Kelly Martin became a self-described "worker bee" at her sons’ school, to become part of the solution.

"I could feel this resistance on the part of teachers when a parent who hadn’t been involved in the math program criticized it," says Martin. "Instead of offering advice, it’s better to offer to help," says Martin, who volunteered to go in before school to do math flash cards with some of the kids. 

She also helps with the paperwork, collection, and distribution involved in fall and spring fundraisers, works a booth at carnival night, and cooks meals for teacher appreciation events and fundraisers.

As a full-time drug representative and a single mom, Martin has had to make sacrifices to be an involved parent. "I only sleep five to six hours a night," she says, admitting that she’s always tired. "But I don’t focus on that. I focus on what needs to be done every day, moment by moment. I don’t worry about how much I have to do. I just do the best I can, then go to bed, get up, and do it again." She retains her sense of humor, too. "When someone calls to ask me to do something else, I tell them I have free time from midnight to 6 a.m.," she says.

Although she rises early to exercise and have time with her kids, Martin says she’s had to satisfy herself with less visible roles as a school volunteer. "Not being a leader is hard for me because I’ve always had leadership roles since junior high. But for me, knowing I don’t have time to be a leader, I just do whatever needs to be done when I can show up. That’s been huge. The PTO needs people like that. People think the group needs presidents and vice presidents and treasurers, and they do. But they also definitely need a lot of other people to do the grunt work. And there’s a lot of reward in doing just that."

—Evelyn Beck