Using Facebook to promote school fundraisers: a friend goes ballistic
A friend of mine has been using Facebook to solicit contributions for his son’s school fundraiser. He’s not alone – I’ve seen more and more of this lately, and perhaps you have, too. Last night he exploded – apparently despite all his pleas, he got no response. As in, zero. He went off on his FB friends in ways that are certain to offend a lot of them.
A few moments ago I posted this to the thread.
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Dear Xxxx:
I understand your frustration, and if I had kids I’d probably stay mad. But I think you’re upset at the wrong people. For starters, I’m sure a lot of your friends are beating themselves to death trying to finance educational opportunities for their own children, and others, well, you never know what kinds of money issues somebody is facing. We know that cash is tight all around unless you’re one of the 1%.
Instead of being upset at us, ask yourself why you should have to bust ass on these kinds of fundraisers just to provide your kid with the education needed to generate some opportunity in life. You pay taxes, right? Do you know how many of your tax dollars go to fund the military? You realize that the US military budget is larger than that of the rest of the world combined? The Pentagon doesn’t have to hold a fundraiser to buy an Osprey, do they?
There are multi-billionaires who pay precious little in taxes because they have accountants and a rigged tax system working in their favor. There are corporations that earn billions in profit who not only pay no taxes, they have tax breaks in place so that the money that might be going to your kid’s school go to subsidies for them.
I could go on all day here. I’m sorry that you and other parents have to deal with this. I’m sorry that teachers have to spend significant amounts of money out of their own pockets to pay for essential classroom supplies. I’m especially sorry for the kids, who have to find a way to get ahead in a society that treats education as an afterthought instead of as a moral and economic imperative, because when they hit the job market they’re going to be competing against people from nations that invest heavily in education. Parents in China and Germany and Finland and Japan and Korea – they’re not having to do fundraisers and promote them on social networks.
So I feel your frustration. I really do. But you’re mad at the wrong people.
lullaby pit 
So well said, Sam!
school fund raising.
while i understand wanting to do the best for your children just as i do for my dogs. buck up and write a bigger check, start paying for your kids and not expect others to do so. case in point. i have no children by choice, and i am glad i made that choice. the taxes i pay to educate your children is extremely un fair!!! you should not get tax breaks for your kids you should pay more. i do not mind paying a little of my taxes for eduscation, and you have the right to live your life the way you want. you want kids, for everyone you should pay more, not less. to make people with no kids or few pay more for education then you, well, the system is broken and needs to be fixed. maybe the world over population would be less. maybe we would not have welfare families having more kids if for everyone they got less of a handout. pay up and quit thinking everyone owes your kids and education, it is your repsonsibility. why have i been saddled with it. am i your circus pony? PLEASE!!!!
Wow, get off my lawn, you degenerates… I have one question only for you… did you attend public school? Did you go to college with a grant or scholarship? Do you drive on public roads, enjoy public transportation, utilities, and government agencies such as your local police and fire department? All of that requires taxes. And in order for everything to keep running, children, the future, need to be educated in the best possible fashion, so that we will have a future pool of intelligent, thoughtful, trained individuals prepared to take the reins when we are sitting on our porches shaking our canes at them. It takes a village to raise a child. I have absolutely no problem with my taxes paying for social programs that prevent starvation, assist the homeless and victims of crime, and provide education. Stop blaming the poor for their problems; you sound classist.
Herr Frewin; I am happy to hear that your love of dogs exceeds your concern for educating our future citizens Wishing you the best in your practice of proper mental hygiene
Well, the amount of money we spend on education has grown exponentially over the last few decades. I suspect that insufficient taxes isn’t the issue, but rather that education, like communication, entertainment, cocaine and healthcare, is a good for which there’s unlimited demand. I.e., no matter how much you put in, more will be wanted. You cite Japan, Sam, but Japanese parents are legendary for paying high-priced tutors to help their kids prepare for end-of-school exams.
Anyway, I think there are two more points here.
First, the whole idea that every effort must be associated with a charity and everyone is obligated to chip in. I do lots of triathlons and races, and as a result have lots of triathlete and racer friends. I can’t tell you how many appeals I get to sponsor someone in a race. I get these appeals from multi-millionaire CEOs. It genuinely offends me. Every activity has to have a charitable connection. I’ve gotten very churlish about it–as soon as a race tells me that this is for the wounded veterans or unspayed dogs in Kazikstahn or whatever, I put my checkbook back in my pocket.
The second is this bizarre idea of fundraisers. A friend of mine has a son who’s a Cub scout. They’re supposed to sell $200 worth of popcorn to fund the troop. She is Polish, knows her son’s not going to sell a kernel, and doesn’t want to be pushing this crap on her friends, so she asked them if she could just write a check and be done with it. Nope, she was told, it has to be a fundraiser because it builds character. Who’s and how is the question.