April is National Volunteer Appreciation Month, so it’s the perfect time to recognize all the classroom parents and other volunteers who make a difference in your elementary school. Here are some easy school volunteer appreciation ideas to help you say “Thank You” for all their hard work.
Volunteer Awards Night
Give your volunteers the red carpet treatment with a special Awards Night just for them. Here’s how:
- Roll out the red carpet! Create a grand entrance with a red carpet sidewalk runner.
- Create a Walk of Fame! Write each volunteer’s name on a cut out gold star and display the stars on a wall or tabletop.
- Give ‘em some swag! Create swag bags filled with fun stuff for your volunteers, like gift cards, phone chargers, imprinted mugs, candy, and more
- Present awards! Call each volunteer up to the “stage” and present him or her with appreciation awards, like gift sets, award pins, tote bags, and more.
Food Events For Volunteers
Express your thanks for your school volunteers with fun food events throughout the year. Whether you go casual or fancy, food events are great ways to bring volunteers together and show your appreciation for the contributions they make to your school. Here are some fun, food-related volunteer appreciation ideas to try:
- Volunteer Breakfast: Choose a school-day morning (or a few different days to accommodate all volunteers’ schedules) and bring in pastries, breakfast sandwiches, fruit, juice, and coffee for your volunteers to enjoy.
- Lunch Break: Purchase appreciation lunch bags, fill them with standard bag lunch fare, and hand them out to school volunteers at lunch time.
- Dinner Banquet: Host a formal dinner for your volunteers. Either have it catered or ask teachers and staff members to help serve.
- Dessert Extravaganza: Have staff members bake luscious desserts or purchase some from a local bakery. Set them up for your volunteers to enjoy all day long.
Banners and Posters
Get the whole school involved in volunteer appreciation events by having each classroom create a banner or poster to thank their classroom parents and volunteers. Display the signs in a common area, so your volunteers can see how much they are loved and appreciated.
Make Volunteer Appreciation Personal
However you honor your elementary school volunteers, personal touches really make a difference. Be sure to hand write a personal note for each volunteer – or have students create special cards – or acknowledge each volunteer individually at your awards ceremony to make the recognition more meaningful.
Whether you recognize your school’s volunteers during National Volunteer Appreciation Week or throughout the year, they will love definitely be feeling the love when you use these volunteer appreciation ideas to recognize them for everything they do for your school.