You know, the ones where they make the kids sell gift wrap or boxes of candy. Tell me something about those. Reminisce or complain or just babble.

-- Anonymous, October 12, 2000

Answers

I just got a pizza kit this week, and made one of the pizzas yesterday. It was pretty good - it was a white pizza. What bugged me about buying the kit was that the kid who was supposed to sell them wasn't allowed to go house-to-house because of safety concerns so his mom pretty much had to do all the selling by taking the order sheet to work and calling friends. I would have made the kid get on the phone himself and sell me the pizza kit, but I hate the Hell Child (yes, THAT Hell Child!)and I was doing my friend a favor since she was trying hard to sell the stuff so his class could get some prize.

My husband refuses to buy any fundraising item unless the kid sells it to him personally. He won't buy anything from parents.

-- Anonymous, October 12, 2000

We had a Country Fair every year. It was a low-key way to raise funds and we used to look forward to it. It sort of got together all those old fashioned money-raising ideas under one umbrella (speaking of which, it almost always rained during the COuntry Fair, but we had covered walkways and would cluster under them until the squall passed....ah, memories).

On the days leading up to the Fair, you could buy eleven tickets for a dollar. On the day of, they'd be 10 for a buck. There'd be a cake walk with donated bakery goods, a silent auction, a White Elephant sale (we'd all bring in stuff to donate, mostly toys and stuff, and then coordinators would price everything and sticker it). We'd have Ludo dip, or grab bag. There were games where you could win a prize that cost less than the ticket. People would bring in little plants and cuttings and sell those. There were food booths. It was a lot of fun. The covered walkways surrounded a very tree-filled big quad, and most of the activity would go on there, and you could put your things in your classroom without worrying too much that someone would swipe them. Those were the days. So you'd start off with a strip of tickets, and you could get cupcakes for ten or twenty cents, or buy used records two for a ticket, or play carnival games. It degenerated in later years. Kids still have about the same amount of pocket change these days as they used to, but you couldn't cover the costs of a cupcake if you sold it for a mere ten cents nowadays.

A lot of the prizes were donated. Someone's dad would be a florist and he'd donate a lot of plants for free and the proceeds would benefit the school. Someone's mom would be a seamstress or jewelry maker, and she'd make a fancy vest or art necklace and people would bid on it. Someone in a travel agency would get their company to donate a travel prize. I remember even as a kid being impressed with the scope of it all.

I also remember that the tickets themselves were donated by a local theatre, because the guy's son went to our school. And every year he'd have a lot of best friends because he'd bring rolls of tickets in every color to school to match what his dad had donated and dole out strips of them to his buddies for free.

We also had your standard raffle, with some guilt thrown in if you didn't volunteer to sell at least $10 worth (a book). If you sold the most, you won a fairly decent prize, but I usually wasn't interested in doingmore than sellign the one book and being done with it, as I sold plenty of stuff door-to-door already. I sold greeting cards and Girl Scout Cookies and so on. My neighbors liked us (and the cookies!) well enough to indulge me. I sold and delivered enough greeting cards that I earned a lot of points and so I got myself a tape recorder/player when I was 8 or 9 and thought I was the bomb when it arrived in the mail. And one year I sold the most cookies in the entire state of Georgia, walking or biking door-to-door. I don't know why I was so motivated. I guess it gave me something to do.

I'll occasionally buy chocolate bars and the like, but I don't like the gift wrap or greeting cards I've seen and no one has offered to sell me a pizza yet. I think I'd like a pizza kit. Oh well. Maybe when I move this year, I'll live near some kids who will sell cool stuff like that.

-- Anonymous, October 12, 2000

I don't know what Market Day is or how it works, but I am so sick of those stupid flyers being sent home with no directions on how to order or anything.

And I wish I had a daughter so I could order some Thin Mints.

-- Anonymous, October 12, 2000

Our school has a fundraiser called Wagon Wheel Day. They have games and stuff. They also sell Christmas crap that I just toss in the trash. I fork out enough money at that school.

-- Anonymous, October 12, 2000

As a teacher I DESPISE the entire concept... administration USES students to hustle for them... it is just not right that schools are SO underfunded that we have to enlist little kids to beat the pavement (or force their parents to alienate their co-workers with endless requests to buy crappy chocolate, ugly wrapping paper, raffle tickets, over-priced mag subscriptions, etc., etc.) - it is not safe and it is just WRONG. A lot of the companies that sponsor these program take excessive "administrative" costs out of the sales totals and lure kids with cheap, tacky, worthless "premiums" for good sales quotas. Of course, I am equally as unhappy having to pay HUNDREDS of dollars out of my own pocket to supplement what is lacking in my classroom. I think we need to get our shit together re public education - make schools and districts ACCOUNTABLE, pay teachers enough to make teaching competitive, have enough supplies, desks, teachers, textbooks, etc. for EVERY child, have art, sports, music, cooking, horticulture and clubs that are generously funded... and IF there is need for more $, go within the school community ONLY with a one night carnival or art show sale or concernt and picnic

-- Anonymous, October 12, 2000

Marisa, I agree 100%. I would hate to see the kids missing out on those little extras that the fundraising brings, but on the other hand I resent like hell the idea that we have to make them go begging door-to-door for any of it. My nephew goes to a private school with a large tuition and still has to sell cookie dough and crap like that.

I don't know how vastly different the funding situation is from the US and Canada (where I live), but I know that one of the elementary schools in my area had a unique idea: they asked the parents to each contribute an extra 30 or 50 bucks or something (don't know how much exactly) at the beginning of the school year which would go into a fund for those extras, with the understanding that this donation took the place of future fundraising efforts by the kids. Most parents were glad at the prospect of paying a one-time fee instead of having their kids raise money through the year (and, let's face it, them too, since a lot of the stuff sold is done by the parents). Those who couldn't afford the extra fees didn't have to pay them; and in a lot of cases families who could afford it donated more to make up for those who couldn't. I don't know how well that could work everywhere but it worked very well for that school.

-- Anonymous, October 12, 2000

Susan, My daughter's school in San Diego just did the same thing. They had a poll last year asking what parents thought of fund-raising and the majority must of hated it. So this year they just asked for a flat- out donation of $40 from parents.

-- Anonymous, October 13, 2000

Where I work, we not only have the School Fundraisers, but also the baseball, soccer, football team, the boy scouts, girl scouts and church groups. I buy loads of stuff every year. I have to say, some of it isn't that bad. We had some kick-ass cookie dough that was peddled around here.

I hated, hated, hated fundraising time when I was a kid. Mostly because they always had prizes for those people who sold the most. Living in rural Arkansas, we had like, three neighbors, so I never sold diddly.

-- Anonymous, October 13, 2000

I was in band for part of junior and senior high school. One year, we had to go door to door selling "Mrs. Bumstead's" jellies. I really hate begging strangers (I don't care if they live in my neighborhood, that doesn't automatically make them my neighbors) to buy overpriced crap, even back then, so it was miserable. The only other time I had to sell stuff for fund-raising for band, the wares we peddled were delicious and big chocolate bars. Big mistake. I ate all of mine, sold NONE of them, then put off the band instructor for months while I scrimped up my allowance until I could pay him without having to tell my dad and therefore get in trouble. The chocolate was fantastic, but I don't know that I liked paying the price very much. :-/

As I got older, I noticed that some kids had super-duper Type A parents who would simply take the order form into work and come home with $200 worth of goods sold. That sucked. Then I'd read in the newspaper about some Girl Scout winning some big-ass regional award for selling the most cookies, only to find out that her mom is like Saleswoman-of-the-Year down at Re/Max or something and the girl basically lives a charmed life and didn't have to work for it at all. Feh.

So now, I don't buy any of this crap from people at my office and I don't buy it when they come to my door at home, either. I'm with the crowd who wants to see schools shape up so kids don't have to do this anymore.

-- Anonymous, October 13, 2000

My parents flat out didn't allow us to participate in those things, and I'm glad. At the time, I thought, "No fair! I want to win a junky prize! And get help my homeroom win the pizza party!" But now I think that they were 100% right. If the school wants to round up some money for something extra, they can flat out ask the parents and avoid giving a hefty cut to the cheeze-log-and-wrapping-paper vendors.

I think it's rude as hell to ask your co-workers and neighbors to buy some overpriced crap they don't want. Maybe no one will ever tell you to your face to knock it off, but I will be among a sizeable percentage who will think, "What bad manners!" and slink away next time we see you coming with your son/daughter's annual cash-for-crap order form.

Not to mention the danger, etc. of sending a kid off to sell to weirdos door-to-door in this day and age.

These fundraising companies sell things people don't want, at bad prices, taking advantage of nice people who hate to say no to a cute kid, or to people who make bad impulsive financial decisions (like Fingerhut and the Franklin Mint, ripping off the very folks who probably can't afford a lot of crap in the first place). It makes a lot of money for those companies, and letting your kids spend their time helping out a crap-factory is nothing to be proud of.

Hee. I guess I have an opinion on this subject, don't I?

-- Anonymous, October 13, 2000

Susan, I can't believe that a private school would indulge in fundraising at that level. Like, get your rich alumni to donate, don't make kids do the work.

All of my coworkers with kids send them to religious schools. I have a problem with helping to support an institution that condemns homosexuals and is anti-choice, among other things that I don't agree with. Since it is work and I don't really care to get into discussions of this nature with my coworkers, I try to avoid the whole thing. I occasionally buy something against my better judgement, but I usually just support sports teams and girl guides and boy scouts every now and then.

-- Anonymous, October 13, 2000

Selling Girl Scout cookies is another story. People can't get enough of those things. Yum!

-- Anonymous, October 13, 2000

The MRS and I don't have children at home anymore (They're messing up their own house now) but we get hit at the office for stuff. I always buy from the kids. I also contribted a fancy belt buckle (actually I just paid for it) for the best bullrider in the Lions Club Kid Rodeo and I'm not even a Lion. I agree that the kids should do the selling. I like to listen to the little kids giving their pitch. If they flub it up, I make 'em repeat it. But I always give 'em the money.

-- Anonymous, October 13, 2000

I hate the school fundraisers with a passion. I think it is sick the way they dangle the "prizes" in front of the kids. Ohmygawd...don't get me started on this topic.

That said, we always buy at least one small thing from kids that come to our door. Just can't say no to the kiddos. As for our son, we only let him send out a group e-mail to our relatives, no door to door selling nor do we take the stuff to work with us.

-- Anonymous, October 14, 2000

I always hated that as a kid. And I always say no. The kids around here come around with their mothers behind them. the mothers always get grumbly when I say No Thanks.

once when I was a kid we were supposed to sell chocolate.. no asking, you "have" to sell at least one box. Bewildered, I took the box home and questioned my mother about it. She just shrugged and we all ate the chocolate without paying for it...

-- Anonymous, October 14, 2000

What's worst is when it's public knowledge who didn't buy anything. The neighborhood swim team has started selling luminarias (paper sacks with candles resting on sand inside) these past couple of years. We're all supposed to line our driveways and sidewalks with them at some time of year (I want to say Thanksgiving or Christmas, I can't remember). This is not only supposed to look good but it will show our support for the "Barracudas". Two years ago most people on the block had the luminarias out and we didn't. Stuck out, kinda. Oh well, we still don't buy them. :-|

-- Anonymous, October 16, 2000

my fiancee's parents buy into that crap every year.. Their whole neighborhood does this on Christmas eve. It may look cool, but it's definitely not worth my time and patience to sit all afternoon filling bags up with sand and then later on, lighting all these candles. I always thought the mere idea of this was one of those Natural Selection things because wind+fire+paper=bad, no? I bet THAT would look soooo cool...

-- Anonymous, October 17, 2000

Luminarias are a tradition at my college. The way they are set up, the candle flame can't get anywhere near the paper bag even in a windstorm and the sand weights them so they are too heavy to tip over. However, because the candles are sunk so far down into the sand, they don't stay lit very long, either, and if it gets sufficiently windy, they blow out. A nice idea with a lot of bugs encountered during the execution of said idea.

-- Anonymous, October 17, 2000

I agree with most of y'all's disgust. When I was little, my dad refused to participate in those things or help us sell anything. At the time I'd be dreadfully embarrassed. I was ALWAYS the child who'd sold the least in my class. (Always either one item or none.)

Last week the school sent stupid, over-priced, xmas crap catalogs home with the kids. The very same day, two girls came to my door (alone) and tried to sell me stuff from the same catalog.

On the one hand, I want to buy stuff so my kids won't be humiliated. On the other, it's such a rip-off. I really would rather give the school cold hard cash.

-- Anonymous, October 17, 2000

I don't know the answer, but I need one. I am the PTO president at my child's school. When I agreed to accept this position I made it very clear that we would not be selling any of that crapy stuff, and we have not. We sold cookbooks with receipes from the children and their families. It was a hudge success, buuuuuut! I have now been ask to remain in this position for another year. I agree that kids should not be ask to sell things, but the funding the schools need is not there and will not be there in the forseable future so we have no choice, but to sell things. My delima...what to sell next year? It will not be candy, pizzia, cookie dough, or crapy stuff so if anyone has any new ideas I would greatly appreciate them.

-- Anonymous, January 06, 2001

What about a yard sale? Have everyone donate things and hold a huge yard sale.

We also did a silent auction at my son's school-each class had an assigned item and parents donated things to it- our class's item was a Barbie basket, which ended up going for about $125. Other items were Hot Wheels baskets, Lego baskets, book baskets, etc. People also donated things to be auctioned, including books, crafts, services. Local businesses also donated goods/services. It's nice because there's no pressure to buy crap you don't want- you bid only on what you want.

-- Anonymous, January 06, 2001

Good idea Luchina. I was also thinking of a bake sale/craft sale. Parents could bake or make a craft and sell it. Hey, they can sell that at the yard sale!

-- Anonymous, January 06, 2001

Have people donate a service (they have to be good or have this as their profession) - hairdressers, painters, plumbers, childcare, cooks, carpet cleaners, mechanics, vets... whatever and people BID on the service (have a set market minimum bid) and the entire amount collected goes to the school. People get (and pay for) a needed service they would have paid for otherwise; the service providers donate time/skill and perhaps gain a new client. No kids selling, no crappy stuff with big chinks going to the promoter. --- --- -

-- Anonymous, January 06, 2001

Raffle! I think raffles are almost better than silent auctions because lots of people will cough up a dollar for a chance to win. And there's no big display to set up, either. Bake sales are always good, especially if, along with that, you buy sodas at 12 for $2.50 and then sell them for 50 cents each.

Plus there's always bingo.

-- Anonymous, January 06, 2001

Luchina, must be a Northside thing. We have that too during Wagon Wheel day, which is our major fund raiser.

-- Anonymous, January 06, 2001

I REALLY hate the fundraisers my kids bring home. Every year they get the booklets to sell WAY overpriced gift wrap and assorted other crap. These companies totally mislead (lie to) the kids making them think they will actually get one of the cool prizes. The crapsellers are fully aware that the kids dont understand they need to sell like a million. What they end up getting after I have accosted each and everyone of my coworkers is a $2.00 nerf football. It just sets them up for diappointment! Pisses me off every year. It is sooooo much easier for me to just go to Walmart and buy them the prize (and cheaper too). Our school hasnt come up with the idea of donations in lieu of underage labor yet but I think I will suggest it at the next PTO meeting. In regards to Marisa's comments about the teachers and lack of supplies, i am right there with you. Anything my kids teachers ask for, i try my damndest to get for them, even if it has to come from the Dollar Store. I dont ever want my kid or any other kid to miss out because there wasnt enough to go around. That would just suck!

-- Anonymous, February 06, 2001

I just did a big project where donations had to be solicited, like in some of the previous ideas, and the problem w/that is, it takes a lot of work to do the soliciting, and who is going to do that? We had 5 people doing it and it was still a lot of work (since this wasn't our job, it was in addition to our normal lives). The project was a huge success (we put together "Survival Kits" for our first year law students while they go thru their final exams). But it's a LOT of work and it just may not be practical for a PTO to have to do all of that. But maybe the parents could all split it up.

I think the idea of asking for $ from every parent is a great idea, as long as donations are anonymous. I was glad to read that many schools are doing that.

I don't have kids, so I'm sure I will get really sick of it if/when I do have kids and they have to sell a bunch of crap. But right now, I really like it when people ask me to buy, b/c I just don't know anyone w/kids and I want to help out and it makes them so happy when you buy. Also, I really like that wrapping paper. It comes in huge rolls and is very thick. The recipe book I use is one I bought about 7 years ago from a student (it's blank and you just add your own recipes).

When I was a kid, I hated hated hated selling, and just didn't do it. I have never been able to ask people for money. But one thing our school did was sell fruitcakes before Christmas, and the whole town would look forward to this and ask YOU if they could buy them, b/c they were really good and people would use them as gifts sometimes.

Our band went on a major trip every 4 years (in high school), and the way we could go was to raise money with these fundraisers. We went on a cruise to the Bahamas. It was really great. But we got SO SICK of selling, and since I didn't sell, my Mom ended up saving up for me to be able to go...her income was below poverty level so this was quite a feat. What a woman.

Anyway, as I ramble on and on, I guess there are good and bad things to fundraisers. They're not ALL bad. I think the worst part is overdoing it...schools doing more than 1-2 a year.

Martie

-- Anonymous, February 07, 2001

One fundraiser I never turn down is Girl Scout cookies. I usually buy the chocolate peanut butter ones, but this year I just bought the shortbread kind.

Is that actually a fundraiser? I can't remember why they sell them.

-- Anonymous, February 10, 2001

It's Thin Mints all the way, shelly.

-- Anonymous, February 10, 2001

Thin Mints rule.

-- Anonymous, February 11, 2001

Just ordered more Thin Mints than I think I can eat...and I can eat a LOT of Thin Mints if inspired. Seeing as how Thin Mint boxes mysteriously vanish from storage inside my freezer, though, I'm hoping that it will come out even in the end. I'm also encouraging my roomamte to Buy Her OWn this year...she's powerless over chocolate anything. ;)

-- Anonymous, February 12, 2001

It's spelled "roommate," for future reference.

:-) :-) :-) :-) :-)

Sorry, Milla, I couldn't resist! :-)

(P.S. I know, I know, it's not a word you don't know how to spell, it's merely an accidental transposition. Still, I takes 'em where I can gets 'em.)

-- Anonymous, February 12, 2001

Actually, I knew someone would pick up on that. Hee!! *amused*

Actually, I typoed about five more words today. (Hey, make a game of it and have fun seeking them all out; it makes for a fun lunch hour.) I also double-posted! But I promise wasn't trying to be "spooky" at the same time.

I thought about giving him some additional vocabulary words to use on other forums (i.e., "entrails" and "intestines" and "tibia") but decided not to bother...

-- Anonymous, February 12, 2001