Back to School Picnic
This is the first of three Marketing Matters that will focus on building community in your school. "Community" is defined by Dictionary.com as "A social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage." What it doesn't say is that community is a living system. People enter and exit from time to time. Each entrance and each exit can have a profound impact on the community and the community's image.
Look at your neighborhood, for instance. A long-time neighbor gets a job in a new city and relocates. The community has changed, since this person was the unofficial "watchdog" for the area. Then, a new family moves in with 5 children. If the community had just a few small children before, the activity level on the street will certainly increase.
Time is not only the greatest healer - it is a major force of change. We age. Children grow up. Personally, our street where we live (a double cul-de-sac) had 22 children under the age of 18 when we moved in eight years ago. Now there are 11. Eight years from now, most of the street (if the homeowners remain constant) will be eligible to belong to AARP.
Since your school changes from year to year (as the highest class graduates and a new group of students enter), your first week of school is a great time to have a "Back to School" picnic during the week. It's also a great time to get parents to sign up to volunteer for the different activities you have. Ask your PTG president to get involved - everyone brings a dish, and, perhaps, the school provides the hot dogs and burgers. All you need is a dad who loves to grill and someone with a pickup truck to bring a grill in. A family might even be able to bring a tent. Your cafeteria has tables and chairs, and could be a convenient rain location. As for recouping the cost of the burgers and hot dogs, parents pay $3, children pay $1. Collect it when the pick up their paper plate.
Nothing builds community like food - both for the mind, and for the body. Just think about the Mass.
© Michael V. Ziemski, SchoolAdvancement, 2007
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