Leaders -- do you do anything toward gaining the support of parents for your efforts? For those of you who would like to tap this very important resource, here are a few ideas.

Printed Circulars. Every so often send a circular home describing what activities the club is pursuing. Enough information should be given so that the parents will be able to ask their children intelligent questions, and thus hear something of the enthusiasm the children feel for the club.

You also can ask for parental help/support of the child's efforts -- perhaps there are activities that both parent and child can work on together (from research projects to field trips). Certainly, parents can help by using work contacts and relationships closer to home in gathering stamps for the child.

Hold A Show-Off Session. Serve instant coffee and put out the design-a-stamp entries, exhibits or other contest results that club members have done. Be sure to make as much of a fuss over the members' efforts as possible, including getting the local paper to picture a few if possible. Both parents and children will enjoy the recognition.

If you can gather the parents together in this way, take ten minutes to tell your captive audience what the club is doing and how they can support it.

If a meeting isn't possible, you can still have a display in the school library and invite the parents to drop in during the school week to see the work. This has a secondary benefit, too, for other students will see the work and be moved to join the club.

Invite Parents To Participate. When you have the members visit an exhibition, a Post Office, a stamp store, or whatever else, ask parents to drive. And ask them to go in with the children, not just wait in the car. Not only will they learn something themselves, they will be able to turn that to advantage in having a wider range of things to discuss with their children.

Ask a few parents to help set up your coffee and cookies meeting. Request assistance from those who are handy to build simple exhibit frames.

Invite Questions. When you talk with parents as you certainly will at PTA meetings, or when members are dropped off at meetings or picked up, answer their questions and invite more. Would they like to know what they can get as inexpensive philatelic gifts? Do they not understand a term their child has learned and uses? You are a source of all sorts of information that parents need. Let them know you would like to share that information.

A Parent Advisory Group? This is an ambitious project but could certainly be worthwhile if you generate any sort of major activity like a stamp show. Doing so requires publicity, holders for the exhibits, perhaps refreshments and many other details. Many parents would be delighted to help and only need to be asked. If you institutionalize that help with a Parent Advisory Group (PAG), they also can do other things during the year such as acting as a liaison with the local library toward getting more stamp collecting books or setting up a Stamp Corner, talking to neighborhood businesses about saving stamps for the club (and donating an occasional prize for one of your competitions), and doing some of the leg work in arranging field trips so that you have more time to work directly with your members.

Such a group also could oversee limited fund-raising (such as a small bake sale) so that a current set of catalogs or other references could be obtained for the club.

The possibilities for involving parents are unlimited. It will take effort on your part, but what is worthwhile in this world that does not take effort? Give it a try! And let us know what you do -- perhaps it can serve as help and inspiration to others. Write to APS Youth Activities, 100 Match Factory Place, Bellefonte, PA 16823.