BIG RAPIDS — The Riverview PTO pulls out all the stops for events that included foam, fundraising and physical activity to ensure students have what they need.
Parent-teacher organizations, or PTOs, can be one of the biggest factors in helping bolster student events and educational opportunities. PTOs are integral to many schools, and can often help to provide students with money for field trips, fun events and supplies for class, and learning tools.
At one Big Rapids school, leaders within these organizations have been able to work together and provide students with some memorable experiences. This year, the PTO at Riverside Elementary was able to work with the school to provide some activities for the students that they were able to enjoy despite the pandemic.
Emily Coles, a parent leader within the Riverside Elementary PTO and local business owner, said focusing on improving the PTO fundraisers and where the money went to was important.
“Eight years ago there wasn’t a lot of involvement at Riverview (with PTOs),” Cole said. “I am good friends with (principal) Renee Kent and she asked me to get our efforts started, and it worked and was awesome, and we've been doing our fundraisers ever since each year with the help of the community and the school.
“I always say that we help fund the fun," she added. "It’s no secret that some of the funding just isn’t there for some of the things that we were used to when we were little, so what we do helps fund the fun things and helps teachers with resources for their rooms. Our general rule of thumb for distributing the funds is it has to be for the good of the student body as a whole, and we really try to stick with that.”
Due to the pandemic shutting down many school-related activities for months, Riverview Elementary hasn’t spent a major amount of money on events, but more on resources for students in and outside of the classroom.
Coles said a big part of determining where funding goes is getting input from community members.
“What we’ve done in the past when we’ve raised a bunch of money is we have surveyed the parents, and field trips were No. 1 just about every time we sent them out,” Coles said. “People really wanted us to help with school trips ... we’ve also purchased playground equipment, so those are great things that we’ve been able to help out with.”
“There won’t be a lot of fundraising the rest of the year because we usually try to do one big ask of the community and they come through,” she added. “Moving forward, we really just want to work at distributing the funds. We’ve raised a lot of money and we’re not saving for anything and we want to spend it typically at Riverview, and at the middle school we spend about 85% of the money that we raised that year.”
This year, Riverview’s big fundraiser was the school’s Move-a-Thon and Foam Frenzy, which raised over $52,000.
Molly Galloway, a parent who serves as the president of the Riverview PTO, said being involved in helping provide students with fun opportunities is beneficial.
“I often help to organize meetings and the fundraising events that we put on, as well as other in-school events like assemblies or working on out Move-a-Thon,” Galloway said. “I’m also often working to get other parents to volunteer for those events as well and participate in the school. PTOs really help to get the parents involved in their child’s school and helps to raise money which goes right back into the school and the student and really benefits them on a daily basis.
“Our Move-a-Thon this year was very successful and raised a lot of money for Riverview alone,” she added. “Our hope with that money is to be able to put it right back into the school and the students as usual and to do the same in the future and raise more money for the kids and foster their success. Assemblies, school equipment for kids and teachers. Playground equipment is also another thing we’d really like to purchase this year. Whatever we can do to give back to the kids.”
'FEEDBACK HAS BEEN ALL POSITIVE'
According to Coles, the community of students and parents has been incredibly supportive in helping make the events and fundraisers happen.
“I think our feedback has been all positive,” Coles said. “All the kids for the most part have been to a Walk-a-Thon, a Move-a-Thon, color run, or a foaming frenzy at least once throughout the years. The kids at this point have got the hang of it in our eight-year of putting these activities and fundraisers on, so they know what to expect.
“We also just couldn’t do what we do without the support of all of the other parents and the community,” she added. “We really appreciate things like donation of things that will help us with the incentives and events like for the Toppings visit with the principal and vice principal for the top earners in each class. Small things like that can make a difference in the lives of our students.”
Galloway said the events and activities the PTO groups put on are possible due to a group effort between the school, parents, the community, and sponsors.
“They are really the ones who make all of our work happen,” Galloway said. “We as the PTO help orchestrate it, but they are the ones who really make it possible. Without their help, we wouldn’t have raised the amount of money that we did, and it makes a huge difference. We always appreciate more volunteers and people hoping to make a difference for the students and the school.”
"I have an amazing board that works alongside me through everything and our PTO wouldn’t be what it is without them she added. "Jenae Bronkema, our vice president, Deanna Goldwait, our treasurer, and Stephanie Trouba, our secretary, all do an incredible job to help us make a difference."
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October 28, 2021 at 05:17PM
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PTO helps 'fund the fun' at Riverview Elementary - The Pioneer
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