Fundraising Hubbub in TarHeel State
March 18th, 2008 by tsullivanDefinitely seeing this issue pop up more often these days — the case of parents objecting when their kids are left out of fundraising rewards events or assemblies.
Now, I fully realize that rewards programs make fundraisers more effective. And I also am not one that believes that every reward must be shared equally by every child, regardless of participation. That said, though, I can see these parents’ point. There are so many fundraiser rewards options that don’t involve singling out the non-participating kids for an obvious miss. Especially if that’s during the school day.
If there’s a school-day assembly that 348 kids can go to and 28 can’t – I think that’s the wrong way to go. Not only is it a bit punitive to those 28 (it’s their school day, too), i think it can really hurt a PTO or PTA’s efforts to become known as the welcoming (of all) group that’s focused on involvement. In this North Carolina case, for example, I can’t imagine those aggrieved parents will be volunteering for (or attending) the next family event. And I don’t imagine they’re feeling particularly connected to or involved with school these days.
Dicey issue. What are your thoughts?
March 20th, 2008 at 11:32 pm
We do a school-wide goal to earn the award’s assembly. Say we want each child to sell 5 items and we have 800 students, we would set a goal of 4000 items sold. If the school as a whole reaches the goal (and they always do) then everyone celebrates the accomplishment. Of course we realize that some kids sold 10 and some sold none, but at least no one is left out. At elementary age, the fund raising falls a lot to the parents. Why should a kid be punished when his parents failed to help him sell to friends, family, and neighbors.