DD's school resorting to begging for loose change

[peg2001]

Just how many fundraisers does the school think parents can tolerate? DD brought home a flyer yesterday asking for kids to bring in loose change to raise funds to install computer equipment that was purchased 3 YEARS ago and has been sitting in boxes because they didn't budget money to actually set it up.

There was also a flyer for their annual Western Hoe-Down fundraiser (essentially a festival with games, cake walks, etc.), AND a message on my answering machine from a room mother asking us to donate new gardening supplies to a basket that will be auctioned off.

I've had enough. I'm not giving anymore.

Peggy

 

[RitaZ.]

They're asking for loose change? WOW!!! What's next? Asking you to donate a percentage of your pay on top of the taxes that you already pay. Just ridiculous!

 

[FOJMO]

Loose change for computer equipment that is 3 years old??? That computer equipment is obsolete by now!

I don't blame you one bit for not donating any more money, etc. Enough is enough!

 

[Toby'sFriend]

I feel your fundraising pain. I started refusing to sell stuff a couple of years ago. I write a donation check to the school and the PTO at the beginning of every school year.

But actually the Penny Wars and Change fundraisers don't bother me nearly as much. I just tell my kids to search the couch cusions and my vehicle -- what they find gets donated. At least I'm not stuck with overpriced knick knacks and candles --- or wrapping paper that costs more than most of the gifts it's covering.

 

[~Sparkly~Zoe]

We just got hit yesterday with the Pizza, cookie dough, garlic bread, pretzels, danish, coffee & cheesecake one! $12 bucks for a pizza!
I don't mind the hoagie fundraiser, those are easy to sell, everyone wants one.

 

[mrsv98]

I hate to say it, but if the equipment has been sitting around for three years, it is already obsolete! Fundrasing gets really out of control and it isn't just schools. We have really started to distance ourselves from our church because they are constantly asking for money above and beyond the regular thithing we are supposed to contribute. I try and support good causes, but I find myself getting cranky and avoiding donating anything because of constant pressure. Where does it all end?

 

[mamamia]

All these fundraisers get to be too much after a while. I have 3 children. Luckily my oldest is in middle school and they don't seem to do as many funraisers as my 3rd and 5th grader.

Already this year we have had the fall fundraiser, the coffee/cheesecake fundraiser, and the pta is having each class make a basket to be raffled off at the fashion show (which of course they are selling tickets to). I'm the class mom in my son's 3rd grade class and only about 5 kids out of 17 sent in anything for the basket. For the basket the pta gave each class a theme and the kids came home with a piece of paper saying what item they had to bring in. Most of the things for the basket were under $5. And we have had the school t-shirt sale, and they will be having school pictures taken in a few weeks. I know they will have a spring fundraiser and spring pictures and then they usually sell towels and/or pasta as a fundraiser. I don't participate in all of them; but I feel I make a decent contribution to the fundraisers each year.

A lot of times around here they will collect loose change for a local child who is sick. They are having a car wash fundraiser this weekend for one of the teachers - her 3 yr. old has leukemia. I will definitely be going to that.

 

[trishy]

Those fundraisers can sure add up. Between my 3 kids, it was becoming extremely costly to keep funding these projects. We have no relatives really - just my MIL - and there are few neighbors here. My dh works with 4 other guys so can't sell much there. We were spending $100 each just so the kids could participate in their "fundraiser ice cream parties" for participants that sold a certain amount (usually over $125 - $150 worth of goods). I've given up. I've resorted to bribery. I give each of the kids $25 if they DON'T sell. They don't miss the ice cream party. I know, I'm harsh, I'm an ingrate, I'm just a horrible mother, but it's saving us a lot of money (I figure they spend it on stuff I would've had to buy them anyway). I just got sick of the strong-arm tactics. I don't mind giving prizes for certain selling levels, but our district resorted to excluding those who did not sell enough products by having these "ice cream parties" for those who sold a lot. The cookie dough fundraiser cost me $132 so my kid could be "included". This year she took the $25 and bought herself a new cd and some makeup.

 

[HauntedMansionGeek]

YIKES!!!

My spare change is my Disney trip money!!!

Ain't NO way they're gonna get that, not after buying the cookie dough, the candy bars and the candles.
I'd SO much rather just give the school 100$ at the beginning of the year and let them divide it up however they decide.......

all this selling of "junque" has just gotten to be too much.

 

[Lachesis00]

I hated fund raisers. 300 kids all selling the same stuff. At least 20-25 kids hitting my house... not counting my son who is suppose to sell the same stuff. .

One year the principal tol the kids (ds was in third grade) if they did not sell enough (whatever it was... wrapping paper??) they would have no outside equiptment or toys.
But the schools had gotten a huge grant 2-3 months earlier to replace all of the outside equiptment (slides and such) because the wood was poisonious....
I was livid. I refused to let him sell that year. They lied to my child, had him and many others extremely upset. Felt pressured that they HAD to sell $xxx.xx of stuff. I felt like beating the principal....

 

[CamColt]

We have quite a few fundraisers throughout the year, but they make them fun for the kids.
We already did the brochure fundraiser which includes candles, candy, wrapping paper, and a few odds & ends. Ill admit this one is a pain because we have to around "begging", LOL!
However some others we do or are looking into include...
1)Pizzaria Uno night, where anyone from the school eats in or takes out from PU, 20% of the bill goes to the school.
2)Hockey Night... a local Farm Team will sell tickets to the school for $10.00, they can resell them to students and families for 12.00-14.00
3)Pizza Bingo Night, held at the school, self explanatory
4)YMCA Night...The Y allows the kids and parents to go in on a Saturday night to play basketball, hockey, wall climbing, swimming, arts & crafts, etc...
5) Each grade has a bake sale with raffles throughout the year.

Can you tell I went to PTO meeting last night?

We also donate loose change around the holidays, but that is for the needy.

 

[Disneycrazymom]

While the fund raising can (and often does) get out of hand, there are some schools that really need the money raised. Our school uses the wrapping paper money to pay for paper and electricity. We do not even have fancy playground equipment! I like that my kids are in a small private school and don't mind fund raising to keep tuition costs down a bit.

 

[nkjzmom]

Just last year DH offered to come in for free and help upgrade/set up/maintain DS's school computers...just because he likes to do that sort of thing. But they told him they couldn't do that because there was already a computer person hired for the whole school system and they could only let him work on the computers. BUT with only one person it takes FOREVER to get any work done. Your situation would drive my husband crazy!!! How hard would it be to get a parent to come in and help set it up...just as a volunteer?

 

[KathyFP]

DD is in K and the school has already had one fundraiser and then she has her mag&nuts for girls scouts.

Fortunately nothing is as bad as my nephews hockey:
strip tickets every two week and also a monthly
candles
pizzas
hoagies
candy
pies

I am sure there are some that I am forgetting. This is all since September.

 

[Cinders]

Anyone else not like where they spend all that fundraiser money our kids earn? Our school decided in our last PTO meeting to spend over $10,000 on a gazebo that will be in the middle of our track. Since when is a gazebo that most of our teachers wont use and that wont be able to be used at all in the winter, more important than a baseball diamond, library books, or computer software and other helps for the new math and reading programs? I guess appearances are more important than excercise and education at our elementary.

 

[Planogirl]

Our PTO has only had one BIG fundraiser so far and we had to decline this one. For some reason, they scheduled it at the same time as when camp fees were due at the school and we just simply couldn't do both. This was also during the first month when we were still buying supplies, instruments and so on.

I'm glad though. It was that awful wrapping paper/knick knack stuff that everyone hates. I usually end up buying a lot of it so that my son makes "enough" and then throwing almost all of it away.

We do have some of the fast food/pizza nights too and those are fine.

 

[AirForceRocks]

Our kids are in a small private school, and we do two big fundraisers per year. Wrapping paper in the fall, and a silent auction right before the beginning of Lent. There are also various small things during the year (student council bake sales, penny drives, etc), but most of that money goes to charity. But the thing that kills me are all of the letters (every other week or so it seems) asking for $5 for this or $10 for that.

I did raise a little hell last year about what I considered nickel and diming the parents to death! We raised about $30,000 at our silent auction, and all but $3,000 was earmarked for the arts and cultural enhancement programs at the school. But then when the school musical (our first production) got underway, they started sending home letters about donut sales, buying programs, etc. I fired off a letter reminding the school that we had worked our behinds off for 6 months on the auction so that we wouldn't have to have the nickel and dime stuff for the play and for other such programs.

My gripe was that no matter how much we raise, the school always wants more. Sorry, but there is a point at which it is just too much - they should try to do the best they can with what they have rather than trying to bleed us of every last dime.

I like that my kids are in a small private school and don't mind fund raising to keep tuition costs down a bit.

Speaking for myself, I would rather that they raise the tuition to cover what they need, rather than sending something home every other week asking for money to pay for something else.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

t

Anyone else not like where they spend all that fundraiser money our kids earn? Our school decided in our last PTO meeting to spend

Our incoming PTO president a couple of years ago decided that our Jr. High needed new playground equipment much more than the baseball/softball diamond that the funds were raised for. She formed a committee to vote with her and got the backing of the incoming Principal.

We all show up at the first PTO meeting and it was already ordered and installation scheduled. They showed us the plan -- several people expressed the same doubts I was hinking "Swings and slides? These are 11 to 13 yo kids! They aren't going to play on it!"
The equipment got installed and it had several of those tubes that the little kids crawl through. The kids quickly named them the Tunnels of Love and set up a system to keep a lookout so couples could enter.

They had to be removed.

A baseball/softball diamond would have been MUCH better. :lol:

 

[nativetxn]

I could never say "no" to fundraisers for schools. I <i>still</i> make contributions and Travis finished his masters over a year ago.

I'm a sucker for a school fundraiser