Supporting your school for this initiative as it alleviated the burden on them , while allowing every child to participate in the school community events .

As not all sponsored places were needed for the first event , we put the leftover funding toward the next event , our Christmas fair . We held it during the school day , which meant parents sent the spending money in with the children and we used the sponsorship money to discreetly ensure every child was able to go to every stall to either play a game or purchase an item even if they didn ' t have the money to spend .

All the children had a fantastic day and returned home with lots of

prizes and sweets , whilst we could still fundraise for the school . We now have a fully-tested operating model for all future events , which has not only positively increased the attendance for each event , but also allowed us to sustainably continue to raise much-needed funds for the school without leaving a single child behind .

Our top tip : " Being open-minded and communicating honestly with the school is crucial . We ' ve had great experiences working with the school , and their insight has helped us make positive changes that improve our operations . Collaboration is essential to our success ."

Based in : Ealing , London Winner of : England Volunteer of the Year Award

Nolan has been a committed volunteer with Fielding Primary PTFA for over five years , consistently going above and beyond to support the school community . He has held various roles , from Chair to overseeing fundraising events . His PTFA nominated him as their ' superpower ', due to his exceptional leadership skills and his ability to bring people together to build strong relationships ; he is their ' superpower .'

" I have held a range of roles within the PTFA – including Chair for five years ," says Nolan .

" I hope that the way I have chaired the PTFA has meant more parents ( including the dads ) have gotten involved .

" I ' ve enjoyed stepping in to support other areas where it might be needed too . In fact , now I have stepped down as Chair … I have taken on a communications role in more detail – and it ' s good fun .

" But what I enjoy most is bringing people together and helping forge a strong community – to me , it ' s what PTAs are all about ."

Some of Nolan ' s most significant achievements include raising over £ 6,500 with Aviva to build a second hand uniform shop , organising a prize pot of £ 10,000 worth of free Apple products , and not forgetting the reindeer poop bingo event , which raised around £ 4,500 . " His contributions have been invaluable to our school community ," says new Co-Chair Jen , " and he is truly one in a million ."

Nolan ' s top tip : “ Keep an open mind to new ideas and don ' t assume that just because something has been done a certain way in the past , there isn ' t a better way to do it now !”

PARENTKIND . ORG AUTUMN 2023 23