Gilpin schools seek volunteers as booster club strains under small parent base

Parents and board members at a Gilpin County School District No. Re-1 meeting described ongoing volunteer shortages that are limiting booster-club activities and concessions and discussed practical steps to recruit and coordinate more volunteers.

Multiple attendees said a small core of parents now covers many events and that the district lacks an easy, reliable sign-up process for volunteers. One parent noted, "Susie's...she's already volunteered like 21 nights so far," using the example to illustrate an uneven volunteer burden. Participants proposed a relaunch of recruitment tied to back-to-school events, a volunteer table at open houses, posting a volunteer-opportunities form on the district website, and using ParentSquare and Facebook to coordinate sign-ups.

Discussion also noted operational barriers: background checks needed for volunteers who work directly with children can delay participation, and the current sign-up tools (a Google Sheet) do not manage multiple time slots effectively. Attendees suggested the booster club consider more flexible options for staffing concessions (student shifts tied to community-service groups or clubs) and to reintroduce volunteer recognition (for example, an end-of-year appreciation event) to build a sustained volunteer culture.

No formal policy was adopted at the meeting; participants agreed to continue outreach, to explore improvements to the website sign-up infrastructure, and to ask a former board volunteer to help organize a relaunch and volunteer recognition effort. The group plans to include volunteer recruitment in upcoming school events and communications.