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.