Catherder
Well-Known Member
With another fall upon us and the start of school, my little group is once again staring down the barrel of managing the parents of our kiddos. Some context - we require that all parents whose kids participate in one of our shows (acting, tech, whatever they want to do) do two things. First, join the PTA as a card-carrying, dues paying member (it costs $10 for the year). This allows us to operate in the school without being part of the school - we are a PTA club. Second, volunteer for something like 10-15 hours per show. We have many, many positions - costumes, set crew, Special Assistant to the Assistant Director (i.e. keep little Timmy and his raging ADHD under control backstage and make sure he hits his cue), props, and so forth.
The problem we run into (stop me if you've heard this one before ) is that we have a small group of parents who kick butt, take initiative, are great and put in WAAAY over the minimum hours; a slightly bigger group who do what they are told when they are told and provide a solid, competent group of workers; and the majority who beg off, have conflicts, or come to each rehearsal to sit in the auditorium and watch.
This is not a "how do I manage my volunteers" thread - that I can do. I would, though, appreciate any experience folks have with tracking volunteer hours. Some of the work is done at rehearsals, a lot of it (especially sets and props - my areas) happens during "off hours". Basically, I'm looking for a time sheet my volunteer parent crew can sign off on so that we, as leads, know that everyone is participating and have a solid tool to address the slackers with.
Thanks.
The problem we run into (stop me if you've heard this one before ) is that we have a small group of parents who kick butt, take initiative, are great and put in WAAAY over the minimum hours; a slightly bigger group who do what they are told when they are told and provide a solid, competent group of workers; and the majority who beg off, have conflicts, or come to each rehearsal to sit in the auditorium and watch.
This is not a "how do I manage my volunteers" thread - that I can do. I would, though, appreciate any experience folks have with tracking volunteer hours. Some of the work is done at rehearsals, a lot of it (especially sets and props - my areas) happens during "off hours". Basically, I'm looking for a time sheet my volunteer parent crew can sign off on so that we, as leads, know that everyone is participating and have a solid tool to address the slackers with.
Thanks.