I think the school has lost their minds. Every week we get a folder full of information sent home on Tuesday. I get everything times two. I understand, it's hard to communicate with parents without sending home papers. Ideally, we could communicate via email, but I know not every parent checks their email 6,000 times a day like I do. I do wish the stuff that was purely informational and didn't need to be signed, filled out, etc. could be sent home only once. You know, to save trees and stuff. I'm envisioning a day that I will get all this paper junk times FOUR. Shudder.
Okay, that got off on a tangent a bit, but the paper sent home is crazy I tell you. Even more crazy is the amount of fundraisers that are being sent home. CUH-RAZY people! First there are the ones I don't mind so much. Turn in you receipts at the mall customer service place to try to win a bunch of money for the school. Great. Then there's the same idea at Sweetbay. That one I can handle because I do spend some cash at the grocery store. And I don't have to sell anything. And then comes the stuff they do want me to buy or sell. First it was an entertainment book full of coupons that I can sell my family and friends, and buy myself. I love coupons, but I looked through the book and really didn't see that I would use $20.00 worth of stuff. I debated doing it for my kids SCHOOL, but the fact of the matter is I didn't want to. Then there came home the sale for Marble Slab (Cold Stone? I can't remember, it's one of those) where I can spend $7.00 on a pint of ice cream. You know, for the cause. I might even buy one of these because it's ICE CREAM, but now you want me to call my family and friends. Again. Because they aren't all up to their eyeballs in fundraisers too. And my neighbors, most of whom have school aged children as well. WHO exactly am I supposed to sell this stuff to? Am I supposed supposed to call on Grandparents every single time. Aunts and Uncles? I'm sorry, but I'm just not willing to hit people up for their hard earned cash every single time the school sends home a sales flyer.
A friend asked me recently how I handled fundraising with two kids in school. My answer. I don't. I'm not proud of it. I feel like somehow it must make me a deadbeat parent, or not supportive of the school, but I just think it's wrong to expect parents and kids to bug their relatives every five minutes for yet.another.fundraiser. If it was once or twice a year I might feel differently, but school has been in for roughly one and a half months and we are already inundated.
As if I don't have enough angst surrounding not participating in the bazillion fundraisers the kids get from school, I took Eric to his first Cub Scouts meeting and guess what time it is! That's right! Popcorn sales! Someone give me a break please!
A side note/funny fundraising story from my youth. Way back in the day we had fundraisers too. I don't remember the general school type, but I do remember constantly trying to sell stuff for band. That was before the day of "don't send your kids door to door." I never had much success selling. There was the great annual cheese and sausage sale and there was some prize that I wanted and so I signed up to buy like $50.00 worth of stuff. I guess I planned to save my small allowance, only I forgot and when it was time to pay up I didn't have the money. My mom was SO mad. I worked super hard to earn the money in time to pay it. Chores galore, and then every time we walked past the Hickory Farms display in the mall my parents would ask me "SO do you want to buy any cheese and sausage?" I'm pretty sure I didn't tell them to shutup, but I sure thought it.
Okay, so that's my embarrassing 8th grade story. How do you deal with fundraisers if you have school age kids? Do you think it would be better for the schools to just ask for money up front? Am I overreacting about having the kids sell stuff? Should I just suck it up and send out the fundraiser info to relatives? Discuss!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Up to My Eyeballs in Fundraisers
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5 comments:
Abigail just came home with her *preschool* sally foster fundraiser. That would be the preschool that I already pay tuition to every month. Ugh. But you know, I couldn't see that I needed any over-priced wrapping paper, so I just threw the whole thing in the trash.
I figure if the kids ever want to ask people themselves, they can, but I'm not doing it for them. If they did a fun run or something like that I might support it, but all the stupid over-priced crap they sell is just crazy.
And for sure I won't be selling it for them. I skipped my junior prom because I refused to sell any magazines. A dumb dance wasn't worth it!
We are supposed to be selling wrapping paper and chocolate for one school, coupon books for another school and calendars for Brownies. (And those are just the fall fundraisers... there's lots more.) I do buy some wrapping paper, but that's it. I'd rather write a check where the whole thing goes to the school, than 40% or whatever of the junk I buy. And yeah - we are paying tuition at both schools. Oy.
Oh yes! Shanna, I did forget about the Fun Run fundraiser that came home Tuesday. I might participate except I'm soooo irritated about all the other fundraiser stuff.
No...DO NOT call relatives! Burn those darn fund-raiser stuff! I LOATHE the fundraisers and the school has more and more each year! What I can't stand is the way they "pump up" the kids about selling and getting the dumb, cheap prizes. One day Sophia came off the bus with all these wild ideas about how to sell this stuff. She wanted to go RIGHT then to the neighbors....but I had to explain that they all had kids at the same school so they woudln't be buying from them! I got succored into buying some of the kitchen stuff(because it helps the school,right?) and it was so cheap it broke after the first use!
One of my seminary students asked me to make a donation to his orchestra's "rock-a-thon"(they are going to sit in rocking chairs all night long). I always want to help the music departments so i said I would. He explained that they were just taking donations because people are more willing to give $5 than they are to buy over-priced wrapping paper. That made so much sense I gave him $10!
Sorry for the long post....I could say more...but i will just leave it! ha!
I hate fundraisers too--but I don't hate them nearly as much as I hate the school for making my daughter think that she can sell 50 items and win a limo ride to lunch with the principal! Then I have to be the bad guy that says that even if everyone she knows bought something, she wouldn't get to 50 items.
This year her school said no Sally Foster--instead just donate the money...sounds good, except then they still have other fundraisers everytime I turn around--original art (yes--I want to pay for my daughter's own artwork), bingo night, fall festival (pay to come and donate things we can sell too), on and on and on!
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