CrewChief--I don't find the wording extreme at all--a little passionate, perhaps
![;) ;)](/media/kunena/emoticons/wink.png)
. To be honest I find some excitement refreshing -- not the same old/same old.
I think the point TerriK is making is being missed. Offering spiritwear to kids before they get to the school is not evil. That is not what she's freaking out about. The point is that there is obvious fundraising gone awry issues here, and this group seems intent on making a buck wherever possible.
I agree with you, CrewChief
make the spirit wear available to them and at a lower cost!
As I said:
If it's REALLY about a sense of belonging or being a part of the family you either sell the stuff at cost or just give it to them. No profit in any way should be made in a "welcome to our school" situation.
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You've NO idea how frustrating it is that you can't control the other group! Imagine some other group coming into your school and pushing their fundraisers off on you. It's bad enough you have to perform the necessary evil yourself to do things for the school--but then to have someone else come in and try to profit off you, while potentially taking money away from YOUR funding!
Again--this is NOT about trying to include others or being friendly -- unless you're trying to seduce someone to "the dark side," that is. [img]tongue.gif[/img] It's concerning control in two ways here. 1) As we all know the control we exert within our own realms as PTO leaders is tenuous and dependent on many factors. Do the job well and everyone is happy. Imagine someone not caring about you or your job and doing whatever they please because it suits THEIR needs. If they wreck things for you--Oh well. 2) Let's imagine you ARE a part of the group that's running around fundraising out the wazoo. You see the damage it's wreaking. You know if people would just listen to reason you COULD stop the train wreck from happening BUT "the powers that be" will NOT listen. It's infuriating!
What bums me out is that there's no one to go to for help. Obviously the principals won't step in, nor will the superintendent or board of ed. What is one to do when it's every one for themselves--how do you protect your group's best interests if people are allowed to do whatever they want?