Show Your Volunteers that you Care!

Ideas for Volunteer Appreciation

Volunteering is a fun and easy way to give back to your community and to also help others who are in need. There are numerous ways one can volunteer: they can help out at a food shelter, pick up trash in a park or ditch, take care of animals at an animal shelter, or serve food to the homeless at a local church or community center. Even taking a moment to help your elderly neighbor rake the leaves or shovel the snow goes a long way. The options and opportunities are there every day.

Volunteers are a huge part of achieving our community goals, without them giving their time, skills, and energy it would be difficult to keep the community we live in the place it is today. If you are part of a volunteer organization and would like to show your thanks to these dedicated volunteers, here are a few ways you can do just that:

Get Creative with Food or Treats!

This is a great way to show your appreciation for your volunteers because it gives them a little treat to snack on and it also lets them know that you are thankful for all of the hard work they have put in.

Sometimes it’s the Small Things that Count!

Even the smallest gift can send a big message. If you personalize a pack of gum, a stick of chapstick, or a scented candle, that is something that your volunteer will always remember.

Get Crafty!

If you would like to give them a unique gift that will save you a little money, show them you care by creating a gift for them! This will show your appreciation because the volunteer(s) will see how much thought and effort you put into each gift. 

                    

Here at Ashley Farm’s we truly appreciate everything that our volunteers do each and every day, and we find that it is very important to let these individuals know how much they mean to us. If you do not currently volunteer, we highly recommend it because it is one of the best things you can do not only for your community, but also for yourself. Just remember that even a little bit can go a long way.

Keep Parents Involved in School Fundraising

Getting parents and students involved is the goal in order to make fundraisers successful. According to one statistic, 77% of parents think their child’s school should fundraise and want to get involved. That’s a promising statistic, and although many parents want to help as much as they can, many aren’t consistently involved. This consistency is needed, but as life continues to become more hectic, parents have turned to helping every now and then or not at all. How can this be changed?

What really matters when it comes to parental involvement is making each parent feel connected. If a solid connection is made, parents will be more willing to continue helping with their child’s future fundraisers. To create this connection, here are some tips to follow:

Give parents hard data about previous successes and accomplishments.

A steady flow of reassuring information of what you are doing and that you are accomplishing great things is what parents need. Feeding parents hard data builds the schools credibility, gives parents confidence, and makes parents happy and satisfied.

Connect with parents often.

Send parents newsletters regarding how your fundraising efforts are going or went if the fundraiser is over. Another great idea is to send letters of thanks. Keeping communication going is extremely important for top of mind awareness for being involved in future fundraising efforts.

Be personal with parents.

You should be tracking parents’ various interests and their participation with various fundraisers. Doing this allows you to tailor mailings to parents’ specific interests, and if you are able to do this, it makes parents realize: “they know me, and they care about me.”

Make it simple.

Make it easy for parents to participate. Keep meetings short and post information about the fundraiser and upcoming events in a variety of outlets – school website, community website, Facebook (social media) and in the school bulletins whenever possible. The easier you make it for parents to get information, the more likely they will be involved.

Always communicate to parents what monies are doing.

This is extremely important! More than anything, parents want to know what their time and effort is accomplishing. Tell them before they get involved, keep them updated as the fundraiser continues with your progress, and follow up when the fundraiser is over with schools success.

Whether you use one or all of these tips, we hope that the idea of keeping parents involved is of new importance. Make 2014 the year that you spread the love and start to keep parents involved for the long run!

The Importance of Supporting Music Programs in Schools

Nobody doubts that having creative outlets available to students is hugely important, not only for academic performance, but for development of children as a whole. A variety of studies have been done on the impact of music on children. The results are clear. Music education is beneficial to children in a variety of ways.

· It’s more than just music. Participating in music education encourages children to use wide-ranging skillsets.

· Music has major benefits for language development. Musical training has an impact on the part of the brain used for language.

· Music affects overall intelligence. Statistics show that children involved with music have higher IQs than those who do not. Musical children also do better on tests.

· An understanding of music can help children excel in other areas. Studies show that students with knowledge of music are able to better solve problems in other areas such as math.

· Music is fun. Music education can be a great creative outlet for children.

Now it is more important than ever for schools to secure funding for music programs. With budget cuts affecting school districts across the country, music is often the first type of program to lose funding or to be cut entirely. But something can be done. You can help your local school’s music program by supporting their fundraising efforts. When a child knocks on your door or a family member asks you to buy something to help support their school, consider it, because in doing so, you are supporting so much more than just music.

Why Product Fundraising Works

Why is product fundraising so popular? Simply because it works. School and youth organizations raise nearly $2 billion each year in product selling. Specifically, sales through catalogs still remain as the most popular form of product selling within schools.

But just why has product fundraising been sustainable as a profitable form for schools? Here are some of the top reasons:

· Great products, great cause. You have seen the high-quality products offered at Ashley Farms. What kind of person can steer away from our cookie dough or delectable fruit pies? And don’t even get us started on that Oreo Cookies n’ Cream Cheesecake. And you won’t even feel bad about the calories, because the money is going to a non-profit organization in need.

· Engages the entire community. Think about it – school fundraisers integrate not only the sales representative and students. Product fundraisers within schools involve administrators, teachers, and parents! And in all seriousness, what kind of customer can say no to a cute little kid asking if they want one of our specialty cupcakes?

· Motivation for the kids. When students get involved in these fundraisers, it is asking them to self-motivate, enhance their interpersonal skills, and improving confidence as they approach their neighbors and other community members asking for their business. Product fundraisers usually involve some pretty cool prizes, so if they work hard enough they too can be rewarded in a special treat!

In order to make sure the fundraising moves smoothly, it is also important to remember these tips:

· Within school fundraisers, distribute catalog packets at the end of the day so that they go directly into student backpacks and not lost in their lockers or desk!

· Be specific in communicating your group’s fundraising goals.

· Start early. If you wait until the deadline of the sale date, you may become overwhelmed and feel defeated, therefore losing motivation to complete the sale goals.

· Make it easy for parents and other community members to participate. Without clear goals and objectives, the catalogs may be tossed away. Make it apparent that you are helping the community and not just selling.

Doing Your Fair Share

A team can achieve far greater things together than they can apart. In order for this to be true, it is important that every individual is doing their fair share so the group can achieve their overall goals. When each member contributes their own unique abilities and efforts, the result can be something quite incredible.

For example, here’s how Jim Messina (President of Ashley Farms) relates doing one’s fair share to a musical performance:

"Everyone must attend all of the rehearsals, have a good attitude at rehearsal, there must be group discipline, students must work on their parts at home- or in other words, show up for the performance as prepared as you can be individually. That is the definition of doing your fair share.” 

Doing ones fair share can add up to something wonderful, in the case above: a flawless performance.

The concept of doing one’s fair share can definitely be related to fundraising as well. For example, if each student participating in an Ashley Farms’ fundraiser takes a brochure, shows it to friends and family and sells at least a minimal amount of 10 items, then two goals have been reached. The student has achieved an individual goal- which adds up to a collective group goal. 

Working hard alongside others to achieve a common goal (whether it is your teammates, group members, classmates or coworkers) is a skill that will be used throughout one’s entire life. Just remember- better results can be accomplished as a team, not only the collective results but the individual results as well!