My Discovery Destination! Supports Youth and Education

There are 4 main areas where we can have a positive impact on the local PTA:

 

Direct funding to the PTAs

 

Help increase membership numbers

 

Help increase participation in Reflections

 

Educate the community about the mission and goals of PTA

We're all about

 

Strengthening Families, Building Character, and Improving Lives . . .

 

My Discovery Destination! Helps PTA Leaders Succeed

 

 

Following is a summary of the 4 main ways that My Discovery Destination! can help your PTA, PTO or school utilize the full benefits available through My Discovery Destination!  We have outlined the challenge, the solution, and what YOU can do personally to ensure that YOUR SCHOOL gets the most benefit from the program.

 

 

1)  Direct Funding to PTAs

The Challenge: It seems that PTAs are constantly having to fundraise to support the various PTA programs and there still isn't enough money to support some important programs like parent education, financial education for students and parents, internet safety, etc.

The Solution: My Discovery Destination! can direct funding to the PTAs with virtually no extra effort on the part of PTA leaders. Every school has a number of parents who either own or work for companies and organizations that also believe in strengthening families and building character, AND are also looking for ways to become better known in the local community. These parents have an opportunity to become Adventure Sponsors, supporting their school while also receiving an opportunity to participate in relationship marketing at it's best. For every Adventure Sponsor that comes from the school:

  • 100% of the profits will go to local PTA groups
  • Local PTA groups can help ensure that more of that funding goes to their school

How YOU can help make sure YOUR SCHOOL gets a big chunk of the funding?:

  • Pass the information on to business owners in your school or that you know in the community and have them indicate that they were referred by you/your school when they register.

 

 

2)   Increase PTA Membership Numbers

The Challenge: During the 2012-2013 school year the Utah PTA membership numbers dropped from 103,584 during the previous year to 26,376, a 75% drop. While the numbers did recover during the 2014-2015 school year, they are again in decline. Membership during 2016-2017 was down again- 25% from the 2016-2017 school year. This poses a significant threat to the power of Utah PTA to advocate for our children during the legislative session and throughout the year. As PTA numbers drop, so does the ability for PTA to create impact for our youth.

 

The Solution: My Discovery Destination! can help increase membership numbers through education and by adding value to the PTA membership:

  • Through the community facebook pages, where virtually every family is linked in, we have the opportunity to promote PTA and educate families about the importance of PTA and why their membership in PTA makes a difference for their kids.
  • My Discovery Destination! will be holding community events in virtually every community. These events encourage membership by providing free entrance to the PTA Play Zone for all PTA members. Non-PTA members pay $3-5 per child. This means that it is in the families best interest to join PTA. These events also provide an opportunity for education about PTA to take place.

 

What can YOU do to help increase the membership at YOUR school?:

  • Get involved with the My Discovery Destination! membership drives by
    • Providing 2-3 volunteers from your school to help at the event
    • Promoting the event at your school and encouraging parents to become members of the PTA so that they can participate for free.

 

 

3)  Increase Participation in the PTA Reflections Program

 

 

The Challenge: Participation in the PTA Reflections program is at an all-time low. This valuable program that provides students with an opportunity to be creative and develop their talents in many areas (writing, drawing, painting, dance, music, etc.) is being utilized by less than 1% of students in some of our schools. There could be many factors that play into this, but it is believed that the biggest factors are lack of education about the program and the program being 'forgotten' in the chaos of every day life.

 

The Solution: My Discovery Destination! can help in both of these areas by:

  • Again- Education!! Through the facebook group we can help families learn that the Reflections program is more than just an 'Art' and 'Drawing' program-- there is a dance category, writing categories, composing music, 2D art and 3D art categories. It's much more than most parents realize.
  • Include a Reflections Adventure in the regular line-up of adventures. Many students will choose a category and complete a project for the simple satisfaction of completing the adventure and receiving the reward.
  • Reminders! We can keep the program in front of parents on a regular basis so that it doesn't sneak up on them unexpectedly.

What can YOU do to help increase the Reflections participation at YOUR school?:

  • Help get parents at your school connected and actively participating in the facebook group so that they
    • Learn more about the Reflections program in a non-threatening way
    • Can learn about any special workshops or resources provided to help their child with his/her project, and
    • Get periodic reminders that due dates are coming up so that they can stay on top of it.

 

 

4)   Educate the Community About the Goals and Mission of PTA

The Challenge: Many parents don't understand the value and importance that their PTA membership creates for their children. When they think PTA they think 'volunteering at school' or 'fundraising' They don't understand that their individual membership counts. They also don't realize that many of the programs available to their children are available because of the PTA and that without an active PTA many of the programs that impact their child's education for good would go away.

The Solution: My Discovery Destination! can help by providing bite-size bits of information on a regular basis to help parents learn about and understand the mission and goals of PTA.

What can YOU do to help increase PTA awareness and education at YOUR school?:

  • Help get parents at your school connected and actively participating in the facebook group so that they receive the educational tidbits in a non-threatening, but effective way.

 

 

To help your school benefit generally you can also:

  • Participate in the Adventures with your child or grandchildren and post pics to your social media page with hashtags.
  • Stay CONNECTED and ACTIVE in the facebook group to get the most out of the group and the program.

 

Email us at MyDiscoveryDestination@gmail.com if you have any questions or suggestions on ways we can more effectively serve you, your family and your school.