Volunteer Information -
Publicity for your event 
FYI, Paper & Non-Paper Flyers, Website, Social Media

1. To streamline communications and minimize the use of paper, Merion’s HSA will be limiting the number of paper flyers included in our weekly communications. Please think of the website as your first line of communication.

2. There are four types of school-wide communications available to Committee  Chairs:
  • Website link - information hosted on www.merionhsa.org.
  • A flyer with a form - will be sent electronically AND a paper copy will be sent home to everyone - ONLY IF NECESSARY and as approved by Presidents and Principal
  • An information-only flyer - will only be sent electronically and loaded to the HSA website.
  • A FYI “blurb” - a short paragraph with potential to link to external web sources.

3. Website link/Webpage
  • To set-up a webpage for an event, please submit your request to the Merion HSA webmaster with a copy to merionhsa@gmail.com. A webpage may have the same information as the flyer, and is encouraged to be set-up in lieu of a flyer. 
  • A webpage must go through the same review process as forms and flyers and should be ready for submission the Friday prior to the week the announcement in the FYI will link to the webpage. Therefore, please contact the website person at least a week in advance of that Friday, especially if a Paypal set-up will be involved.


4. Flyers/Forms
  • Please make sure all pertinent data is included on flyers: date, time, location, due date, cost, how to pay, contact info as well as “Merion Elementary” and the year. If you are receiving checks from parents, please ask for them to be sent in sealed envelopes labeled for the particular event. 
  • Forms offering items for sale must include the following verbiage: “If you are unable to pay _____ , but still would like to participate please contact Dr. Tony Albanese. This information will remain confidential." 
  • All flyers, forms and web content MUST be submitted in pdf format for approval, via email to Tracy Coyle and Maryellen Riggio by the Thursday prior to the Thursday envelope in which you wish to include the flyer. 

5. Blurbs (articles/paragraphs) in the weekly newsletter For Your Icebox (FYI)
  • To include a “blurb” (a short, concise paragraph) in the electronic FYI, email Pam Shaw with copies to Tracy Coyle and Maryellen Riggio by Monday at 6 pm with all of the relevant details, including dates, times, location, and any external web links.
  • FYI Blurbs will occur in the following order:
  1. Merion School events/programs open to ALL students
  2. Merion School events/programs open to SOME students (Fifth Grade Committee, Breakfast Buddies events)
  3. District Initiatives open to ALL students
  4. District Initiatives open to SOME students (CSE, C-mites)
  5. Community Events (space pending) open to ALL (Music Fest)
  6. Community Events (space pending) open to SOME (Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts)
  • Thank you’s - To conserve space in the FYI general thank you’s only may be included in conjunction with reporting on the results of an event.

6. Over the years we have had many requests for an “email blast” - an email sent to every Merion parent or guardian. Blasts are entirely the discretion of the Principal, and are used on an extremely limited basis. Do not count on the use of a blast in the promotion of your event. 

7. For coverage by LMSD, or for local news media coverage, please refer to the LMSD Publicity Policy.

8. For Sponsorships or corporate donations, please refer to the tax code (or discuss with Presidents). Violations of these guidelines could result in loss of our non-profit status. 

We thank you for all that you do and would like you to know that we greatly appreciate you sharing your time and talents with our children. Remember we are all volunteers working to better our children’s environment. Please keep your emails and communications polite and civil.  We are all on the same (unpaid) team.