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On Monday afternoon, I got a desperate call from my sister. "Can you fork over $20 so Sutton can ride in a limo?" she asked.
Turns out it's school fundraiser time at White Station Elementary and every kid who sells $100 worth of...crap (There! I said it!)...gets to ride in a limo. Apparently four years ago I contributed $20 towards my nephew getting to take a ride and received a lovely roll of wrapping paper as a thank you.
"What do I have to buy?" I asked.
She flipped through the pages reading off names of things that I most definitely did not want or need.
"I don't want to buy any of that crap," I whined. I just had a come-to-Jesus about Target. I certainly didn't want to waste money on something I didn't even want.
"Look, no one does," she said. "I'm putting down for more wrapping paper."
"Fine," I said. "But this is the last time!"
I had a small moment of smugness in which I patted myself on the back for never having had to coerce other people into buying crap for my kids' school.
Then I attended my kids' parents' association meeting just a few hours later, and in a nice, karmic twist, found myself holding three different fundraising packets.
I appreciated the fact that at least at our school the plea was made directly to the parents, since obviously, we are the ones who will be doing the actual selling. And, I had a little laugh over the call I planned to make to my sister the next day. However, I also felt a bit overwhelmed and out of my element. I don't like asking other people for money even more than I don't like being asked for money.
As a child I can remember looking forward to the annual candy bar fundraiser. My sister and I happily went door-to-door hawking our wares in a reverse Trick-or-Treat ritual. I'm pretty sure we were top sellers for the school and that we won something. I have no clue what it was, but I'm sure it was no limo ride. (There's the very real possibility that we enjoyed selling candy bars because we found a way to skim off of the profits or eat free candy. I can't rule it out completely.)
But back to the parents' meeting.
We weren't offered any grand rewards other than sincere appreciation for doing our part to help the school grow and keep tuition low. I really do love my kids' school. And I was just voted in as VP(ILF) of the Parents' Association moments earlier. I couldn't quite figure out how I was going to skirt my fundraising duties this year.
In addition to the cookie dough, we are also selling Entertainment Books and Ugly Mug Coffee. Surely, I can sell some coffee I thought while simultaneously composing my "It's locally brewed" speech and sipping my free sample.
I started thinking of people to ask...hmmm...er...uh...
Well, at the very least, Warren can sell some at his office, I amended my thoughts.
And I could probably get my mom to buy an Entertainment Book...unless of course, she spent all of her money on White Station Elementary wrapping paper.
So, yeah. If you are reading this and thinking to yourself, "Wow, I could really use some cookies/coffee/coupons," then I can hook you up. I've got until the 26th so don't be shy!
And just so you know, I've already started researching eco-friendly fundraisers for next year.
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8 comments:
I can't believe it. I was totally going to put my fundraising post up this weekend. You better back off--Listwork, Urf and Sassy are mine!!!
Uh, Urf and Sassy have a child at the same three-fundraiser school, so...
At the older kids' public school this year, they are taking an "OK, just give us $25" approach. I love this! All of the money will go directly to the school instead of half or more going to the fundraiser company, and you can have the kids do chores for neighbors and grandparents to raise the money.
Anyone need your car washed, yard raked, porch swept?
As ms. Sassy notes, DTE does have a crass, yet totally parent-friendly approach of just asking for the cash. Thankfully I only have one kid there, so it's not too expensive. But how much work does a kid have to do to earn $25? My daughter has to earn fifty stickers for a $5 toy and that takes like months. I figure we'll just fork over the money and not mention it to her.
I did find it amusing that she came home from school a few weeks ago in desperate need of "box tops." She searched the cabinets and the fridge and was triumphant when she found them. What are these things worth, like 10 cents? But she was indoctrinated at school for the need of box tops (which means name brand cereal).
I'll just add this to the many things I didn't know would happen when I sent my daughter to school.
put me down for $20 worth of cookie dough and we will call it even
Seriously,remind me about the cookies.
Usually I run screaming at the site of those little order forms, but I do like those cookies.
I've already been hit up by the cookie dough & books...but not the coffee. Now that one, I may invest in! :)
And then I'll wait for the Girl Scouts to set up at Kroger...
You can put me down for some coffee. We drink the Ugly stuff.
Hahahah…Know what??..feels like you have put down exactly what I was thinking at the same time last year. I dread the fundraising season. I think I can open a wallpaper store. Having 3 children can put you in that position :). This year, it was slightly different, they came up with the idea of a photo fundraiser, Yes, I rolled my eyes again and wondered how many school pictures do I want, but it was different. My friend volunteered to take the pictures, a person from Picateers helped her set up and learn the basics. The photos of the kids were natural and fun. I bought every picture which had my childern in it. The half of the amount I pay for the photos goes to the school. The photos actually add value to a parent. They are valuable memories of children who seem to be growing too fast.
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