Chances are when you hear someone mention the P-T-A your first thought is fundraising…Carnivals, Book Sales, Silent Auctions and yes, the proverbial Bake Sale.  But there is so much more to our nations oldest and most successful child advocacy group.  To see it, though, you must look Beyond the Bake Sale.

Alice Birney was deeply moved by the deplorable living and working conditions of children and families in the “gilded decade” of the 1890’s.  Many children spent their days working in factories at the cost of their youth and sometimes their lives.  For many families their survival depended upon keeping their children in the factories and out of school.  Humbled by her own perfect home life Alice was motivated to helping all families move towards a happier, healthier life style.  She wondered, “How can the mothers be educated and the nation made to recognize the supreme importance of the child?”  She knew that in order to gain nationwide attention to the plight of children she would need contacts and access to resources.  In Phoebe Apperson Hearst Alice found both a kindred spirit and the necessary resources to make their now shared dream a reality.  Their partnership would create an unprecedented movement that would address the needs of children for centuries to come.
Over the past 24 years I have been an active member of the PTA.  My partnership began in Georgia with reading in my son’s classrooms and continues today in Minnesota with me reading in my daughter’s classroom every Thursday.  I embrace what Alice and Phoebe so long ago recognized.  That in order for every child to reach their full potential parents, teachers and the community must work together.  The efficacy of the interconnection between the three is undeniable.  In an effort to create and strengthen these ties in my own community I volunteer with a variety of organizations.