The PTA doesn't exist just to provide cookies and punch for school parties.
"If that's all parent involvement means to you, then it is foolish to send PTA dues to the national and state office," said the national PTA President Manya Ungar.Speaking Friday at the Utah PTA Convention, she said, "We need to recognize it's not business as always. It's our responsibility to know what is happening beyond the borders of our own community and our own state."
The PTA theme for 1989-1991, "Reaching Out," follows the mission statement of the national organization when it began 92 years ago, Ungar said at the convention at Brigham Young University.
"I've been impressed with your sense of need to reach out. What you are doing is wonderful and it's obvious by the increased member numbers and the awards you have won."
"But we have to reach out to every child regardless of where he lives, his background, color or creed. Utah is unique because most people come from a common set of traditions and values. Many times we assume all parents have the same attitude."
That is not always the case, she said. It's necessary to provide the same chances and choices for all children.
"What happens outside this state has a direct impact on you now and in the future of your children. We are a mobile society. Our children have to learn to react with all people.
"We are all here because we care very much about children," she said. "As we reach out, we need to reach out to new ideas and understanding of what many families throughout the nation are facing today."
Of 64 million children in the U.S., 21 million are at risk, she said - not necessarily because they are living in poverty, but because they come from a single-parent family or a family in which both parents work or are involved in drugs.
"No community is immune from at-risk children. They have little chance of being productive members of society if we don't reach out."
The traditional family now represents less than 6 percent of the configuration of families in the nation, Ungar said.
"Our children will grow up in a very different and dangerous place if we don't address some of the problems."
The mortality rate is higher within 30 miles of a major U.S. city than it is in Africa, she said.
"No matter how hard we try to bury them, we can't avoid the problems of our schools and nation. We have to contend with them. We have to provide greater understanding and commitment."
The underlying social ills are really at the root of the problem, Ungar said, and contributions have to go beyond the basics.
"Children are our only and best resource. We can't let a single child be discarded. We have to find a way to reach out.
"I ask you to enlarge your vision and have foresight as you view the problems of this country. You've got to start by looking at the figures. We are the ones who can make a difference."