National PTA Founders' Day is observed in the United States every February 17, honoring the founders of the National Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), Phoebe Apperson Hearst, Alice McLellan Birney, and Selena Sloan Butler. The PTA was established on February 17, 1897, originally named the National Congress of Mothers, and its first convocation included around 2,000 attendees, comprising teachers, parents, legislators, and laborers. The organization was later renamed the National Congress of Parents and Teachers and in 1970 merged with the National Congress of Colored Parents and Teachers founded by Butler. The PTA serves as a unifying body for parents, teachers, students, and community leaders, and is recognized as the largest volunteer child advocacy organization in the country, focusing on improving children's lives in areas such as education, safety, and health. Most K-8 schools in the U.S., along with some preschools and high schools, have a PTA, and joining a local PTA automatically grants membership to both the state and National PTAs.