Can we talk about fundraisers for a minute. I really try not to complain much, I know the schools are getting less and less funding, they need to come up with creative ways to add back in that extra bit to help out, but these fundraisers, selling cookie dough door to door stuff, just irks me, especially with a kindergartener. I assume they did the "hard sell" to the kids yesterday, telling them all about how many prizes they could get for selling so much stuff. Well, we were just getting ready to put Emma down last night, after a long day already, DH got her to school late because he had worked late, we struggled another night with getting her to sit down and do homework, then she remembers about the fundraiser. Well, she thought it was something at the school last night, some big fair or something and she went into hysterics about missing all the fun with her classmates, not getting any toys or prizes! I tried to calm her down and explain to her what it was and everything, but at 8:30, she just wan't understanding, and I've got a teenager in the background laughing at it (and yes, it was funny how upset she was, but again, she's 5 and in hysterics). I literally had to scoop her up cradle style and hold and rock her on the couch to get her to calm down. She has never acted like that before! Ugh, and I hate selling stuff, we have no relatives in the state at all, I can't take that sort of stuff to work, and DH is self employed. And, there are a decent amount of kids in our neighborhood, a middle school kid already was going door to door last week with something from the schools. I just wish they would either wait and start it a little later in the year, don't involve the K and 1st graders, or something.
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I hear you. I am not a salesperson type, and it's not reasonable to expect 5 and 6 year olds to do this stuff. Only a small percentage of the sales volume goes to the school anyhow, the middleman companies make out like bandits on this cheap, overpriced stuff they have the kids shill. I think a lot of people are in a position where they can't market the stuff at work, and they flat-out tell kids not to go door to door in our district. I like the school T-shirt sale and the Scholastic Book Fair better.
I suck it up, because the PA fundraising is the main thing that prevents our urban public school from becoming, well, a stereotypical urban public school.
Gwen
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We do 2 sale fundrasiers a year and 3 functions. We don't do the events. DH likes to check out on my and I have a little one who gets overwhelmed with all the big kids plus I'm watching older DS and last one we attended ended in a HUGE fight with me and DH so I will gladdly give them the money for the tickets but we don't go. As for the selling things. Ours always say "we don't encourage door to door sales" We can't really bring them to work (its not banned but discourages plus for me I have to take a train so not lugging tht stuff in and from past experiance you usually get screwed. Plus its all over priced and I feel guilty. I usually only ask grandparents and there are some coworkers I don't mind selling too and some will pick up but I try to avoid people with kids knowing they are in the same spot, but I have gotten some negativity when I don't buy from other people. Hello I got my own and some family who NEVER bought from us (back when I used to ask) assume we would but from them.
PTO has a goal, they do $1000 for each grade plus money for 8th grade graduation and dance. They also sell things through out the year although the new state law about food at school put an end to ice ream sandwich fridays. I don't mind doing them so I get some overprced wrapping paper and coffee cakes but have't had to spend more then $5 on a field trip so far; I don't expect others to buy from us though. Course then it becomes an issue because DS wants the prizes but they are so cheap and its never what it was supposed to be...
I "bought" 3. What I actually did was give $36 directly to the PTA so that they got all the money, instead of just the $9 that they would have gotten if I had actually bought them. I put this on the form that they sent home.
The only down side was that this did not count for the give away drawing that my kids could have been entered in. Not sure why, if they do the same thing this year I will make sure they are entered.
I live in a neighborhood with some people who are not able to afford this stuff - some are having issues with their house payments. My husband is discouraged from taking stuff like this to work. And, those neighbors who can afford - they can't eat gluten. Really, 4 of my neighbors out of 6, can't eat gluten. The other two can't afford this.
URGH our fall fundraiser came out yesterday and tiny vent. You lecture us about what we put in our kids lunch/snack with the obesity epedemic (hello what about those of us with the opposite problem kids who NEED to gain weight!!!) but then you send home a fundraiser with cakes, and cookies and other baked goods. Ok my kid doesn't have a weight issue but DH and I do!!! Let alone a cake is $26!!! really I can go to grocery store or BJS and get one for cheaper and maybe its a gourmet thing but going to be the same number of calories that either way I DON'T NEED!!!! and what its ok if we give them sweets at home just not school?!?! and um isn't this mix messages. Oh don't eat that here and then lets lecture the parents you really shouldn't give them that anyway BUT please buy an overpriced cake to help our school!!
I refuse to do fundraisers like this. You should express your displeasure with the Principal or whoever is running this scam.
I do participate in things like Boxtops for Education because it's on stuff I already by and it doesn't require me or my boys to become sales-people.
Yes, I can totally relate! I hate how they show the kids all these amazing prizes they'll get...if they sell hundreds of items...sigh. Our schools even go so far as to say "Don't sell door-to-door" (I think b/c of safety?) which is great b/c I don't want to anyway but where do they expect the kids to sell them? My son said "Well, they said you can bring the catalog to work and sell there". Yeah, sounds good in theory but everyone does that and people end up buying nothing b/c they feel they can't buy something from everyone. Plus, I hate bugging people to buy things!
We sell to ourselves and both sets of grandparents and that's it.
Lisa
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These fund raisers make about 30 cents on the dollar. Wouldn't it be better all around if the kids just asked for money? Then the whole dollar goes to the school and people don't end up with fattening or useless stuff that they bought out of pity for the kids.
Besides, I would probably feel that I could spend $3 each for each of my neighbor's kids, but I couldn't afford to spend $12 each for a Butter Braid that I wouldn't be eating because I am removing grains from our diet. The school would still get the same amount of money. (This based on a fundraiser that our ALE school is doing.) I
I don't want popcorn, cookies, candy, wrapping paper, raffle tickets or any of the other stuff. They should take a look at 4-H fairs. The kids sell the animals in an auction, but the buyer has the option of not taking it home. Most of the birds and meat rabbits end up back with the kids.
Schools should be getting 40-50% of the funds raised, if they aren't than they need to find another company to go with. Also, these "scam" companies as you call them employ people in your area. They are a business just like everyone else, and if you don't like it, than step up and actually do something about it rather than complain.
Chelsea
"Minds are like parachutes. They only function when they are open."
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