Running your PTA

Use the ready-made poster included in our guide to quick and easy events to advertise around the school, and send them home as flyers in pupils’ book bags:

parentkind. org / your-ptaexpert / fundraising / theultimate-pta-guide-to-quickand-easy-fundraisers

Keeping those sweet treats frozen in the hot weather is key. To start out, ask the school kitchen if you could use some of their freezer space. If your ice cream sales become a more regular fundraiser, you could request the donation of a chest freezer from your community, or have a catering cool box filled with bags of ice to keep your ice creams frozen – but remember, you’ ll still need to store your leftovers in a freezer afterwards. However you keep things cool, we recommend removing your frozen treats from their cardboard boxes – they’ ll freeze faster and have a more even texture.

A few helping hands at your ice cream sales will keep the soft serve flowing! Don’ t worry about getting the same volunteers to commit to every sale – instead, put together a rota to help spread the responsibilities. Make sure someone manages the rota and lets volunteers know when they’ re on ice cream duty. And it’ s not just about help on the day, if you’ ve got a talented designer on your committee, they could create a stylised menu with pictures and prices listed for that classic ice cream van feel.

The perfect ice cream stall doesn’ t have to be anything fancy. Keep it simple by using a trestle table with a wipeable surface, some signs and a clearly visible price list, plus anything you need to keep your ice creams frozen. If you’ re using a freezer next to your stall, make sure it’ s cleaned before stocking and has been switched on for the required amount of time to ensure everything stays frozen. You can then disconnect it and place it at your stall, and your products will stay frozen for an hour or two.

On the day, make sure you’ ve got everything you need. Set up your stall with your table, freezer or cool box with plenty of ice, your cash float and / or card machine, as well as your price list, menu and signs. We’ d also recommend keeping some kitchen roll, wet wipes and bin bags on hand – on a hot day, a melting cone is bound to make a mess. All that’ s left is to enjoy your sweet treats in the sunshine!