Jingle bells, jingles bells, jingle all the way!
Oh, what fun it is to join PTA today!

(Oh YEAH! We had to get that in there. It’s lucky you didn’t hear us sing it!)

The other day we were talking to someone about PTA. They said, “what difference does it make how many people join PTA?” Interesting… As we talked to her we learned she had no idea that PTA is a child advocacy group and the ONLY lobbying group for our children on a local, state or national level. Let us repeat that – THE ONLY LOBBYING GROUP FOR OUR CHILDREN. And it’s some 5 million members strong! The good news is Congress does listen to PTA! They have to – we are too big and strong to ignore.

What does that have to do with our PTA members, you ask? Well, for every so many members we have, we (Stevenson PTA) gets to send people to have a voice / vote at PTA on a state-level. The more members we have the more people get to go and be heard. They get to tell PTA and vote on what they think PTA should or should not support. We watched one lady get up and talk before some 4000 PTA members. She was so passionate in her beliefs she changed their minds on which way to vote! WOW! That could be you.

You could change people’s opinions; you could improve the future for your child. Yes, this all seems hard to believe, but it’s a FACT! One voice does make a difference! Imagine then, PTA being a voice 5 million strong – its powerful! So the number of members we have does make a difference, you make a difference!

This is the power of PTA. But we also feel what’s even more important is the “here and the now” of Stevenson’s children! Just as a reminder – because of PTA’s involvement your child gets the following:

• Events such as Walk To School Day, Boo Bash, Field Trips, Valentine’s Day and many more
• Assemblies, our Library, the Garden and Holiday Baskets
• We try and make sure every child has equal opportunities.
• We promote parent education so kids can have the best environments.
• We provide our Teachers their necessary Classroom Supplies.

One of my favorite things that PTA does is adopt families for our Holiday Baskets Program. This year we have Katherine O’Rourke, a high School student, and her Mom, Diane O’Rourke, organizing this amazing event. They have requested that we adopt 5 families. They want to provide breakfast, lunch, dinner and presents for these families to have for their Holiday. These are families that would not be able to have a special Holiday if it weren’t for the support of our PTA and you the donors. You will soon see flyers on how to donate to this worthy cause. Watch for information about this and please participate – these families deserve it! A special thank you to this fabulous Mother/Daughter Team for taking this on!

As you can see PTA is important. We are not just a group that hangs out and talks; we make things happen and we do go on to bigger things and lobby for what’s right in our children’s lives. We are providing you things your child would not normally have at school.

Please, if you haven’t already joined us, make a difference today and become a member of Stevenson PTA! If you are a member and haven’t been to a meeting – Join us! We want to see new faces. Together we will have a stronger voice!

Tiffany Bakas and Felix Chamberlain
“The Tag Team”