Gleek and Link brought home fund raising packets today. This is the second time this year that they’ve come home with glowing faces and plans for the marvelous prizes they will win. It has been left to me to explain that there is no way we can sell 10 coupon books at $20 each or 75 items from a catalog. In theory I could help them go door to door to all of our neighbors trying, but the expenditure of time is much too high. Besides I have a moral objection to pushing family and friends to buy things that they don’t need.
I know that these fundraisers work. They help the PTA raise a lot of money which is then put into programs at our school. I like the PTA. I like the programs the PTA provides. But these fundraisers are only successful because they use children as emotional levers on the pocket books of their parents. The fundraising companies do not care about the tears and headaches of the children and the parents. The fundraising companies do not care about the PTA or the school or the school programs. The fundraising companies are there to make a profit. They are quick to point out that half of the money goes straight to the school. I would point out that half of the money that people spend in an effort to help the school goes somewhere else. I do not want to give any money to these companies who prey upon my children and make them cry. It makes me angry that the PTA, which is supposed to be all about providing good experiences for children, raises money by emotionally manipulating them; showing them shiny prizes that they will never achieve. The PTA is making money off of setting children up to fail.
It all makes me mad enough that I called the school to register a complaint. I even left my name and number in case they care to call me back and discuss it. I may even make a cash donation straight to the PTA with a letter containing some of the points in this post so that I make really clear that I support PTA, but not fundraising companies.
I have the same objection. I will allow Em to buy books when the book fair is there but all the others I send back. I have already told the school that Emily is not allowed to participate in these “fund-raisers” and they send so many home that I don’t even donate $10 to the PTA every time any more. We live in a wealthy school district… many parents are doctors and lawyers etc… but we are all still expected to give, give and give more. We even have to send printer paper to school. What I want to know is where is it all going? There is not that much money spent on the kids programs all year.
Same here; I hated selling stuff when I was in school and have had to explain twice this year to my daughter that we don’t sell stuff like this.
One essayist I read wrote of being profoundly relieved when the PTA asked for people to give donations of $35 per child and promised not to do the “sell stuff” fundraisers in return. The PTA even asked for people to “sponsor” other people’s children.
Some people hated it, though.
Me, I know I’d rather give money directly to the cause than to most of these “fundraising” things.
I AGREE
You are so singing my song! I was about to blog on this very thing today just because it makes me so mad. I told my kids I refused to do these things because I do author school visits for their schools for free. I figure I save them several hundred dollars that way and it exempts me from lame impossible to achieve fund raisers.
This year, however, my son insisted on fundraisers today. It was horrible. He can never achieve the top sales that he wanted, not in our little town. And I, too, am opposed to forcing people i like to buy stuff they don’t need. I should write a letter too! You’ve inspired me.
Re: I AGREE
I hope you write both a letter and a blog post. The more of us stand up and complain, the less likely PTA presidents are to pick such fund raisers.
Good heavens–now I’m all angry at the system, and I don’t even have kids in school! Very excellent points.
What someone needs to do–and I have no idea what this would be–is to propose an alternate fundraiser scheme that would bring in nearly as much money without the same moral issues. Given a viable alternative, most PTAs would probably switch on a dime. Without one…
a little background info
This message is from backyard neighbor. I volunteer with the PTA. The first fund raiser was technically a “school” fund raiser. The principal has been begging us to help him gather funds for a new marquee for years. We didn’t want to spend our precious cash on it so he decided to have his own fund raiser. It was ill planned and ill timed. He chose a coupon book that didn’t have many coupons for the city we live in and he preempted our fund raiser (meaning he emptied parents’ pockets first). The PTA is only allowed a certain amount of fund raisers per year in order to remain tax exempt so we try to be cautious in our use of parents’ resources.When we heard of the principal’s fund raiser, we tried to back out of our fund raiser but were unable to do so because of contractual obligations.
My own children have never participated in a school fund raiser for the very reasons you listed.
Re: a little background info
Good information. Thanks!
It sounds like the Principal needs to learn to play nice with the PTA. Also, if I’m given a choice over where to put my donated funds, I’ll put it towards programs for the kids, teaching materials, or teacher salaries LONG before I’ll spring for a new marquee for the school.
There are lots of viable alternatives. I have seen them used. All of the alternatives involve much more work on the part of PTA members. The PTA members are all volunteers who have their own lives to run and so they are looking for effective ways to raise money without causing themselves too much stress.
This is where I haven’t a leg to stand on because if I really want the fund raisers to be different, I should get more involved and volunteer my own time.
over this side of the pond, we get sponsored events, run by volunteers and with proceeds direct to the school. The obvious one is sponsored walks, but you can be more creative: sponsored spelling, for example… one perennial favourite is the yellow plastic duck race, bascially, they get a pile of the little yellow bath ducks, number them, and then sell tickets for the race. There’s a prize if you get the winning duck. On the day, the ducks are dumped en masse into a local small river, and left to “swim” downstream to the finish line.
Such things tend to crop up fairly often, but at least are not run by a parasitic company who take half the profit. Land of the free, eh? 🙁