7 Great April Fool's Day Pranks to Play on Your Kids
We had so much fun with our great April Fool's Pranks we found last year, we wanted to share some NEW ones - have fun making your kids laugh this year!
Want to stock up on Field Day games, supplies and surprises?
Enter to win $250 in supplies and prizes from VolunteerSpot & CarnivalSavers in the Fuel Your Field Day Sweeps - click here!
$250 worth of Field Day prizes include:
Plastic cones
Jump ropes
Multi-color pennant banners
Large hopper balls
Star kiddie sunglasses
Award Ribbons
Trophy necklaces
and more . . .
What are you waiting for? Enter today and spread the word so your school has more chances to win!
Ends 4/1/15. Prize will be shipped week of 4/6/15.
Thanks to our partner, CarnivalSavers.com for providing the Grand Prize . . . Check them out for Field Day and Spring carnival games, supplies & prizes!
5 Ways to Leverage Technology to Boost Community Impact
Power your nonprofit organization to do more GOOD by leveraging the technology and digital assets right at your fingertips! From online volunteer calendars and coordination tech tools to digital activism and online awareness, the technology to boost your community impact is but a click away. Start with these 5 tech strategies
1. Organize volunteers online: Use free online volunteer scheduling tools with automated reminders to recruit and engage more volunteers and donors for your organization or cause. Software Advice, a company that researches volunteer management systems, recently released a report revealing several key (and surprising) findings about how nonprofits across the country are engaging and organizing volunteers.
For example, when asked what was the top requested functionality by nonprofit organizers in management software, the SoftwareAdvice.com Volunteer Management Report found tracking volunteer hours and volunteer activity, as well as streamlining communication as the three largest draws.
Why then are 63% (according to the survey) still using paper signup sheets and tedious spreadsheets to organize volunteers? Not to mention "reply-all" emails! It can be hard to make the leap into the digital world and the assumption often is that centralized software is expensive - trying free online tools with intuitive scheduling features, automated reminders, eCalendar syncing and hours tracking is a great place to start. Try it out now
3. Encourage digital activism: Remember the "Ice Bucket Challenge" that had millions of people around the world seeing videos in their facebook and twitter feeds, bringing awareness to the battle against ALS? Digital activism like this optimizes on the viral nature of social media, bringing causes and organizations to light through creative, eye-catching online campaigns. While your nonprofit might not need to reach the world just yet, you can lead the fight for your cause in your own community with an online campaign the encourages followers and community members to take one single action to spread the word - whether it's taking and sharing a video, posting a photo hold a sign, sharing a campaign hashtag, or simply donating and spreading the word.
4. Boost your online presence: Can your website easily be found online? How about your facebook or twitter communities? Your nonprofit's digital footprint is a great benchmark for measuring how and where your organization can grow their online presence. Easy, powerful ways to start using social media to broaden your nonprofit's online reach include:
Connect with 'like' organizations in your community
Send regular e-correspondence to volunteers, donors & followers
Still trying to grow your social followers and online visitors? Make sure to post your website, facebook address and twitter handle on all marketing and event materials - from eNewsletters to signs, flyers, brochures, you name it!
5. Make donating online easy: Shopping online and checking out with a click seems so commonplace these days - one would think donating online is always just as easy, but that's simply not the case. A Nielsen Norman Group study revealed 25% of nonprofit respondents failed to even have a "Donate Now" call to action button on their own homepage.** Being as clear and straightforward with the ask for a donation is an absolute must in the digital age for nonprofits that are going to steadily raise money and grow their community impact. The NNG study also revealed that the clear calls to action like "Donate" and "Donate Now" outperformed similar counterparts include the word "Contribute" as far as respondents reported being willing to click.
In order to maximize your nonprofit's reach, recruit more hands-on support and loyal donors, and ultimately boost community impact, leveraging technology is absolutely necessary in the digital age - get online today!
Whether staying in town or headed on vacation, safeguard your family this Spring Break with these top tips!
1. Online Safety: Spring Break often means more screen time for kids as they take a break from school and homework to relax at home. Whether they’re watching TV, gaming on the computer or surfing the web, make sure your little ones are protected online and viewing content and visiting sites approved by you the parents. ControlwithCable is a great resource for parents to learn more about setting controls and managing what kids are finding online and on TV.
http://giphy.com/search/home-alone/3
Cable providers have become pioneers in solving the challenge of keeping kids safe in a digital marketplace that has exploded with access to content via multiple channels, services and devices. Solutions for parents include television controls that can restrict content based on content rating, channel, or even specific programs or series; additionally, online controls are available to be used to restrict or monitor the sites children access, or to monitor the interactions with other online users. Learn more
2. Beach Safety: “Don’t forget the sunblock!” seems like an age-old adage, but it simply can’t be beat. Protect your family with broad spectrum sunscreen that shields against UVA and UVB rays, even on the cloudy days. Stock the car with extra - you never know when you’ll take a last-minute pool or beach trip. Also note lifeguard stations, rip tide warnings and other alert signs at the beach and make sure your kids see them too.
http://sydology.com/2014/07/03/sun-smarts/
3. Travel Safety: Keep your family safe wherever your Spring Break travels take you by knowing danger and risk areas at your destination and sharing itineraries and contact info with family or friends back home. Practice safe driving too by switching off drivers on long trips and keeping a hard copy map in the car just in case phone service is inaccessible.
http://www.brit.co/oscars-gif-guide/
4. Home Safety: While kids have Spring Break off from school, many parents simply don’t have that option with work - it’s important to make sure your teens, especially, are safe and making good choices while they are left home alone. Set clear expectations for which friends may come over or which friends’ houses they may visit, check in regularly with a text or call, safeguard over the counter and prescription medicines, and put away alcohol.
http://www.thegloss.com/
5. Crowd Safety: Always have a plan for your family in crowded and large venues like amusement parks and shopping malls. Make sure your kids’ phones are charged and portable chargers are handy on your trip; and consider having kids wear ID bracelets in case they get separated from the group and an adult needs to help them find you. Additionally, make sure all family members and friends in your group know the itinerary, have a way to track the time and make a plan to reunite at specified location.
http://www.fanpop.com/
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More about our sponsor ControlwithCable:
The Cable Impacts Foundation is working hard to spread awareness and keep parents informed about these issues.
Visit ControlwithCable.org today to discover tools, tips and educational resources for both television and online parental controls. Go now! It’s too important to put it off another day.
Cheers to Liz Provo, Winterfest Organizer, Easthampton, MA
As the Winterfest Organizer, Liz Provo took a chance on VolunteerSpot to tackle all of her organization duties and anticipates using it for future events as well. Learn how Liz incorporated VolunteerSpot to make her job easier!
Please tell us about your organization and your volunteer needs.
The Nashawannuck Pond Steering Committee is an advisory board to the City of Easthampton, Massachusetts. Our mission is to bring awareness to the pond that is in the middle of our community and to be stewards for its health. Easthampton WinterFest is a one-day community-wide event that was established in 2014 and celebrates winter, community spirit and our city’s rich history in the ice trade. This year our event grew to seven venues and we needed about 40 volunteers to make the event a success.
Explain how you use VolunteerSpot to coordinate these volunteers.
VolunteerSpot allowed us to organize and describe our spots easily, and offered volunteers a good description of what they would be doing. Since we had both outdoor and indoor venues, this was really important.
Why did you decide to use VolunteerSpot?
When we held the first WinterFest we had little time to explore online volunteer registration and ended up using a spreadsheet. There was no way to communicate with volunteers and it required a huge amount of manual phone calling to reach out. With VolunteerSpot, we integrated Facebook or our newsletter with the registration link and just watched our inbox for new sign-ups. We also loved being able to print out reports for committee meetings and the check-in on the day of the event. Being able to send a thank you to all our volunteers immediately following the event helped us tell them how much we valued their help (especially standing out in close to zero-temps)!
What’s one piece of advice you have for volunteers or their leaders out there?
Make it EASY for your volunteers to participate by promoting the online registration. That also means clearly defining duties and communicating with your volunteers. Get them excited about being part of the event.
Anything else you’d like our readers to know about your organization or volunteering?
Volunteering is a terrific way to get involved in your community or supporting a cause.
We salute Liz and all the other volunteers making a difference in their communities. Check out how VolunteerSpot’s Volunteer Software can save you time and stress and boost parent involvement in your school. Take a tour today!
We use our phones for pretty much everything these days, but can your phone also keep you from getting sick? With dozens of apps and devices on the market tracking everything from your diet to blood pressure, your phone could be a powerful tool for your health. We’ve rounded up the best apps to keep the sniffles at bay and to help you avoid catching what may be going around your area this season.
Stay one step ahead of your next cold with Kinsa, maker of the world’s first smartphone-connected and app-enabled thermometer. Kinsa makes it easy for you to monitor your family’s health with a few simple taps on your phone. The free app automatically tracks fever, symptoms, and more that you can then share with your doctor.
You can even see what’s going around your community by joining a private group. Group members receive a health ‘report card’ for their area that highlights any illnesses that may have cropped up recently. Knowing if it’s cold, strep throat, or flu can help you take preventive measures to take better care, much like grabbing an umbrella when the weather forecast calls for rain.
Sacrificing a few hours of sleep to check a few more things off your to-do list may make you feel more productive, but it can actually make you sicker in the long run. Getting quality sleep is essential to good health and wellbeing, but many of us don’t get enough of it during the week. Using an app to get a better idea of your sleep patterns is a great way to start working on improving your sleep habits for better health.
SleepCycle offers you a wealth of information about your sleep by giving you a snapshot of the quality and quantity of your sleep over time. The app analyzes your sleep patterns by tracking your movements in bed and measuring when you’re in deep sleep.
One of the best features is a built-in alarm clock that wakes you when you’re in the lightest phase of your sleep cycle, helping you feel more relaxed and refreshed when you get up in the morning.
Compatibility: Devices with iOS 7 and later; Android 4.0 and later
Sometimes we have health questions that can’t be answered by an online search or a late night call to your mother. HealthTap offers a free, convenient solution by connecting you with a global network from the experts themselves- doctors.
Whether you’re curious about the symptoms you’re tracking or looking for tips on how to boost your immunity this season, doctors in the HealthTap network can quickly (and privately) provide you with an answer on either web or mobile. For $99 a month, you can upgrade to HealthTap Prime or Concierge to talk to a live doctor, share test results, and get immediate answers and prescriptions on video, voice or text.
While this won’t take the place of diagnosis and treatment of a condition or illness, HealthTap offers a way for you to skip the appointment line for simple health questions.
Compatibility: Devices with iOS 7 and later; Android 4.0 and later
Cost: Free
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Start downloading and steer clear of that seasonal cold this year!
Busy moms, dive into Spring with these top tech tools at the ready! Save time, stress less, and help your kids succeed – check out:
1. Learning Bird: Homework help and interactive, online tutoring tools are but a click away – giving kids a higher chance of educational success, and parents a helping hand! The award-winning application from Learning Bird provides tools for kids to be completely self-directed and independent in their learning, so busy moms can take a step back, yet stay in the loop with progress reports, email notifications and more.
Learning Bird’s unique online tutoring tools include lessons collected from certified teachers all over North America, providing different perspectives on the same topic - because we all know kids learn in different ways! For example, if your child has had difficulty understanding a new concept in class because of the way it was explained by their teacher - Learning Bird’s variety of teachers will offer alternate explanations and modes of learning the concept, including:
Videos
Worksheets
Songs
Slideshows
Learn more about this affordable, online tutoring solution for your busy student today, click here.
2. VolunteerSpot: Busy moms can save loads of time by avoiding mindless paperwork, endless reply-all emails and making last-minute phone calls – all with free online signups! Whether you’re coordinating Spring carnival volunteers, a PTA potluck, baseball concessions, field day, parent teacher conferences – you name it – quick and easy online scheduling tools are a must. Mobile access for parents and participants, plus eCalendar syncing and automated reminders help keep everyone on track! Get started
3. Cozi Family Calendar: Maintaining a family calendar in the digital age is so easy with Cozi’s app for iPhone and Android. Busy moms are on the go, racing from work to school pick-up to sports and dance practices, the list goes on! Keep everyone in your family in sync with appointments, school commitments, Spring vacations and more with Cozi – add alerts, tasks and to do lists as well. Check it out
4. Artkive: Scan, upload, store and share all the beautiful artwork your child brings home this Spring with the handy app for iOS and Android, Artkive. This nimble, clutter-free way of preserving your child’s artwork also lets you tag and share the pieces with your community – or turn them into keepsakes and books. Great for Easter, Teacher Appreciation Week and capturing end of school year memories! Learn more
5. TeamSnap: If you’ve added “team mom” to your job description this Spring, rely on the free TeamSnap app to keep you organized! Quickly organize team schedules and game and practice details, manage team rosters, and communicate photos and weather updates to fellow team parents. TeamSnap will have you juggling less and relaxing more. iOS and Android versions available. Learn more
Save time, boost turnout and raise more money at this year's Spring carnival with help from these free tech tools & apps:
1. Pinterest: Stock up on carnival game and booth ideas, DIY carnival decorations, free carnival printables and signs and so much more with a simple Pinterest search. Follow our carnival ideas board today to get started and happy pinning!
2. Trello:Boost effectiveness of your project management strategy with the free online tool and app, Trello! Create tasks, to do lists for purchasing prizes and coordinating help, alerts and more - assign team members to task cards and set due dates as well. Learn more
3. VolunteerSpot: Save time coordinating carnival volunteers and parent helpers with free online signups. Quick online scheduling and messaging tools make it easy for carnival coordinators to set up online signups. Mobile, 24/7 access makes it convenient for parents to sign up in a snap - and automated reminders keep everyone on track! Get started
4. Dropbox: Easily store and share important documents regarding your carnival in the cloud with Dropbox's free and secure online storage. Link carnival committee members to expense receipts, supply and game lists, online volunteer calendars, and more.
5. Hootsuite: This free social media tool helps you coordinate social strategy for spreading the word to boost turnout to your Spring fundraiser. Recruit social savvy parent ambassadors to amplify the date, time and info about your carnival or festival on their channels, the school social channels and with networks within the community. Check it out
Todd is a one-man team directing Stinky Spoke’s 18-mile bike ride in support of Little Bit Therapeutic Riding Center. Participants have to go in expecting the unexpected, but Todd ensures the best organization with VolunteerSpot!
Please tell us about your organization and your volunteer needs.
Stinky Spoke holds one event each year, and it's a mountain bike "poker ride.” Riders start and finish at Redhook Brewery and ride an 18-mile route on the local trails. We have a ton of volunteers at Redhook, plus at the support/card-stops along the route. At Redhook, it's registration/sign-in and packet handout, plus getting prizes in the hands of the people that come back with winning poker hands from the cards they've collected on the route.
Explain how you use VolunteerSpot to coordinate these volunteers.
It's the place we send all volunteer inquiries to see exactly what the volunteer opportunities involve. Some are inside, some are outside, some early, some later. The potential volunteer can see what they're in for, then pick a spot, sign up and get the directions/maps plus all the particulars of when to be there and what they'll be doing.
Why did you decide to use VolunteerSpot?
I had spent way too much time "dealing with wonderful people" in the couple years before this. In the last three weeks before my event, in my busiest time, people would come from all directions wanting to help (and wanting to communicate back and forth). It's fantastic, but very time consuming. I found out about VolunteerSpot as a solution to this - being a place to point all the awesome, helpful people to give the information without me having to do the back-and-forth of e-mails.
What’s one piece of advice you have for volunteers or their leaders out there?
For one, look for groups in your area that like to volunteer. Ask other event organizers. We had two or three groups of 6-8 volunteers that would show up and completely take care of a support stop, for instance. They were "pros," having done this for other events. They loved doing it.
Anything else you’d like our readers to know about your organization or volunteering?
My event is once per year, but the other non-profit we support – Little Bit Therapeutic Riding Center is very volunteer-centric, using hundreds of volunteers every week. It's one of the largest equine-assisted therapeutic riding centers in the country, helping hundreds of kids and adults every week.
We salute Todd and all the other volunteers making a difference in their communities. Check out how VolunteerSpot’s Volunteer Software can save you time and stress and boost parent involvement in your school. Take a tour today!
The recipe for Spring fundraising success doesn’t have to be complicated! With the right fundraiser for your school families, time-saving coordination tools, simple social media outreach and fun incentives, your school can boost turnout and profits more than ever before.
Check out our 5 top tips for cooking up sweet fundraising success this season:
1. Get a taste of sweet (and delicious) product fundraisers: Give your school parents a product fundraiser they can really sink their teeth into that is delicious, profitable and fun for the family! Butter Braid® Brand Fundraising offers a variety of flavors of their mouth-watering, signature hand-braided pastries including raspberry and double chocolate. Local fundraiser representatives, short turn-around times and high per-item profits also make this fundraiser a sweet success for any school!
Enough said. Check it out for your school today, learn more.
2. Cook up time-saving coordination: Scheduling parents to help with your big Spring fundraiser? Save time organizing parent volunteer jobs and tasks with free online signups from VolunteerSpot! Intuitive and time-saving scheduling tools make it easy for fundraising chairs and school leaders to manage multiple events and volunteer needs at once – and automated reminders keep everyone on track! Get started now
3. Stir up community events: A great way to boost spring fundraising profits is to add your existing product fundraiser to a community event like a carnival, auction or bake sale. Give your fundraiser its own table or booth staffed by a handful of volunteers, and school families can easily place their fundraising orders in minutes (or even redeem tickets or points towards a purchase). With product fundraisers like Butter Braid® Brand Fundraising, you can even have free samples for tasting at your booth to encourage parents to act fast!
4. Whip up the word on social media: Spreading the word this Spring is easier than ever with a whirlwind of strategic outreach on your school’s social channels! Key inclusion in marketing materials like eNewsletters, the school’s website, classroom blogs and local online news outlets are also great ways to get the word out and include more school parents and community members in your fundraiser.
5. Sweeten the deal: Adding fun and clever incentives to your school fundraising program is a great way to get more school families involved and boost profits. Set fundraising benchmarks and goals so students and school families feel that extra boost to spread the word and raise more money. Fun incentives include:
Dunk your favorite teacher
Pie the principal
Spirit/Pajama Day
Principal gets duct taped to the wall
Class or Grade-wide Pizza Party
FUNdraising goals with great incentives are fun for students and parents alike!
March 2nd marks National Read Across America Day as well as the birthday of everyone's favorite childhood author, Dr. Seuss! From Cat in the Hat to Green Eggs and Ham to Horton Hears a Who, Dr. Seuss’ stories have a special place in the classroom and home; and what better way to explore and create from that inspiration than with these Dr. Seuss themed crafts!
