April 23, 2025 • 18 mins
Behind every successful school stands an army of dedicated volunteers—parents who give their time selflessly to enrich student experiences and support faculty. Every day thousands of volunteers are lending a helping hand all across Canyon School District. Whether they're spending time in the classroom, cutting out shapes for a kindergarten project, or helping on a field trip, they're the relatively unknown force behind our educators.
This week is Public School Volunteer Week, so we sat down with two volunteers who have dedicated thousands of hours to their children’s school. Sandy Elementary PTA President Mallory Boggs say she started volunteering to be closer to her own children and now she feels like she is the fun aunt of more than 500 students.
"I met this community of people that I didn't really know I needed," she says, “but I did and I love it. They’re such valued members of my life now.”
Boggs grew up watching her mom who was PTA President at Sprucewood Elementary and knew she wanted to be a part of that community when she had children of her own. Now, Boggs is leaving her impact not just on the Sharks community, but the entire state as she has been named the 2025 PTA Outstanding Volunteer Award for the state of Utah.
Boggs says she has seen the impact of parent volunteers, whether helping at one event, cutting out shapes for a class, even seeing parents start out small and jump into the deep end of PTA and volunteering – like Sandy’s PTA president-elect for next year, Kara Olson.
“I just got hooked by these crazy ladies and I love being in the school,” says Olson. “I love getting to know the kids. I love getting to know the teachers.”
Boggs and Olson say they are lucky to be able to spend as much time volunteering at Sandy Elementary as they do, but they understand not all parents or guardians can give the same amount of time, but they’ve seen even an hour of volunteering pay off.
“Your teacher always wants your help,” says Olson. “Whether it's cutting out shapes, coming in and doing a bulletin board, reading, volunteering, correcting, spelling tests, anything, just reach out to your teachers.”
Episode Chapters
2:42 The Role of PTA at Sandy Elementary
Our volunteers talk about the roles they play at Sandy Elementary, how they help teachers, faculty and staff, and most importantly, the students.
7:37 Why They Choose to Volunteer
Boggs and Olson share why they decided to volunteer and what keeps them going back to help their Shark community.
11:22 Making a Difference with Limited Time
While some parents like Boggs and Olson can have given thousands of hours to their school, many parents and guardians don’t have a lot of free time. Our volunteers explain how every little bit helps and no amount of volunteer time is too small.
17:34 Final Thoughts on School Volunteering
Boggs and Olson share their biggest takeaways from their time helping students, how it’s impacted their own lives, and the friendships they’ve made along the way.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Thank you.
Every day, thousands ofvolunteers are lending a helping
hand all across Canyon SchoolDistrict.
Whether they're spending timein the classroom cutting out
shapes for a kindergartenproject or helping out on a
field trip, they're therelatively unknown force behind
our educators.
Welcome to Connect Canyons.
I'm your host, frances Cook.
This week is Public SchoolVolunteer Week and we're
(00:47):
celebrating those hardworkingvolunteers.
I'm joined by two of them nowMallory Boggs and Kara Olson.
Mallory is the president of thePTA for the Sandy Elementary
Sharks and Kara is the secretaryslash president-elect For next
year.
They also serve on the SchoolCommunity Council.
First of all, they also serveon the school community council.
First of all, thank you bothfor the work that you do and,
(01:08):
secondly, thank you for joiningus today.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Thank you for having us.
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
Let's start with what it is you do.
Most parents know about PTA andprobably know some of the
basics.
But, Mallory, let's start withyou.
Would you tell us what the jobof a PTA president is?
Speaker 2 (01:25):
PTA president.
I think at most schools you getto help form committees and
plan all the fun activities thatstudents get to do and help
teachers and support the staffand admin and everybody At our
school.
I feel like it might be alittle bit more involved.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
You guys go all out.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
We do, we, we hit it hard um you know, we just love
to plan all the fun events andand help teachers lives be
easier, but make sure that thesekids are getting some
opportunities that maybe theyhadn't before, or you know we
are a title one school, so we'reserving those who are maybe
socially and economicallychallenged, so making sure that
those kids have a fun and a safeplace to be yeah, help plan
(02:10):
things like our fundraisersteacher appreciation.
Speaker 4 (02:13):
We run book fairs a lot of fun, a lot of fun we do
our ribbon weeks help promotebully free, anti-drug weeks.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Those are fun.
Speaker 3 (02:24):
We do our spirit weeks all the time to help keep
school spirit up.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
We plan spirit nights at different local restaurants
or businesses.
That are kind of cool becausethen it brings money back into
us.
But it's also the communitycoming together and you get to
see your friends and eattogether and play together.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
Yeah, so it's really fun.
Eat together, play togetheryeah, so it's really fun.
So, Kara, let's talk about someof the elements, how they're
broken down.
Right, so you're planningevents, but there's somebody
who's in charge of one thing andsomeone who's in charge of
another.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
Right, so we have Mallory, who's kind of our
district coordinator.
She goes to the PTA councilmeeting so she reports to us
what we need to be keeping trackof for the district PTA council
meeting.
So she reports to us what weneed to be keeping track of for
the district and she's kind ofour not really our boss, but
make sure that we make sure weknow what we're supposed to be
doing and what's going on.
I serve as secretary so I takenotes during meetings and just
make sure I email all of ourparents so they know what's
(03:20):
going on at the school.
And for us, our PTA is mostly.
We're a very small core groupthat does most of the work, and
then we bring in parentvolunteers for our bigger events
.
And we have a good friend namedMichelle.
She is in charge of all of ourteacher appreciation week that
we do in May and she helps withour Book Blitz program as well.
(03:41):
And then we have a sweet friendnamed Amanda, who we just call
our old reliable because shedoesn't really love to come to
meetings, but she is there forwhenever you need her Love that?
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Yeah, you know you mentioned the parent volunteers.
There are many ways that peoplecan get involved right, Not
just PTA.
What other ways have you seenthat people can maybe volunteer
at their kid's school?
Speaker 3 (04:03):
Your teacher always wants your help, that people can
maybe volunteer at their kids'school.
Your teacher always wants yourhelp, whether it's cutting out
shapes, coming in and doing abulletin board, reading,
volunteering, correctingspelling tests, anything, just
reach out to your teachers.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
They really need your help, and I feel like there's
also the hang-up of assumingthat if you're volunteering, you
have to have, you know, 40hours a week available.
But that's not true.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
No, no, Kara and I are at the school most days, all
day.
But even if you just have anhour a week or if you only want
to help with one event per year,we have parents that come out
and just help us for the fun runin October and it's great
because we need a lot of youknow volunteers.
Any amount that you can giveback to a school makes a
difference in the teacher'slives, in the students' lives,
and they know it, and it makes abig difference.
(04:54):
And you know, if we have a lotof people only giving an hour,
it makes a lot of hours.
So, no matter how much time youhave to give, I would say it's
worth it.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
What is it that made the two of you decide to
volunteer?
Speaker 3 (05:07):
We had moved into the area about a year before my
daughter started at SandyElementary and there were not a
lot of little kids in our littleneighborhood and I wanted to
get to know some other moms andsome other friends in the
neighborhood and I just gothooked by these crazy ladies.
And I love being in the school,I love getting to know the kids
, I love getting to know theteachers.
(05:28):
So you know, just one tiny stepin and now I'm clear in the
deep end of this swimming poolof PTA life.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
I do remember one thing Kara said once when she
showed up for our fun run andshe was helping and she goes.
I just came here to meetfriends and I was like what a
bold thing to say, but reallylike friends.
And I was like what a boldthing to say, but really like we
are friends and we've becomegood friends and you meet this
community.
I mean speaking for myself, Imet this community of people
that I didn't really know Ineeded, but I did and I love it
and they're such like valuedmembers of my life now.
And you know, I watched my mombe PTA president at Sprucewood
(05:59):
in the nineties and it wasreally cool to have her in the
school and to still see some ofthe projects she did the Million
Penny Project at Sprucewood andit's still there in the back of
the school and it's so cool tosee that like that kind of lives
on and I remember her and herfriends doing it and so I always
knew that I wanted to be a partof it.
But you know, you don't knowuntil you get in and then it's
(06:20):
always really intimidating.
But again, I had another momkind of take me under her wing
and Bree and she taught meeverything you know, that I know
and yeah, you just meet someamazing people and you get to do
all these fun, crazy ideas andschool just lets you roll with
it for the most part.
Speaker 3 (06:36):
So it's a lot of fun.
They're happy to have the help.
I hope so.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
It can be a lot sometimes.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
I loved how you put that.
It was a community of peopleyou didn't know you needed.
You were going to help them,but they're also helping you.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
I get a lot from it and it is really.
It sounds kind of cheesy to saybut it really is one of the
biggest blessings in my life.
You know it's.
I just remember being like apostpartum mom and you think
like, oh my gosh, all I do issit here on the couch.
You know you're mentally kindof sad or off, but then it's
(07:11):
like give it a couple of yearsand you know I mean you see the
good that you do in the schooland it's awesome and you meet
these different teachers andfriends and admin and it's just
a really cool way to form arelationship with people.
You're all working towards thegood of these kids and that's a
really cool thing.
I don't think that most peopleget at their job no-transcript.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
I just know our teachers don't have the free
time that they need.
I know that.
You know we're in publiceducation so they don't have the
extra funding and it's notalways the most glamorous and
glorious job.
So I love to be there tosupport my kids' teachers.
I love to volunteer because itselfishly makes me feel good and
(07:55):
I also, you know, like I saidbefore, I've made these great
friends, so it gives me a littlebit of an outlet to have fun
and laugh and just get to knowthese ladies and just do fun,
crazy stuff together.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
I don't think that's selfish at all.
I think we have to, you know,we have to have that almost a
feeling of self-worth right.
And just knowing that you'redoing something good for your
community.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
And others are benefiting.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
Yeah, and I love getting to know the kids.
The kids are my favorite part.
There's so many, they're likeoh my gosh, did you see this kid
today?
He's so cute.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
And it's fun to watch the kids learn who we are.
And most of them don't evenknow our name, and so they were
just PTA.
Oh for sure.
And most of them don't evenknow a name, and so they're just
PTA.
Hey, PTA.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
Hey, PTA, it's really fun when you see them other
places.
They're like I know you.
Speaker 4 (08:43):
Wait a minute, it's coming, I can see you somewhere.
Speaker 3 (08:46):
Oh, you're at my school, you work there?
No, I don't work there, I wish.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
I did.
It's fun to make a differenceand see, like, the help that you
can provide to these.
Like she said, teachers don'thave this plethora of time and
so, if you know, just making abulletin board for them makes
their whole day.
I mean, that's a fun thing forus to do so, you know, we get
our creative juices flowing andit's, you know, for me it's like
I get to go and do all the funstuff.
(09:11):
I don't have to be discipliningkids, I don't have to be doing
those things.
I can be the fun person at theschool.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
You're the fun aunt.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
Yes To 550 kids.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
You know I think you brought up a good point that
whatever your skill set is, it'sneeded somewhere, right, If
you're creative and want to dosomething like helping set up a
bulletin board, there's that.
But then you know you needpeople who are good with numbers
.
I mean, PTA involves money withpeople, with the fundraisers
that you do and things like that.
There's something for everyone,Absolutely, Absolutely.
(09:47):
What would you say to peoplewho are thinking about
volunteering but they're justmaybe not sure, or they're not
sure if that one hour will makea difference?
Speaker 2 (10:00):
I would say do it.
Do it, you know I yeah, Ivolunteered to help at I think
it was the fun run my first yearwhen my son was in kindergarten
and now, four years later, I'mthere all the time.
But I mean you do see thedifference that that made.
And like when Kara volunteered,you know she helped us take
down everything.
I mean it just went so muchfaster and we told her like hey,
thanks for helping.
(10:21):
This is amazing.
Just this small amount of time.
But yeah, it takes all kindsfor our school and any amount of
time you can volunteer in theschool would make a difference.
It's probably going to beawkward at first.
We've all been there.
(10:41):
It's been awkward.
You don't know anybody, youdon't know his name, you don't
know where anything is yeah, youdon't.
But then you look back and I'mlike, oh, I used to be that
person and now look what I've,look what this is.
Now it's a great.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
It's a great thing, yeah.
And looking back also, we justthink, oh my gosh, I remember
being that person.
But then I think I'm so glad Istuck it out I'm so glad that
I've been able to be here andbuild these relationships, so I
didn't let that awkwardness stopme from that's so true.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
And now you're there to help those new volunteers who
are unsure Well, yeah, comejoin the awkward yes.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
We love being awkward and weird.
Yeah, we're not as scary as welook.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
Okay, you're not scary looking at all, what would
you say has been your biggesttakeaway of spending time with
the students at the littlesharks at Sandy Elementary?
Speaker 2 (11:24):
I mean for me, I love seeing my kids every day and
seeing the environment thatthey're in and, you know, seeing
kind of what's going on intheir classroom and knowing
what's going on in this schoolthat they spend so much time in,
and but also knowing too, likewhat's going on at the district
and what's you know.
You, I feel like you're justmore in tune with your kids'
education and I get that.
(11:45):
That's a privilege for a lot ofpeople to be as involved as I
am, but I'm very grateful forthat and it's I just love being
a part of you know, like I'vesaid, like this community and
being able to make a differenceand to have my voice heard, but
also to hear all these other.
Oh, this is why they do this,this is why this, it helps me to
understand things differentlythat I didn't before, or maybe
(12:07):
that I cast judgment on tooquickly didn't before or maybe
that I cast judgment on tooquickly.
Speaker 3 (12:12):
My biggest takeaway has been probably the
opportunity to really just getto know and be familiar with the
situation my kids are in andhelp them with that.
But then also it has been sofun to bring joy to our students
.
We have, like we said before,we have kind of some lower
social economical situations forour kids.
So they don't maybe necessarilyhave a home life where they're
(12:34):
being able to be given all thisextra oomph in their life, so
being able to add a little bitof joy to their day has really
been something that I've enjoyedOur school.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
We don't have a lot of volunteers compared to other
schools, and so it's really coolthat we can step in and say,
hey, we're willing to take thistime and do these kinds of
things and to make it more funand all these things that I'm
sure the teachers and admin wantto do, but they just simply
don't have the time or theenergy to do it.
Well, that's where we can stepin and make it overly obnoxious,
(13:04):
but everybody's going tobenefit from it, so that's been
really fun.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
I will say watching from afar on social media.
Like we said in the beginning,you guys go all out for your
school.
Speaker 3 (13:17):
We have zero restraint.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
It's beautiful, though.
You dedicate a lot of time, butyou also appreciate the value
of even an hour or a couple ofminutes.
I have to give a shout outbecause we just learned that
Mallory here won the 2025 PTAOutstanding Volunteer Award, not
for Canyons, but for the entirestate of Utah.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
Thank you.
Yes, that was thank you toeveryone that nominated for that
.
It was very humbling, awesome.
It's very humbling, awesome.
It's nice to be recognized.
So it's not, you know, I don'tdo this for the recognition, but
I do think it's cool to put ourschool in the spotlight.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
Absolutely yeah, and I think it just goes to show
your dedication to the schooland to the Sharks in general.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
Love my Sharks.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
Does that come with any added responsibility?
Are you touring the state?
Now and telling everyone howwonderful it is.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Yes, no, I was invited to.
The PTA convention is in May,that me and Kara have been to a
few times and there's an awardbreakfast and an award.
Yes, that I can get, so thatwill be fun.
So we have to be on time thisyear, yes, we have to be on time
.
(14:36):
So that's kind of you know it'scool and for me it's.
I love the spotlight beingshined on Sandy and it's.
You know, I have felt in thepast like maybe Sandy was not
forgotten, but just not as bigand, as you know, showy as some
of these other schools.
But we are a great school andwe have a great staff, admin and
(14:58):
our students are justphenomenal and some of these
things that these kids haveovercome is simply incredible.
So I learn a lot from them andI feel very blessed to be a part
of our school.
I don't take it lightly that Iget to be there every day.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
That's lovely Final thoughts.
What do you want people to knowabout PTA, about volunteering?
What would your final messagebe?
Speaker 2 (15:22):
If you want to get involved, do it.
It might be awkward, it mightbe kind of weird at first, but
you eventually will findsomething that you love and
something you know whether it'sa book fair or teacher
appreciation or something.
But no matter how many hours orwhat your skills are, you are
needed in the schools.
So these teachers, the staff,these kids, they need us and
(15:44):
it's an amazing sense that youcan get from it.
There's a lot you can give back.
Speaker 3 (15:49):
And even if it's just simply helping take out the
garbages at the end of an event,that really means a lot to the
people who have spent hoursputting that together.
We really appreciate any minuteyou can give us, we will take,
and I think again it's kind ofselfish reasons, but it's so
great to hang out with thosekids.
They are so much fun and I lovewhat you said earlier about you
(16:12):
kind of get to be the funteacher and don't have to worry
about the hard parts of beingthe teacher.
Speaker 4 (16:14):
Like I don't have to teach them anything right, I get
to be their friend and I justlove, just love being there yeah
, and you can meet some reallycool people.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
I mean, you know, I probably would have ran into
kara, but you know, we've becomereally good friends and I've
made really good friends withlike a lot of the other ladies
too, and it's really coolbecause your kids are the same
age and they're going throughthe same stuff.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
So it's cool, it's a fun fun thing to be a part of,
definitely more than just PTAwe're definitely it's a good
chance to talk about life andother things that are going on
around you.
Have some mom, some more mom.
Parent help with situations.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
That's awesome and, let's be honest, she doesn't
like a good book fair.
Right, I mean, if I could stillgo to the book fair and buy
bookmarks and posters and ohwell, you can.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
Our BOGO book fair is on April 29th.
Speaker 3 (17:03):
Yes, yeah, yeah, buy one, get one free.
It'll be amazing.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
Say less.
I'm there, I'm totally there.
I just want to thank you bothfor joining us today and for the
countless hours that you havespent helping our little Sandy
Elementary Sharks swim towardssuccess.
On behalf of, I'm sure, theirparents and just really the
district, thank you for all ofthe hard work that you put in
(17:30):
for no pay Other than the sheerjoy you get out of it.
Speaker 3 (17:35):
It's worth it.
It's well worth it.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
Beautiful.
Thank you both Thank you forhaving us and thank you for
listening.
If there's a topic you'd liketo hear discussed on the podcast
, send us an email tocommunications at
canyonsdistrictorg.
Speaker 4 (17:49):
Thanks for listening to this episode of Connect
Canyons.
Connect with us on Twitter,facebook or Instagram at Canyons
District or on our website,canyonsdistrictorg.
Thank you.
Every day, thousands ofvolunteers are lending a helping
hand all across Canyon SchoolDistrict.
Whether they're spending timein the classroom cutting out
shapes for a kindergartenproject or helping out on a
field trip, they're therelatively unknown force behind
our educators.
Welcome to Connect Canyons.
I'm your host, frances Cook.
This week is Public SchoolVolunteer Week and we're
(00:47):
celebrating those hardworkingvolunteers.
I'm joined by two of them nowMallory Boggs and Kara Olson.
Mallory is the president of thePTA for the Sandy Elementary
Sharks and Kara is the secretaryslash president-elect For next
year.
They also serve on the SchoolCommunity Council.
First of all, they also serveon the school community council.
First of all, thank you bothfor the work that you do and,
(01:08):
secondly, thank you for joiningus today.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Thank you for having us.
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
Let's start with what it is you do.
Most parents know about PTA andprobably know some of the
basics.
But, Mallory, let's start withyou.
Would you tell us what the jobof a PTA president is?
Speaker 2 (01:25):
PTA president.
I think at most schools you getto help form committees and
plan all the fun activities thatstudents get to do and help
teachers and support the staffand admin and everybody At our
school.
I feel like it might be alittle bit more involved.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
You guys go all out.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
We do, we, we hit it hard um you know, we just love
to plan all the fun events andand help teachers lives be
easier, but make sure that thesekids are getting some
opportunities that maybe theyhadn't before, or you know we
are a title one school, so we'reserving those who are maybe
socially and economicallychallenged, so making sure that
those kids have a fun and a safeplace to be yeah, help plan
(02:10):
things like our fundraisersteacher appreciation.
Speaker 4 (02:13):
We run book fairs a lot of fun, a lot of fun we do
our ribbon weeks help promotebully free, anti-drug weeks.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Those are fun.
Speaker 3 (02:24):
We do our spirit weeks all the time to help keep
school spirit up.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
We plan spirit nights at different local restaurants
or businesses.
That are kind of cool becausethen it brings money back into
us.
But it's also the communitycoming together and you get to
see your friends and eattogether and play together.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
Yeah, so it's really fun.
Eat together, play togetheryeah, so it's really fun.
So, Kara, let's talk about someof the elements, how they're
broken down.
Right, so you're planningevents, but there's somebody
who's in charge of one thing andsomeone who's in charge of
another.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
Right, so we have Mallory, who's kind of our
district coordinator.
She goes to the PTA councilmeeting so she reports to us
what we need to be keeping trackof for the district PTA council
meeting.
So she reports to us what weneed to be keeping track of for
the district and she's kind ofour not really our boss, but
make sure that we make sure weknow what we're supposed to be
doing and what's going on.
I serve as secretary so I takenotes during meetings and just
make sure I email all of ourparents so they know what's
(03:20):
going on at the school.
And for us, our PTA is mostly.
We're a very small core groupthat does most of the work, and
then we bring in parentvolunteers for our bigger events
.
And we have a good friend namedMichelle.
She is in charge of all of ourteacher appreciation week that
we do in May and she helps withour Book Blitz program as well.
(03:41):
And then we have a sweet friendnamed Amanda, who we just call
our old reliable because shedoesn't really love to come to
meetings, but she is there forwhenever you need her Love that?
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Yeah, you know you mentioned the parent volunteers.
There are many ways that peoplecan get involved right, Not
just PTA.
What other ways have you seenthat people can maybe volunteer
at their kid's school?
Speaker 3 (04:03):
Your teacher always wants your help, that people can
maybe volunteer at their kids'school.
Your teacher always wants yourhelp, whether it's cutting out
shapes, coming in and doing abulletin board, reading,
volunteering, correctingspelling tests, anything, just
reach out to your teachers.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
They really need your help, and I feel like there's
also the hang-up of assumingthat if you're volunteering, you
have to have, you know, 40hours a week available.
But that's not true.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
No, no, Kara and I are at the school most days, all
day.
But even if you just have anhour a week or if you only want
to help with one event per year,we have parents that come out
and just help us for the fun runin October and it's great
because we need a lot of youknow volunteers.
Any amount that you can giveback to a school makes a
difference in the teacher'slives, in the students' lives,
and they know it, and it makes abig difference.
(04:54):
And you know, if we have a lotof people only giving an hour,
it makes a lot of hours.
So, no matter how much time youhave to give, I would say it's
worth it.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
What is it that made the two of you decide to
volunteer?
Speaker 3 (05:07):
We had moved into the area about a year before my
daughter started at SandyElementary and there were not a
lot of little kids in our littleneighborhood and I wanted to
get to know some other moms andsome other friends in the
neighborhood and I just gothooked by these crazy ladies.
And I love being in the school,I love getting to know the kids
, I love getting to know theteachers.
(05:28):
So you know, just one tiny stepin and now I'm clear in the
deep end of this swimming poolof PTA life.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
I do remember one thing Kara said once when she
showed up for our fun run andshe was helping and she goes.
I just came here to meetfriends and I was like what a
bold thing to say, but reallylike friends.
And I was like what a boldthing to say, but really like we
are friends and we've becomegood friends and you meet this
community.
I mean speaking for myself, Imet this community of people
that I didn't really know Ineeded, but I did and I love it
and they're such like valuedmembers of my life now.
And you know, I watched my mombe PTA president at Sprucewood
(05:59):
in the nineties and it wasreally cool to have her in the
school and to still see some ofthe projects she did the Million
Penny Project at Sprucewood andit's still there in the back of
the school and it's so cool tosee that like that kind of lives
on and I remember her and herfriends doing it and so I always
knew that I wanted to be a partof it.
But you know, you don't knowuntil you get in and then it's
(06:20):
always really intimidating.
But again, I had another momkind of take me under her wing
and Bree and she taught meeverything you know, that I know
and yeah, you just meet someamazing people and you get to do
all these fun, crazy ideas andschool just lets you roll with
it for the most part.
Speaker 3 (06:36):
So it's a lot of fun.
They're happy to have the help.
I hope so.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
It can be a lot sometimes.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
I loved how you put that.
It was a community of peopleyou didn't know you needed.
You were going to help them,but they're also helping you.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
I get a lot from it and it is really.
It sounds kind of cheesy to saybut it really is one of the
biggest blessings in my life.
You know it's.
I just remember being like apostpartum mom and you think
like, oh my gosh, all I do issit here on the couch.
You know you're mentally kindof sad or off, but then it's
(07:11):
like give it a couple of yearsand you know I mean you see the
good that you do in the schooland it's awesome and you meet
these different teachers andfriends and admin and it's just
a really cool way to form arelationship with people.
You're all working towards thegood of these kids and that's a
really cool thing.
I don't think that most peopleget at their job no-transcript.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
I just know our teachers don't have the free
time that they need.
I know that.
You know we're in publiceducation so they don't have the
extra funding and it's notalways the most glamorous and
glorious job.
So I love to be there tosupport my kids' teachers.
I love to volunteer because itselfishly makes me feel good and
(07:55):
I also, you know, like I saidbefore, I've made these great
friends, so it gives me a littlebit of an outlet to have fun
and laugh and just get to knowthese ladies and just do fun,
crazy stuff together.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
I don't think that's selfish at all.
I think we have to, you know,we have to have that almost a
feeling of self-worth right.
And just knowing that you'redoing something good for your
community.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
And others are benefiting.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
Yeah, and I love getting to know the kids.
The kids are my favorite part.
There's so many, they're likeoh my gosh, did you see this kid
today?
He's so cute.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
And it's fun to watch the kids learn who we are.
And most of them don't evenknow our name, and so they were
just PTA.
Oh for sure.
And most of them don't evenknow a name, and so they're just
PTA.
Hey, PTA.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
Hey, PTA, it's really fun when you see them other
places.
They're like I know you.
Speaker 4 (08:43):
Wait a minute, it's coming, I can see you somewhere.
Speaker 3 (08:46):
Oh, you're at my school, you work there?
No, I don't work there, I wish.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
I did.
It's fun to make a differenceand see, like, the help that you
can provide to these.
Like she said, teachers don'thave this plethora of time and
so, if you know, just making abulletin board for them makes
their whole day.
I mean, that's a fun thing forus to do so, you know, we get
our creative juices flowing andit's, you know, for me it's like
I get to go and do all the funstuff.
(09:11):
I don't have to be discipliningkids, I don't have to be doing
those things.
I can be the fun person at theschool.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
You're the fun aunt.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
Yes To 550 kids.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
You know I think you brought up a good point that
whatever your skill set is, it'sneeded somewhere, right, If
you're creative and want to dosomething like helping set up a
bulletin board, there's that.
But then you know you needpeople who are good with numbers
.
I mean, PTA involves money withpeople, with the fundraisers
that you do and things like that.
There's something for everyone,Absolutely, Absolutely.
(09:47):
What would you say to peoplewho are thinking about
volunteering but they're justmaybe not sure, or they're not
sure if that one hour will makea difference?
Speaker 2 (10:00):
I would say do it.
Do it, you know I yeah, Ivolunteered to help at I think
it was the fun run my first yearwhen my son was in kindergarten
and now, four years later, I'mthere all the time.
But I mean you do see thedifference that that made.
And like when Kara volunteered,you know she helped us take
down everything.
I mean it just went so muchfaster and we told her like hey,
thanks for helping.
(10:21):
This is amazing.
Just this small amount of time.
But yeah, it takes all kindsfor our school and any amount of
time you can volunteer in theschool would make a difference.
It's probably going to beawkward at first.
We've all been there.
(10:41):
It's been awkward.
You don't know anybody, youdon't know his name, you don't
know where anything is yeah, youdon't.
But then you look back and I'mlike, oh, I used to be that
person and now look what I've,look what this is.
Now it's a great.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
It's a great thing, yeah.
And looking back also, we justthink, oh my gosh, I remember
being that person.
But then I think I'm so glad Istuck it out I'm so glad that
I've been able to be here andbuild these relationships, so I
didn't let that awkwardness stopme from that's so true.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
And now you're there to help those new volunteers who
are unsure Well, yeah, comejoin the awkward yes.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
We love being awkward and weird.
Yeah, we're not as scary as welook.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
Okay, you're not scary looking at all, what would
you say has been your biggesttakeaway of spending time with
the students at the littlesharks at Sandy Elementary?
Speaker 2 (11:24):
I mean for me, I love seeing my kids every day and
seeing the environment thatthey're in and, you know, seeing
kind of what's going on intheir classroom and knowing
what's going on in this schoolthat they spend so much time in,
and but also knowing too, likewhat's going on at the district
and what's you know.
You, I feel like you're justmore in tune with your kids'
education and I get that.
(11:45):
That's a privilege for a lot ofpeople to be as involved as I
am, but I'm very grateful forthat and it's I just love being
a part of you know, like I'vesaid, like this community and
being able to make a differenceand to have my voice heard, but
also to hear all these other.
Oh, this is why they do this,this is why this, it helps me to
understand things differentlythat I didn't before, or maybe
(12:07):
that I cast judgment on tooquickly didn't before or maybe
that I cast judgment on tooquickly.
Speaker 3 (12:12):
My biggest takeaway has been probably the
opportunity to really just getto know and be familiar with the
situation my kids are in andhelp them with that.
But then also it has been sofun to bring joy to our students
.
We have, like we said before,we have kind of some lower
social economical situations forour kids.
So they don't maybe necessarilyhave a home life where they're
(12:34):
being able to be given all thisextra oomph in their life, so
being able to add a little bitof joy to their day has really
been something that I've enjoyedOur school.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
We don't have a lot of volunteers compared to other
schools, and so it's really coolthat we can step in and say,
hey, we're willing to take thistime and do these kinds of
things and to make it more funand all these things that I'm
sure the teachers and admin wantto do, but they just simply
don't have the time or theenergy to do it.
Well, that's where we can stepin and make it overly obnoxious,
(13:04):
but everybody's going tobenefit from it, so that's been
really fun.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
I will say watching from afar on social media.
Like we said in the beginning,you guys go all out for your
school.
Speaker 3 (13:17):
We have zero restraint.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
It's beautiful, though.
You dedicate a lot of time, butyou also appreciate the value
of even an hour or a couple ofminutes.
I have to give a shout outbecause we just learned that
Mallory here won the 2025 PTAOutstanding Volunteer Award, not
for Canyons, but for the entirestate of Utah.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
Thank you.
Yes, that was thank you toeveryone that nominated for that
.
It was very humbling, awesome.
It's very humbling, awesome.
It's nice to be recognized.
So it's not, you know, I don'tdo this for the recognition, but
I do think it's cool to put ourschool in the spotlight.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
Absolutely yeah, and I think it just goes to show
your dedication to the schooland to the Sharks in general.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
Love my Sharks.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
Does that come with any added responsibility?
Are you touring the state?
Now and telling everyone howwonderful it is.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Yes, no, I was invited to.
The PTA convention is in May,that me and Kara have been to a
few times and there's an awardbreakfast and an award.
Yes, that I can get, so thatwill be fun.
So we have to be on time thisyear, yes, we have to be on time
.
(14:36):
So that's kind of you know it'scool and for me it's.
I love the spotlight beingshined on Sandy and it's.
You know, I have felt in thepast like maybe Sandy was not
forgotten, but just not as bigand, as you know, showy as some
of these other schools.
But we are a great school andwe have a great staff, admin and
(14:58):
our students are justphenomenal and some of these
things that these kids haveovercome is simply incredible.
So I learn a lot from them andI feel very blessed to be a part
of our school.
I don't take it lightly that Iget to be there every day.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
That's lovely Final thoughts.
What do you want people to knowabout PTA, about volunteering?
What would your final messagebe?
Speaker 2 (15:22):
If you want to get involved, do it.
It might be awkward, it mightbe kind of weird at first, but
you eventually will findsomething that you love and
something you know whether it'sa book fair or teacher
appreciation or something.
But no matter how many hours orwhat your skills are, you are
needed in the schools.
So these teachers, the staff,these kids, they need us and
(15:44):
it's an amazing sense that youcan get from it.
There's a lot you can give back.
Speaker 3 (15:49):
And even if it's just simply helping take out the
garbages at the end of an event,that really means a lot to the
people who have spent hoursputting that together.
We really appreciate any minuteyou can give us, we will take,
and I think again it's kind ofselfish reasons, but it's so
great to hang out with thosekids.
They are so much fun and I lovewhat you said earlier about you
(16:12):
kind of get to be the funteacher and don't have to worry
about the hard parts of beingthe teacher.
Speaker 4 (16:14):
Like I don't have to teach them anything right, I get
to be their friend and I justlove, just love being there yeah
, and you can meet some reallycool people.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
I mean, you know, I probably would have ran into
kara, but you know, we've becomereally good friends and I've
made really good friends withlike a lot of the other ladies
too, and it's really coolbecause your kids are the same
age and they're going throughthe same stuff.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
So it's cool, it's a fun fun thing to be a part of,
definitely more than just PTAwe're definitely it's a good
chance to talk about life andother things that are going on
around you.
Have some mom, some more mom.
Parent help with situations.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
That's awesome and, let's be honest, she doesn't
like a good book fair.
Right, I mean, if I could stillgo to the book fair and buy
bookmarks and posters and ohwell, you can.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
Our BOGO book fair is on April 29th.
Speaker 3 (17:03):
Yes, yeah, yeah, buy one, get one free.
It'll be amazing.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
Say less.
I'm there, I'm totally there.
I just want to thank you bothfor joining us today and for the
countless hours that you havespent helping our little Sandy
Elementary Sharks swim towardssuccess.
On behalf of, I'm sure, theirparents and just really the
district, thank you for all ofthe hard work that you put in
(17:30):
for no pay Other than the sheerjoy you get out of it.
Speaker 3 (17:35):
It's worth it.
It's well worth it.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
Beautiful.
Thank you both Thank you forhaving us and thank you for
listening.
If there's a topic you'd liketo hear discussed on the podcast
, send us an email tocommunications at
canyonsdistrictorg.
Speaker 4 (17:49):
Thanks for listening to this episode of Connect
Canyons.
Connect with us on Twitter,facebook or Instagram at Canyons
District or on our website,canyonsdistrictorg.
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