#parentboostersmatter
While out walking our dogs, Tott and Stella, I was thinking about how much speech matters. Tott and Stella instinctively know the difference between the frustrated bark of Sam, who spends too much time fenced in his back yard, and the happy bark of Scrappy, a large and friendly puppy.
My thoughts turned to speech and speeches because of how wearying all the political speeches become during the seemingly-never-ending- every-four-year-presidential-election campaign cycle. But then I hear a gem…a speech that champions the parents of this country, particularly parent volunteers, and I have to smile. In a campaign season in which there has been little focus on education by any of the candidates, my heart leapt a little when parents and parent volunteers got a little attention at this summer’s political conventions.
Michelle Obama recognized parents in her speech at the Democratic National Convention when she pointed out that we move our country forward “by all of us coming together on behalf of our children – folks who volunteer to coach that team, to teach that Sunday school class because they know it takes a village.” Wow! She noticed that #parentvolunteersmatter! And regardless of where the words came from, Melania Trump, wife of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, in her speech at the Republican National Convention, stated “we want our children in this nation to know that the only limit to your achievements is the strength of your dreams and your willingness to work for them.” I’m thrilled that parent volunteers got some well-deserved recognition!
You see, speech and speeches matter because they are so often repeated. Who doesn’t know Lincoln’s famous “fourscore and seven years ago,” Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” and John F. Kennedy’s “ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country”?
I hope the words of Obama and Trump are repeated often to acknowledge parent volunteers and all they do for our children, our schools and our nation. Because #parentboostersmatter.
The only organization of its kind in the US, Parent Booster USA is about helping school support organizations (parent teacher organizations, high school booster clubs and other school fundraising groups) handle the state and federal government paperwork required of fundraising groups.
Founded in 2004 by an attorney skilled in nonprofit and tax law, Parent Booster USA has more than 5,500 member organizations in 50 states and DC with a 95% annual renewal rate. We provide peace of mind for parent volunteers, school administrators and school district leadership.
Sandra Pfau Englund
Founder of Parent Booster USA
Sandra Pfau Englund was a working mom in 2004 when she volunteered for her son’s elementary school PTO. The nonprofit and tax law attorney quickly became mired in trying to organize the group’s finances, tax-exempt status and fundraising compliance. If it was this complicated and time consuming for someone with her professional knowledge, she wondered how other parents and booster groups managed. From that experience, Parent Booster USA was born.
Sandra is a sought-after subject matter expert and has been quoted by NBC’s TODAY show and in Forbes and The Wall Street Journal, among others. She is published and speaks throughout the country on issues related to nonprofit legal liability, financial controls and audits in a post-Sarbanes-Oxley world, board development and fundraising.
Learn more at sandrapfauenglund.com.