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With the turn of the year, the PTA Committee is turning it’s attention to the two flagship events of the year that take place in the Summer Term - Clarefest and the Summer Fete. These events do not run themselves and can only be as large as the number of volunteers we have to organise them. We are now looking to the whole PTA community to help us. Remember that all of you as parents are automatically PTA members. The Committee has overall responsibility for the running of the Charity but every parent of the school is a key member of the PTA. Today, we are writing about what you can expect from these events and where we still need help. Whilst with some of our events we are lucky to have the same group of friends running them year after year, this is not the case with the Summer Fete. At the moment, the Summer Fete does not have enough volunteers to make it viable so please read on to help us get it off the ground…
The first major event is Clarefest on Saturday 20th May from 2-8pm.
Clarefest is when Glastonbury comes to Tunbridge Wells! It’s a day of musical festival fun where you can enjoy local music, buy food, drink and partake in lots of fun activities such as crafts and inflatables. It is ticketed (tickets will be on sale after Easter) and only open to Claremont families. As with all our events, Clarefest is run by volunteer parents and we are very lucky to have the wonderful Emma Butterworth and friends running it again this year but there are still some areas where we will need the wider parent body to help out.
How can I help?
We would love someone/a small group of friends to run the ever popular craft stall again this year. Please contact Emma at ecbutterwoth@gmail.com if you can help. We will also need volunteers the day before and on the day to set up and help various stalls running efficiently. For this you can volunteer nearer the time.
Later in the term, we have the Summer Fete.
We hope to run this on Saturday 1st July from 12-3pm. Unlike Clarefest, it is open to the whole community. At the Fete there are all your usual fete fun and games such as hook a duck, lucky dip, sponge a teacher, tombolas as well as entertainment, food and drink offerings.
Why does the PTA Committee have to ask for help?
The nature of the Fete requires even more hands to help out than Clarefest. It’s a big event for the whole community to enjoy and so again, many hands make light work. Last year, it raised £6,000 for the PTA so it’s a vital event as well as heaps of fun for all. The stalls cannot run themselves. Traditionally we allocate each class a stall which they organise and run on the day. There is also a core team of coordinators to oversee all the different parts. These roles have been split into manageable bite-size chunks so no-one has to take on too much. It’s this in particular that we need help with.
What help is needed?
At the moment we have only a handful of volunteers for the core coordinating team. You could do one job with a few friends to make it even easier - and feedback from last year was that it is surprisingly fun! Plus you aren’t expected to make anything up from scratch. There is a formula to follow and the Committee will brief, guide, support and help out as much as needed.
Please, please, please do come forward if you can help with:
Overall coordination - we need 2/3 more individuals to help ensure there are people doing all the things needed in the run up and on the day (with time out scheduled on the rota so you can enjoy the fete with your family).
Coordinator/s of the donation stalls (incl. sweets tombola, teddy tombola, bottle tombola, fancy dress and book stall): to organise the donation mornings, liaise with the lead for these stalls, ensure volunteer rotas complete and volunteers briefed as to how to run the stalls.
Coordinator/s for activity stalls (incl. Hook a duck, sponge a teacher etc): to organise prizes, ensure equipment is working/available, liaise with the lead for these stalls, ensure volunteer rotas completed and volunteers briefed as to how to run the stalls.
External vendor coordinator - research / book external vendors, be key contact point before and on the day, record insurance/public liability certs, ensure smooth arrival/departure.
BBQ Coordinator/s - organising food, plan set up, secure volunteers and ensure runs smoothly on the day.
What might happen if we can’t fill these roles?
The Fete can only be as big as the volunteers we have to run it. In the worst case scenario, we will not be able to run the fete this year. If we get some volunteers, we may be able to run it on a smaller scale, outsource some aspects or run it as a children-only fete within school like we did in 2021.
Will it be worth me helping out?
YES! The events can only be successful where many hands make light work. Both events are an amazing day of fun for all the family to enjoy and last year raised an incredible amount - over £10,000 from Clarefest and over £6,000 from the Summer Fete. All this money goes straight back into the school. So any help you can offer, makes a massive difference.
Remember as well that if you are employed by a company who offers corporate matching, they may match the money you raise while volunteering for us. For example, if you spend 30 minutes on the bar and raise £100, your company might double it for nothing!
Thank you for reading and we look forward to hearing from you.
