after school starts. I had volunteer information on a table in the auditorium along with the security clearances. I made 50 copies and all 50 were taken by interested parents. Guess how many returned them to the school so they can become a school volunteer? 3 were turned in. We usually have between 5 to 10 people at our meetings and 4 of them are officers. It is a constant battle. We send home letters, reminders, flyers, etc. Nothing seems to draw parents into the building. It really makes me mad and sad at the same time. I definitely feel your pain.

I agree Communicate & Communicate again. Sounds like you're doing that so asking why it isn't working is a good question.

With our PTO we were always asking for a "chair person" and got little response. When we started asking for committee members - overwhelming numbers said yes.

Another sticking spot it asking for the "general" we need volunteers. We now make sure we're telling specifics. IE: the start time & ending time of the event, how many people needed for each time slot and that if we get enough volunteers, no one is expected to be there the whole event. I think that has also been a significant reason for our increased volunteers. No one feels like they have to give up the whole afternoon/evening to volunteer and will have time to enjoy the event with their kids as well as spend time volunteering.

I'm like dlf, I run the website ( Lake Center PTO ) and also write up the Newsletter. So I make sure we're thanking people for their time. I also try to make it so others know we're having fun while we volunteer, it's not a hard, boring job.

I don't necessarily hand write out thank you's to people, but I do make sure that when I see them that I thank them again and reach out to talk with them at other events or in the hallways, etc.

I am a strong advocate of either the Three for ME or the 2 Hour Power programs. Basically, both are asking parents to pledge, promise, etc only that amount of hours per school year. Most will end up doing way more but those small hour increments really add up. 2 Hour Power is on this site and you can link to Three for Me here... www.three4me.com
This is our PTA's 2nd year using the Three for Me program and I can attest to how well it works. We averaged over 500 volunteer hours per month in two schools with 750 students and 500 school families.
Our principals got on board with this 100% and it is THE parent volunteer program for both schools. Any parent who does ANY work at or on behalf of our schools is a Three for Me volunteer.
The first day of school, I send home a detailed list of EVERY volunteer opportunity at both schools. We include a cover letter and a form for them to check which opportunities they would like to participate in.
We receive back about 250 of these forms. Using the PTOManager, I enter them into the database and voila....tons of volunteers at my fingertips.
I only see continued success and an increase in parent volunteers by using either of these programs.
Good Luck!

Communicate, Communicate- talk to the parents as peers not as volunteer recruiters, first. Make them welcome even if 'Time' is needed.

Make sure they know helping at home with homework, supplies, attending an event is just as important as volunteering at an event.

As posted above it sounds like your following the steps to recruit more volunteers... It takes baby steps not giant leaps and bounds to change attitude, perception, and involvement.

I'd personally love other social groups, HS and MS students volunteering (for comunity service hrs), maybe (advertising or marketing) as pairing with adults as a 'mentoring group' would help ease the perception that parents arent needed.

[ 10-15-2006, 03:24 PM: Message edited by: Shawn ]

We definitely use the service clubs. I think it is a win win situation. As to other parents I'm a huge believer in communication and what that brings to the table. So many folks don't help because they just don't know anyone. With weekly emails that are "chatty" folks come to know at least one person by name (me) and I always refer to others in the emails so when they do come they feel welcomed. We also work very hard on our website brentpto.com, and our newsletters (accessed through the site) to create a community. I only had one time when I really had to beg for help and that was our carnival. One email and the response was overwhelming. If we make this fun...people will come. If you are well organized, self deprecating and thankful (as you seem to be) then people will start to feel the love and enjoy the comaraderie.

I hope these ideas help...be as visible as possible and be the first to shake a hand. It is harder for folks to say no if you've been out there for them, and they no you. Our end of year appreciation brunch we had 175 volunteers to thank. Not too shabby considering we were only in our second year!...
d

How do we get more parents to volunteer? We make personal calls, send thank-you notes, talk about the events at our meetings, etc. and we still can't get more than a few people to help with our events. We have started using the local high school National Honor Society to help. We are getting the help we need and they are getting the service hours they need. I have mixed emotions about doing this. I am afraid less parents will volunteer if they see we are getting help from another source.