WARNING: IF YOU LIKE TO DO FUNDRAISERS...THEN YOU SHOULDN'T READ THIS POST!
WE don't disagree with all Fundraising, just the ones that are raising money for big companies to sell products!
Car washes, family sponsored benefit dinners and homemade bake sales, not included, in the following arguments.
One of my pet peeves when I was teaching full time was when they interrupted learning time to go have an all school assembly on an upcoming fundraiser. Here are my issues:
1. You are going to use my child to sell your products. (Where are the child labor laws?)
2. I pay a significant amount of taxes already to support the public school system. (Just because you waste or mismanage the money, should my young child have to sell a product?)
3. Usually the child has to guilt someone into buying some over priced item that they wouldn't normally buy.
4. Let's see.... my child sells a hundred dollars of product and you give their school $1 and some cheap little plastic toy, that we could get for 25 cents in a gum ball machine! My child does a lot of work and so does the parent for what a couple dollars to the school? Please....
5. And how much do the CEO's of these companies make??????? Hey....whose sweet car is in the teacher's parking lot? OH yeah, right it's the fundraiser guy's car!!!!!
6. For example: Kaydree's current fundraiser.. raise 5,000 dollars and we will give you a 250 dollar wii! (which was probably donated to them.)
7. How about when your child doesn't sell as much as the child that both parents, Grandma and Grandpa, Aunts and Uncles and sooooo onnnnn take it to work to sell... and then they have another all school assembly to show that all the other children that didn't sell as much are the losers. (Kaydree has never done a school fundraiser, so of course she just has lost every time) I have many friends and neighbors that feel the same way...so I know that, you aren't the ONLY one who isn't doing the fundraiser! At this point I start rattling off other kids' names in her class, "did so and so do it," Well no... "did so and so do it," Well.....no. "Okay, then....you aren't the only one!"
8. Should our child spend time selling your needless product or spend time studying or even playing???? Gee, I don't know? Why don't we just hook our children up to work part time after school?
9. Or how about the sports ones, should I pay for your child to do a sport by buying a product I don't want or use? If we did fundraisers....let's see, I am buying stuff from you, you buy stuff for me (out of obligation) but in the end...why didn't we just pay for our own children to do their sport??????? Really what we end up doing in the end is supporting the fundraising company....these companies aren't dumb!
10. Do parents break down and do these fundraisers because these companies...know how to produce PEER PRESSURE and GOOD OLE' COMPETITION! (hence the prizes.)
So with some of that being said.... WE BROKE DOWN THIS WEEK...and let Kaydree ask her Grandparents only.... for a donation for Jump Rope for Heart. She wasn't selling a product...although it still makes me uncomfortable to have my child asking for money! My dad did have a heart attack, so I felt a little soft on the cause. HOWEVER... how much do the CEO's of "Jump Rope for Heart Make??????" How much of this money is REALLY going to the cause?
I knew that I loved Karysn's private school when at orientation they said, "WE HAVE A NOOOOOO FUNRAISER POLICY!" I WANTED TO STAND UP AND CHEER AND SAY, "YES, ...THIS SCHOOL GETS IT!
You mean you aren't going to have preschoolers work for a huge company by selling their products so that their executives can roll in money??????
Okay...now I will apologize for being really negative, I like to think of it as passionate on this subject???? One thing is for sure....BENJY AND I ARE EXTREMELY UNITED ON THIS ISSUE!!!!
He tells Kaydree just say this, "My dad says you already get enough of his money in taxes!"
At which point, I wink at her and say, "Well....maybe you shouldn't say that."
I will end with this...I believe in not just saying that you aren't doing something...because really you are just LAZY. Sometimes I can't formulate reasons for doing or not doing something...but in this case....I think I had 10 pretty well thought out arguments?
13 comments:
I agree the public schools should not have to fundraise due to taxes and state funding but the preschool that I am on the board we are non profit and get no funding help from the state or federal so in order for us to keep our costs down comparable to state funded preschools we do fundraising and ask for donations. Just my jab on the whole subject - Have a good weekend!
I agree, I think there are ways to raise money for these private school, like Karsyn's and they get very creative without having children selling products. In fact we are going to a carnival tonight that raises money for the school. Again, children selling products for big companies and public schools are my where I disagree.
I realized when I was teaching that if someone bought 30 worth of product and maybe 5 dollars went back to the school. Why not just ask for the 30 dollar donation? The school would make so much more money and people would spend a lot less for overpriced products. For example: something to think about. If I bought wrapping paper on clearance for target for $3.23 and yet if I were to pay 15 dollars for the same amount in a fundraiser...the difference in price is 12 dollars (about) now if I bought the 15 dollar wrapping paper...how much does the school actually make off of that? couple dollars? right...so I could just donate the 12 dollars and the school makes a heck of a lot more money. My beef is with these big companies. I feel like it is them who really do rip off the schools and the children.
I agree with the whole just give them money instead of buying something. And I have done that, when kids stop at the house I just give them $10 instead of ordering $10 worth of stuff. My only concern with that is did the $10 get to the school?
I am right there with you! I much prefer the personal fundraisers, to product driven ones. Unfourtantly I have also been on the receiving side of great PTA's which raise money from these fundraisers helping out the classrooms in more ways then the actual school does.
Those are some pretty good arguments. I never really participated in fundraisers myself because I hated asking people to buy stuff. I agree that they aren't really that much benefit to the school.
I never really thought about it to much, but now you brought it to my attention. Good points Kris!!!
I agree with you completely, however when I was in elementary school it was so cool to do for some reason? My parents always discouraged me do it...now I see why.
As for the salad dressing...haha I don't even remember that. All I remember is I saw that flavor you had been looking for and jumped at the opportunity to send you some. No price is too high for you to have that noodle salad :) haha
I strongly agree with you!! I hate having my children pressure people into buying things!! My girls also say "but if we don't sell anything we won't get a price", I then tell them I'll take you to the dollar store and you can pick out anything you want!!
Hate 'em too! One year kids had to have the screamin flying monkey so they worked together up and down neighborhood selling magazines and got one. Found it the next week in a dollar store!!! Ugh, but some of those same neighbors have asked why kids haven't come by to renew for them. I am just glad my older two are out of that phase--they no longer feel incentivized by cheap plastic. I like Benji's comment, wonder if I can get Mike to repeat that to the next sales rep to hit the school:))
I know how you feel about this because we have discussed it before. The problem is that they do play on the kids to sell the stuff or they look like outcasts if they don't.
I do know of different schools that are trying to get away from the fundraising by giving lists of items that are needed for the school and you can just make a donation which I totally agree with.
I completely agree with you. Also, schools should just ask for donations as your mom stated in her post.
I've always agreed. I would gladly give $20.00 or $30.00 directly to the school and save all the grief and wasted time. Amen!
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