Fundraisers...ugh!

[rhanditresmom]

Well, it's that time of year again...time to suck family and friends dry with the annual fundraiser! Ok, the wrapping paper isn't too bad...it's just that the "powers that be" tell kids what cool stuff they'll get if they sell this many or that many items. I just cannot afford to buy $200 worth of junk! Ugh....

Anyone else going thru this?

 

[themepark]

Ah yes....you are not alone. The big campaign of selling begins this week at our schools. And very soon, our church youth group which my daughter just joined will be selling wrapping paper. THEN, there will be a PTA basket auction fundraiser following in November. The wrapping paper is not a big deal as they don't have a "quota" to sell. The school fundraisers on the other hand are quite different. I HATE that they have a huge assembly touting all the fabulous prizes you will receive if you sell X number of books. And I just learned at the middle school, they even throw in even MORE prizes (including cash) for selling. UGH!!!! I hate it. What I hate the most is how they throw all that stuff in front of the kids to get them hyped up. So many kids do not have anyone to sell this stuff to nor can their families afford to even buy the first thing. It's just cruel to wave all the "fabulous prizes" in front of them.

 

[Lil_Tink]

Ah yes....you are not alone. The big campaign of selling begins this week at our schools. And very soon, our church youth group which my daughter just joined will be selling wrapping paper. THEN, there will be a PTA basket auction fundraiser following in November. The wrapping paper is not a big deal as they don't have a "quota" to sell. The school fundraisers on the other hand are quite different. I HATE that they have a huge assembly touting all the fabulous prizes you will receive if you sell X number of books. And I just learned at the middle school, they even throw in even MORE prizes (including cash) for selling. UGH!!!! I hate it. What I hate the most is how they throw all that stuff in front of the kids to get them hyped up. So many kids do not have anyone to sell this stuff to nor can their families afford to even buy the first thing. It's just cruel to wave all the "fabulous prizes" in front of them.

I had my friend who lives 3,000 miles away try and get me to buy mag's from him so he could get prizes.. I honestly dont care about a school so far away from me and would much rather have my school get some $$

 

[Laurajean1014]

I know what you mean. We have had two in the past three weeks. First wrapping paper and now magazine drive..... Ugggh.

I have a $350 assessment every year. Last year, we paid it outright. Didn't want to be bothered with this stuff. This year, DS wanted to do the mags, so we're in the game.

 

[disneymom3]

I am right there with you! DD is supposed to be selling butter braids for school. She is also supposed to be selling flower bulbs for choir. Operative phrase in those sentences is "supposed to be." She WILL be selling girl scout cookies come winter and we need to not harass people before that.

Plus who the heck are you supposed to sell this stuff to? All my friends have kids who are involved in stuff, my ILs have 8 grandkids and can only buy so much and there are 8000 kids in our neighborhood who are all selling stuff for their schools. It gets to be nuts! There has to be a better way.

The girl scout cookies are the only thing I am comfortable having her go around the neighborhood to sell because people actually want them!

 

[OhMari]

1. Cookie Dough and Pizza from nighborhood 2nd grader.
2. Pizza from nephew
3. Bulbs from 8th grade cousin
4. Magazines from sophmore dd for band.
5. Football card-savings from vendor's like Burger King etc, -Senior nephew
6. Pizza from Senior Nephew on Football team.
7. $30 to Volleyball team for $1.00 suckers she can't sell
8. Band concert at a park, they passed the Hat
9. Going to work a Burger and Brat Fry on a Sat. afternoon for a Band fundraiser.

This was all in one week. and it all just started.

70% of my Property Taxes goes to my local h.s. My property taxes are $2800 on a 100 yr old home. If only they would let you write all this off on your taxes, but you can't.

 

[Texan Mouseketeer]

My son got hit up from his school with the school wide fundraiser and the PTA fundraiser for the school in the same week! Both of them said if you sell this much, you go to an assembly...I was so excited when the district sent out a letter saying that could no longer happen and now everyone has to go to the assembly!

Also, one of his brochures was for the exact same kind of cookie dough as the band fundraiser at the school I teach at...BUT, the brochure had no prices in it - they were on a separate sheet of paper. The cookie dough was selling for $2 more a tub at his school than at mine. WTH??

I can't stand all this stuff. When I was little, my parents would only allow me to sell girl scout cookies. The rest was outlawed.

 

[Talking Hands]

Candy bar sales. Lots of different cclubs at school are selling them. Yikes, if I bought from every student that asked me I would weigh 300 pounds! Also they are selling magazines. Oh and one kid asked me to buy Tupperware from them for a fundraiser! I don't need anymore Tupperware since I'm a consultant myself. I have most of this stuff already and am trying to get rid of some of it.

 

[Barb D]

So far we have DD5's wrapping paper and DD12's magazines, and this is only the beginning.

I've decided that my policy is going to be that my kids will not sell anything from catalogs. The only fundraisers they will participate in will involve a product that they have in hand (like Girl Scout cookies in front of a store) or a service right then and there (like a car wash.) And they will NEVER under any circumstances stand on a street corner with a bucket. I absolutely despise fund-raisers who do that.

Now I just have to figure out how to get this across to the schools without sounding snobbish or lazy. I will happily donate the amount of cash that the average student brings in from fund raisers.

 

[mum4jenn]

I am right there with you! DD is supposed to be selling butter braids for school.

WHAT in the heck is a butter braid???????????????????????

 

[disneymom3]

WHAT in the heck is a butter braid???????????????????????

It is a frozen pastry with fillings in it. Pretty much like a breakfast pastry. They have fruit fillings or one has cream cheese. You thaw it out and then bake it. They are supposed to be pretty good, but they sell for $8. Let me tell ya, I can make the same thing for waaaayyyyy less than that!

 

[Missy1961]

I feel for all you parents. But I'm the single aunt (with no kids) of 7 nephews & 5 nieces. At one time or another, I've purchased raffle tickets, cookie dough (which sat in the freezer for 2 years until I threw it out), wrapping paper (which I don't mind because it's useful) and sponsored them for various walk-a-thons. My siblings always feel bad about it, but I do want to help out. I won't buy from co-workers kids anymore, unless I know them.

 

[aprilgail2]

We have had this year, wrapping paper and junk for school, karate chances, candles for karate, soccer chances, tball chances, girl scout cookies, and starting Oct 1st girl scout nuts and candy. The easy thing is the cookies, I sold 100 boxes in one day at work, they all love them...the rest of this crap is painful!

 

[monarchsfan16]

Last year I had to sell 2 50 piece boxes of candy for National Honor Society, 1 52 piece box for student council, 1 52 piece box for Latin Club, 1 52 piece box for newspaper, and as many boxes of a dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts for newspaper as I could (I sold 2). BTW, all but one of the candy sales were in the same month and a half. My sister had her own box for Latin Club and her own box for student council too. At that school, there is always some club selling a box of candy. Luckily most of those can be sold in school, but when I had 2 boxes at once my mom actually took them to work with her and sold to teachers in the lunch room. Trust me, us kids get fundraiser overload too.

 

[eeyoresmountainpals]

We have a sixth grader and an eighth grader...between the start of school (8/20) and Christmas break we have or will have:

1. Coca Cola sales
2. Wrapping paper sales
3. Bingo Night with full concessions
4. Country Breakfast
5. Square Dance with dinner
6. Raffle
7. Concession sales at every home volleyball and basketball game

That's only the things I know of. We're a small school...less than 150 students from K-8!!!! I know because of our small size we need extra $$$$ in the school but there's a limit to how much less than 150 kids and their parents can do!

 

[eeyoresmountainpals]

originally posted by monarchsfan16
Trust me, us kids get fundraiser overload too.

I agree completely!!! My boys are overloaded and stressed out with fundraising as much as I am. They work very hard at it!

 

[SleepyMom]

A little girl approached me at church yesterday to ask me to buy something from her. I told her she was in luck because I always buy from the first one to ask me. So, I sat and started looking through what she was offering and my own DD came up behind me and peeks over my shoulder. Guess what she said? "Hey, I'm selling that stuff too"

Um, ok, why haven't I heard anything about it then? I did buy from the little girl, and I guess I will from DD as well, if she ever remembers to bring it home.
Kids!

 

[Cyndirella]

I'm with you! The other night I actually composed a really good rant about the school fundraiser, but it wouldn't ever post. This was after my DD begged me to let her take the catalog door-to-door so she could get all of the little crappy prizes and attend the big party they throw for the kids who sell the required amount.

I would much rather give a donation to the PTO. That way, they would get to keep 100% of the money and I don't have to buy a bunch of stuff that I don't need or want. But I tried to do that a couple of years ago and was told she still wouldn't be able to go to the party. So I bought...I couldn't stand the thoughts of my child sitting in a classroom while everyone else was at the party.

 

[the kabuki]

I'm with you! The other night I actually composed a really good rant about the school fundraiser, but it wouldn't ever post. This was after my DD begged me to let her take the catalog door-to-door so she could get all of the little crappy prizes and attend the big party they throw for the kids who sell the required amount.

I would much rather give a donation to the PTO. That way, they would get to keep 100% of the money and I don't have to buy a bunch of stuff that I don't need or want. But I tried to do that a couple of years ago and was told she still wouldn't be able to go to the party. So I bought...I couldn't stand the thoughts of my child sitting in a classroom while everyone else was at the party.

I can't believe the school would throw a party for some while other's were excluded! That's awful.
We have our share of fundraisers'(already have gotten the candy, mags, wrapping paper, and entertainment books) and while they do give away prizes, there's no parties going on. Hopefully no one comes up with that idea at our school, I'll be in there screaming to high heaven.

As others' have said, there's really no one to sell this crap to anyways, all of our friends, relatives and neighbors' have kids selling the same junk.

 

[CEDmom]

The 1st one came home yesterday. What I especially love is that it was just a catalog in an envelope. No letter of explanation on what to do, when the order was due back, what the $ will be used for. We're moving next spring so I will just do minimal participation. I'll save the bulk of our $ for the new district.