Over the last five years, I had the privilege of being on the PTO for the school my kids attended. They are a public charter school that offers kindergarten through 8th grade and my kids attended for the last eight years.
I started out only helping with their PTO’s biggest fundraiser each year; their Fun Run. I took photos at the Fun Run and created posters and graphics to advertise whatever we were fundraising for that year. I took kids t-shirt concepts and turned them into professional-looking t-shirt designs that we sold as a fundraiser too. Over the years, I got more involved in Teacher Appreciation Week, benefit nights, making infographics for various events and fundraisers, and for the last two years, I managed their Instagram and Facebook accounts and updated the PTO website.
Here are some of the things I’ve helped out with over the years.
First off, I created a logo for the PTO using elements from the school’s existing logo and colors:
Below are a handful of things I created. Some of these were with the PTO, some were just through the school administration.
A few years ago, we had the ambitious goal of fundraising for a new playground (spoiler alert: it took 3 years!). I created a media kit to help us partner with potential business sponsors.
We held a t-shirt design contest with the students each year for the Fun Run. Then we’d sell the t-shirts as part of the fundraiser. Every year, I would take the winning students designs and make them look professional and polished and include sponsor logos on the back. Each year had a different theme, some years were more difficult than others. Some years I’m pretty sure we were pushing the edges of copyright laws.
My kids no longer attend Channing Hall Charter School, but it was a privilege to be able to volunteer my graphic design skills wherever they could use me.