Parents & Family Association
On behalf of the Bates Parents & Family Association (BPFA), welcome to Bates!
Each year of your son’s or daughter’s life at Bates, whether it’s the first or fourth (or your first or fourth Bates student) brings new excitement and enthusiasm, as well as new questions and needs for you as parents. We hope that this Handbook helps answer your questions about academic, residential and extracurricular life at Bates.
Bates Parents & Family Association volunteers serve as liaisons between all parents and the college through the BPFA office, which seeks to provide parents with the optimum level of communication and opportunity for involvement. Within the BPFA there are many volunteer opportunities (described on the BPFA Web site), and you are encouraged to consider this as a meaningful way to be involved and have a positive impact on your Bates student’s life — while giving him or her the space a college student might desire.
For more information about any of the volunteer programs, please contact Erin Nelson, Director of Parent Giving or Marianne Nolan Cowan ’92, Director of Alumni and Parent Engagement. You can also fill out our simple online volunteer form by clicking here.
How Can You Get Involved?
Parents Fund Committee
The Bates Parents Fund is a fundraising campaign conducted by the college from July 1 to June 30 each year. It is a critical component of the overall Bates Fund, which raises annual unrestricted dollars from alumni, parents, friends, corporations, and foundations in support of Bates’ educational programs. Contributions to the Parents Fund help meet current expenses for the essentials that make a Bates education one of the best in the nation.
Parents Fund Committee members work to increase the funds raised each year by providing philanthropic leadership and fostering supportive relationships between the college and parents. Committee members focus on personally contacting current parents and parents of alumni throughout the fiscal year to help the college gain their vital support. The BPFA office provides all the necessary materials and assistance to reach out to fellow parents. Volunteers involved in the 2010-2011 Bates Parents Fund have helped raise over $1.3 million dollars from over 1400 parent donors.
Welcome Committee
Welcome Committee members make phone calls to families of incoming first-year and transfer students to welcome them to the Bates community and provide helpful tips only a fellow parent could know. The BPFA Office provides call sheets and matches volunteers to new families in their geographic area whenever possible. In addition, many committee members host regional welcome receptions for new and current families during the summer months.
Attendance at the Fall BPFA meeting during Parents & Family Weekend is also strongly encouraged.
Additional Programs
Many Bates parents and alumni participate in volunteer programs through the office of Admission and the Bates Career Development Center. Volunteers from across the country work with Admission by representing Bates at local college fairs and by hosting regional receptions for prospective students. They are also valued members of the Career Advisory Network, forwarding employment and entry-level job information to the college, sponsoring interns in their places of employment or sharing career insights with students and young alumni. Participation in career discussion panels is also welcomed. If you’re interested in volunteering for any of these programs, please contact the Office of Admission (207-786-6000) and Career Development (207-786-6232) or bates.edu/career.