School fundraisers??

[chicks4kids]

I have to add too as the OP we have school pictures twice a year now...TWICE A YEAR!! How dumb do they think we are?.....Of course, I could guarantee over 50% buy them both times, and at my daughters school they are $40 a pop!!

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

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I think that depends on state laws. Those things are NOT paid for by fund raisers in AZ, but are covered by regular education $$. Field trips often have an individual cost associated with them; it can count as a tax credit, and there are usualy scholarships $$ available for those who truly cannot afford the cost.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Chickie'sMoma :

i like something that our local band used to do. (not sure if they still do this since i haven't see advertising the last few years) the band and family members would get donations from local grocery stores for sandwich supplies and make 'Super Bowl Sunday' subs to sell.

they would get together that morning to put them together for each order and bag them to be picked up after a certain time.

There used to be bake sales and car washes and similar fund raising activities that required effort on the part of the students or parents, and provided a real product or service. There are fewer and fewer and fewer of those.​

 

[SarahBeth9394]

Here in TX some group somehow got a law passed regarding nutrition. I don't know the specifics of the law but a couple of the results are there's no soda in the soda machines (yet there's sports drinks like powerade and gatorade that are full of sugar) and the kids can't sell candy bar fundraisers. This ticks me off to no end. Candy bar sales are by far the easiest, biggest, and quickest money raisers. So instead of selling a box of candy bars for a buck a piece we have to sell items that are higher in price but acceptable. That is why the cookie dough fundraisers are everywhere. And the profit margin stinks. Next week I'm hit up for $30 on just two items.

I won't sell the stuff in those magazines that the elementary school does because I completely disagree with the tactics used to get the kids to sale stuff. They get sent to an assembly where they watch a motivational speaker pump them up to sale, sale, sale with the possibility of rewards. One of which was an assembly they called "The Biggest Party of the Year" that only kids who sold so much could go to. It was the quickest way to make a kid feel like a looser for not hawking their junk.

 

[bigkford]

Here is a good one for you. My family and friends put together truck pulls and garden tractor pulls. We have a groups of people coming from all over to pull. We set up a fundraiser pull for our school and they cleared over 3000.00. Some of the parents raised such a stink about it that there has not been another one since. They said it made our little town look like hicksville. The PTO still sets up a foodbooth at some of benefit pulls we do to help raise money. They always clear over 2500.00. They use the money to help pay for sports for kids that wanna play and can't afford it. We thought it was a way to generate some money for the kids and give the kids (of all ages a chance to play with their tractors or trucks). I never thought they would turn away money so it makes one wonder.

 

[luvmychicknkids]

I haven't read all the replies but here is how we handle it.

We don't. Period. My children are not allowed to participate an fundraisers. They also know I am more than happy to donate money, supplies, and what little of my time I can spare. I can't allow my children to think it is alright to guilt people into buying overpriced merchandise they didn't even want. It is time more parents set their foot down and stopped this ridiculous practice!

 

[SarahBeth9394]

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Actually I think a tractor pull would be a great idea out here but it seems like there's one in the surrounding communities each month. Of course every rodeo and festival includes one.

 

[bigkford]

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Actually I think a tractor pull would be a great idea out here but it seems like there's one in the surrounding communities each month. Of course every rodeo and festival includes one.

Yes we have alot of them here too. But when they hear the moneies made go towards helping the kids at school, we get people coming from pa, nc, mich, from all over. Everyone had a good time and ask if we can do it again but as soon as it is mentioned those same people come out and put a stop to it. I just don't understand some peoples thinking.

 

[wischickenlover]

Include on my DS's 5th grade list of "supplies" needed for school: Small paper dessert plates, a package of napkins, and a full-size bottle of hand sanitizer. Among all the other, color-coded supplies and name-brand items. Every year gets worse and worse....

 

[wombat]

I don't mind the party plate and napkins and such. When I was in grade school, we got treated to a little carton of orange drink, and that was the party. My child's school experience has been so much more rewarding. She was home for days last week with a fever (now I have it

) and by day two she was begging to be allowed back to school. In my day, every kid in my class would have milked that fever for all it was worth.

At least with a list, everyone gets asked to put up their fair share ... and the list this year even said "We understand that times may be difficult for some families, so please consider the following requested items to be optional."

A number of people did raise objections to the "name brands" on the list via the PTA several years ago, and the list had none the next year, except for a few things like "Elmer's SCHOOL glue (or equivilent) if they were concerned people might not send in a purpose-appropriate item. Bring up the brands issue with your teachers, or through the PTA.