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Public School Fundraisers
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Do public school fundraisers drive anyone else but me crazy???? We pay nearly $5,000 a year in property taxes for the public schools and then the neighborhood kids come around selling things to raise money for their public school. We LOVE our neighbors and we contribute to LOTS of charitable causes, but there’s just something about giving MORE money to a school system that we don’t agree with that really makes me NUTS!
So should I just pick something and shut up about it – after all our neighbors are super generous with us, they lend us things all the time – from their truck to pick up trees for the yard to tools and things that we haven’t saved up for yet. Their daughter is ALWAYS at our house helping with the little ones, she LOVES babies and gives our little ones baths and changes diapers and whatever to help out. So I don’t want to be stingy, but I would like to convey the message that while I want to support HER, I think we do enough to support her school. The schools here are nearly brand new so it’s not like they are falling down or lacking in any major modern convenience.
I was kind of thinking about just giving her $25 and saying – this is what our family has budgeted for charitable giving this month, you can take the money and give it to your school, or you can take the money and give it to another charitable cause (I just got an Angel tree flyer in the mail that I would give her as an idea) or I can put that into our babysitting fund and hire you an extra night to babysit for us!
Blah! I’d love to vent on Facebook, but I’m guessing I’d quickly be defriended by like half my friend population, so I’m ranting here, hoping I’m not the only one to feel this way.
Wheh, I feel better already.
The fundraisers are usually put together by the PTA for “extras”. I know when my kids went to public school, the PTA raised (probably thousands) to put in a score board and a climbing wall that, as far as I know, WERE NEVER USED!! Truthfully, as soon as my kids brought home their “catalogs” the first day of school, I tossed them in the trash. I had no problem donating money to a worthy cause, but I refused to sell overpriced junk (to which the school only gets a portion) to my friends and family. Often I would participate in others like when parents made their own cookbook or sold t-shirts…50/50 rafffles..that sort of thing.
That being said, I would have no problem telling the girl that it isnt in your giving budget this month. Perhaps if shes involved in scouts or 4H you can help her then.
I agree with you! I supported the neighbor boy last year with a couple magazines. We were new to the neighborhood and wanted to make some friends, kwim? Won’t do it this year… Yeah, everything is so ridiculously overpriced. I hate fundraisers anyway. If I want to help them raise funds, I’ll just give them a check, ya know? I have found the fundraisers to be for sports uniforms & equipment (for after school sports, not PE class), or for some crazy trip that they really don’t need to go on (not educational, just a fun trip, like to Valleyfair or Six Flags or other “fun” entertainment trip).
Oh, and I so hear you about being unfriended on FB for venting/offering my opinion! Where’s the “rolling eye” smilie??? 🙂
I HATE those fundraisers. When my oldest was in PS, I really wished the PTA had said said “any family who contributes $20 won’t be asked to do any additional fundraising for the remainder of the year”. I would have sent in $20 right away!! Considering that they only raised a couple hundred dollars on many of the fundraisers, it really seemed like more of a hassle than it was worth!
Yup, I agree.
I’d be more willing to do scouting or something like that. School fundraisers…. nope, not a chance.
That said, I wouldn’t make a big deal out of it… just as suggested saying that you can’t at this time, or perhalps just say something like “we won’t be buying anything this time, but be sure to see me when you have Girl Guide [Scout] cookies (assuming you know they are in that….)
I don’t donate to the door to door people period – we give through the military combined federal campaign, and to a few of our favorite charities monthly. I like to know that hubbie’s hard earned money is going to a good cause and so I don’t give on the doorstep or to street collectors unless it is the poppy as I cannot verify them. I feel we pay enough taxes and I like our money to go to what we consider worthwhile causes:)))
Drives me crazy, too. A decent percent of our tithe goes to support our church academy, a large part of our taxes to the public school….but nobody sends any $$ this way to help our little school:) I pretty much don’t give when the kids come by…except a close neighbor’s kids who sell for scouts (and we give each other hand-me-down clothes, so don’t want to appear stingy:) And a neighbor girl who takes care of our dog when we’re gone. Most others I say I can’t unless I check with my hubby and they usually don’t come back….or say that funds are too low for that, etc….
We live in a neighborhood that has tons of kid fundraising, people selling siding and windows (like I would live with our crummy stuff if we could afford new!), and people asking for charitable donations. We finally taped a sign to our door that said “No soliciting. We only buy Girl Scout Cookies” Works like a charm. The most irritating part of it all for me was just having to constantly interupt our family life to turn down more siding! I know how much we donate and what organizations we support. If I need overpriced cookie dough I know where to find it. I just say no.
Thankfully the schools here sell coupon books that we can actually use, and I save more money than I spend on the book, so it is worth it to me. Otherwise, we don’t buy the overpriced stuff kids sell door to door.
Yay for living in the country where we don’t get door to door sales. I did put a no solicitation sign on our porch tho just in case.
ITA, I couldn’t stand it when my kids brought home their catalog of overpriced junk for a fundraiser for the school. One year, I had three in school so how do you pick which child to buy from? None is how I solved the problem. And like the others, I’d rather give a check to a worthy cause than buy the cookie dough or junk (tho the cookie dough went over well especially since DH told the men at work I’d bake the dough and they’d have fresh cookies at work). Hmm, maybe I need to have a homeschool fundraiser and sell cookie dough to his coworkers again and they can help buy my books! lol
People would be all over the cookie dough, Melissa. You may have an idea there… =) I’ve done that for Christmas presents and lots of people loved it…especially the working ones. Who can resist a homemade fresh baked cookie? I’m going to think this through myself. LOL
In our neighborhood, we all go to the same school (until we homeschooled) and the kids were only allowed to door-to-door in the neighborhood. Lovely…I couldn’t afford the stuff from my own kids and then I had to turn down the cute little hopeful faces at the door. What a relief to not have to deal with it. That really was one of my PS pet peeves. =)
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