About Me and This Blog

You! You’re the one who guiltily raised your hand at the last meeting and volunteered to join the PTA/PTO board at your kid’s school.

You’re in for it now.

Perhaps you’re joining a well-oiled machine with a lot of useful information and contacts already in place. Perhaps all of the other involved parents moved away/got too burned out/got too busy to stay on, and you’re floundering. Or perhaps you’re even starting a new organization from scratch.

So now you have a lot on your plate.

“Make a web site! Get a Facebook page! Raise more money! Sell more cookie dough! Plan the Book Fair/International Night/Carnival/Ice Cream Social! Keep track of all of your members, and while you’re at it, track their volunteer hours! Don’t violate your bylaws! Remember all your tax forms if you want to keep your nonprofit status!”

Oh, is that all?

There are lots of online resources out there that can help you do these tasks more easily and quickly. Some are free; some cost money. Some will solve your problems. Some will give you nothing but headaches. How do you pick and choose from the products out there? What solution is best for your school and your group?

That, I hope, is where I come in.

I’m Stephanie Diaz. I’ve volunteered at my local elementary school PTA for four years and I spent five years helping to run a co-op preschool. I’ve been a board member at both schools. I’ve helped with web sites and email groups and directories and Google apps. I’m also a part-time, freelance technical writer and project manager.

So I’ve learned a lot. And guess what? I’m still learning as I go along.

My goals with this blog:

• Tips, tricks, and shortcuts for using technology to get the job done – social media, blogging platforms, free online tools such as Google Apps, and more.
• Basic, nuts-and-bolts tutorials to get you going.
• Reviews of volunteer products and resources online. There are a lot of info and products out there. Which ones are worth your time and money?
• A sense of humor, and a sense of perspective. The volunteer work we do is important, but the world will not end if there are three dozen chocolate chip cookies and only one dozen oatmeal cookies at the bake sale. No stereotypes of PTA mean girl moms, thanks.

My experience is with the PTA and with a co-op nursery, but I hope the solutions and tips discussed here can be used by any parent volunteer group.

We’re volunteers. Sometimes we have full time jobs; sometimes we have flexible schedules; sometime we’re at-home parents. But I don’t think any of us has a surplus of free time or cash. I want to help find solutions that save you (and your group) time and money.

I don’t assume you have a PhD in computer science. My instructions will not start with “First, make a website.” As Dr. McCoy often said on OS Star Trek, “I’m a doctor, not a ____” (Fill in the blank as appropriate – I told you I was nerdy.) You’re a not a professional volunteer, you’re a lawyer/nurse/preschool teacher/mechanic/restaurant manager/parent with a bunch of yowling kids and babies pulling at your shirt.

Enjoy! And please contact me if you have an idea to share.