Second Annual Volly Awards Put Unsung Parent Volunteers Center Stage

You know the expression, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” The last two years have been tough on schools, and it’s the resilience of one group—parent volunteers—that has helped keep school morale going strong. They are unsung heroes, coordinating virtual pep rallies, spirit nights and graduation celebrations, with little or no recognition. Until now!

Booster serves alongside parent volunteers at more than 4,000 schools nationally, so we’ve seen their immense efforts firsthand. That’s why we decided to establish The Volly Awards last year, as a way of saying thank you to these amazing men and women across the country.

Kyle Young, Booster’s First Annual Volly Award Winner, is a great example of an unsung hero going the extra mile to make a difference. He’s a father of two, husband and small business owner, yet he still finds time to give back by donating his talents to Hutchens Elementary School in Mobile, Ala. He has served as a PTA president, school bus driver, mentor and so much more. His efforts have made a lasting impact on the entire school community. 

Do you know an unsung school volunteer? Nominate them for the Volly Awards and bring them from behind the scenes into the spotlight. Here’s How:

  • Visit VollyAwards.com to submit as many written nominations as you’d like. Parent volunteers can be nominated by peers, school administrators, staff or themselves.
  • Tell us why the parent volunteer deserves to be celebrated and how they make a difference in their school and community. Volly Award nominations are open to all schools.
  • Monthly winners will receive a $150 Amazon Gift Card and 50 custom shirts from Booster Spirit Wear for your school. But that’s not all—the 2021 National Volly Award Winner will receive a $1,000 Visa gift card and 500 custom shirts from Booster Spirit Wear for your school!

Join us for the Second Annual Volly Awards by nominating your school’s dedicated parent volunteers today! You can also check out who won each month and be inspired by their volunteer accomplishments at VollyAwards.com.

Fire Up Your Feet!

This post was also featured on Together Count’s blog.

Fire-Up-FBObesity prevention has been identified by PTA members as a top priority for health and safety.  School nutrition has long been a key component to PTA’s history, yet PTAs are relied on to raise much needed funds for schools often through food-based methods. As a member of the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation and a Together Counts™ Ambassador, we promote energy balance and encourage schools to make healthy changes having to do with more activity to balance calories consumed. This year schools began implementing “Smart Snacks” that ensure all food sold to kids during the school day is healthy.  PTAs and families play a critical role in supporting the new nutrition guidelines as any fundraisers, school stores or vending machines running during the school day must meet these new standards.  PTAs and school groups therefore needed a healthy, easy choice for school fundraisers.

Fire Up Your Feet, a program launched in partnership between National PTA, Safe Routes to School National Partnership and Kaiser Permanente as part of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move Active Schools program, gives families, students and schools tools to create fun, active lifestyles that inspire our children and their families and schools to be healthy and physically active by walking before, during and after school.  The program, available to any elementary and middle school (grades k-8) nationally, offers an online activity tracker and school fundraising component that supports annual PTA annual fun runs or walkathons, with 75 percent of the money raised going back to the PTA or school, which is more than the typical amount of 60percent.  The Fire Up Your Feet Activity Challenge award program, which has awarded more than $115,000 and more than 1,100 K-8 schools, is also available in sponsored regions.

For many years now, Jenkins Middle School PTA has supported students, families, and staff by raising funds.  They decided that Fire Up Your Feet was a wonderful way to engage students, staff, families, and the community in increasing health and wellness. They kicked off their Fire Up Your Feet Activity Challenge with a before school walk around their track, with 100 parents, staff, and students energetically completing laps while logging their hours for the challenge. As a result, they received a $200 award.  Bathgate Elementary PTA proudly walked to school on October 8 (Walk to School Day) with almost 85 percent of the students participating.  They used their activity challenge award to purchase additional PE equipment and provide CPR and First Aid training.  Rainbow Elementary PTA used Fire Up Your Feet to support their “Walk Around the World Challenge, where families logged in almost 2,300 miles and over 79,000 minutes of exercise.

Parents are a key part to the coordinated approach to child health.  Through Fire Up Your Feet National PTA is giving families the tools they need to model positive health behaviors, meet their required amount of daily physically active and burn energy together.  And, it helps PTAs fully supporting the positive changes happening at school while still meeting the obligations of bringing much needed funding into the school.

In addition to this program, we’re proud to announce year three of our partnership with Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation and their Together Counts program to bring schools an incentive toward healthy lifestyles through the Healthy Lifestyles: Energy Balance 101 grant.  The application is open now, with a deadline of June 19, 2015.  Go to PTA.org/awards to find out how your PTA can get involved.


Heather Parker, MS, CHES is the Senior Manager for Health and Safety at National PTA, where she serves as in-house expert on child health and safety and develops new programs, materials and resources to support PTA’s health and safety efforts.