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Educational Fundraiser

mrweaw

mrweaw

Branching out into geckos
Hello Everyone!

For years I have been laughing at a comedy skit by Bill Engvall about how schools turn children into "little Amway people". Today it happened to me. Gone are the days of knocking on your neighbor's door and asking if they want to buy a candy bar. In fact they aren't supposed to go door to door at all any more. Matthew, my 6 year old son, came home with a catalog today. They are selling fancy chocolates, candles, wrapping paper, and all sorts of other giftable items. BTW, I find it amazing that they want him to sell candles when he isn't even allowed to play with matches.

Anyway, I have registered him online so that anyone with a computer can order things and the money will be credited to his school (which really does need it). The specific information is as follows:

"Your order, paid by Visa or Mastercard, will be shipped to you via UPS ground within 10 working days. Our fundraising company can only ship within the 48 contiguous states. Chocolates are not available for shipping until temperatures cool nationwide. If you need further help with your order, contact: [email protected] and provide the name of the school you are supporting. "

You can shop and order by clicking HERE.

All I ask is that if you have a few minutes you take a look. If you don't find anything you want, all you have lost is a couple minutes of your time. If you do, you not only get a neat little gift but you have helped to support a small town school that is in need of money.

The account is set up under my name, Erin Williams, and is for Clemens Primary School in Philomath Oregon. (It can not be set up under Matt's name because he is under 13) Questions or concerns can be sent to me via PM or email to [email protected] .

Thank you so much for your time, I really do appreciate it!

Erin
 
Erin...

You're right about these fund raisers getting a bit fancy. My 8 year old brings home catalogs a couple times a month...food one called Market Day and now one full of candles, small gifts etc.

The Wife and I go in more for buying extra supplies the Teacher asks for on occasion, in a separate flyer she sends home from time to time.

School certainly has come a long way since I was a tyke, back when dinosaurs ruled the Earth ! ;)
 
Here is what makes it even worse...they sent a Madagascar poster home with the packet and it has big color pictures of all the toys the kids get if they sell a certain amount of stuff. How do you explain to a 6 year old that although that remote controlled car and CD player are cool, you are not buying $1000 worth of candles and wrapping paper!?

He almost cried when I told him that there was no way he was going to get the juke box CD thingie. I assured him that we could find something similar at Toys R Us...but at 6, he just doesn't see things the same way we do. I miss the days of $1 candy bars *sigh*.
 
I have finally had to tell my kids to not even bring it home. I have also told several teachers this.
As you said, they get the kids into it by these "great" prizes. The ones they will probably actually be able to earn are nothing more than dollar store toys. So I tell them we'll go spend the $5 at the dollar store for your toy and if your teacher/school needs money or supplies they can ask me for them directly. My kids are not free labor.(At least not for anyone but me :) )

I know some people like these promotions so no offense intended- just my opinion.
 
I remember getting boxes of candy bars to sell for school and for our local youth softball/baseball association. It sure was nice having parents who worked in a factory and a coal mine. They'd take the catalog and sell loads of stuff. But all of the stuff they're selling these days. Its nuts. :eek1:

But now that I'm older, how much money does the school actually get back from this sort of stuff? Wouldn't it be better to do a list like Gronk's kid's teacher does. Things that really matter and are useful. Heck, even a bake sale is better!

As I get towards the child-bearing years for myself, I am becoming more disenchanted with our public education system in the US. Teachers get paid so little for ALL that they do, and children are coming out more and more uneducated. How can the greatest country in the world be so short sighted on our future? =/
 
Steps onto soapbox.

My biggest beefs with the school fundraisers are that they are making 6-8 year olds sell crap (some good, some not) who are way too young to be doing any kind of sales (we only had to do it in junior and senior high, nothing younger) and the fact that it isn't the kids who are selling it. Their parents take the catalogs to work (no offense, Erin! keep reading) and sell to their co-workers. If someone has a kid who is selling something, then the kid can come in and sell it! They aren't learning if they aren't doing it themselves. I think people should help their kids out with this, but its the kid's responsibility to make the sales. Which is why I don't think they should be making little kids do this sort of thing. How many 6 year olds can go door to door alone or contact the amount of people they would need to hit up in order to sell $1000? It isn't fair to the children to show them these wonderful prizes and know that they will more than likely fall short and be disappointed. What are our schools thinking?

Ok, I'm off my soapbox.
 
I despise those fundraisers! My son doesn't even do them. Between school, school band (which has a SEPARATE fundraiser), Boy Scouts, karate, and any other sports function he's involved in, he does four to five fundraisers per year. He chooses the ONE that is most important to him, usually Boy Scouts, and does that ONE, and we forget about the rest.
 
I told my Grandma last night that I felt like I was being given homework. :rolleyes: The whole thing is a mess but as it is our first experience with it I figured we would see how it goes. When I was a kid I remember going door to door with my Mother selling Girl Scout cookies (I was NEVER allowed to go out alone). I worked my butt off for a little stuffed eagle and I was very proud. Now they aren't even allowed to go door to door...why the heck not?? I did it! All because some parents are too lazy to go with their kids and send 6 year olds out alone to get kidnapped. Again, I miss the days of "Knock, Knock...Would you like to buy a candy bar for a dollar?" That was my kind of fund raiser.
 
Since when are kids not allowed to sell door-to-door? Is there a law I'm not aware of? If so, please give me the statute number and page number so I can show the Jehovah's Witnesses next time they come to harass me on a nice peaceful Sunday morning.

I sold my fair share of Girl Scout Cookies when I was a Brownie door to door. My husband sold his share of popcorn door to door when he was a Boy Scout. I see nothing wrong with it. At least the upside of it is you would probably sell more stuff because most people can't say no to a kid doing such things.

I did go and look at the stuff, Erin, but nothing caught my eye. =/
 
No clue if there's a law, but in these times, no way in hell would I let my kid (even if a teenager) go door to door. That part at least I can applaud these fundraisers for. Don't like them overall, for all the reasons stated already, but at least they're keeping safety in mind.
 
They probably made that rule so that some parent can't sue when their kid gets kidnapped selling their junk door to door.
 
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