I guess the big question for your group is how to reduce or eliminate the cost for kids to participate in events. We are just now addressing this issue in our school as well.
(10 years ago, our school had a low reduced/free lunch %, lots of affluent parents, etc. Today, everyone receives a free lunch and student needs appear every day.)
Collect $$ for fundraisers, and let the other events run for free (or almost free). Consider accepting Box Tops For Education "same as cash" for non-fundraising events. Volunteer hours are valuable; perhaps the student or parent can volunteer for your group and receive free events for their efforts without the embarrasment of "charity". Someone else on this board suggested a drawing where the kids in need win free passes. Obtain classroom event sponsors in the community. BE CREATIVE!
In my opinion, there are more ways to include students in need in your events than you'll ever need once you put your mind to it. So many PTA boards in my area are so used to "nickel and diming" kids for every event because they use the money raised as the measure of success - Why?
In short, fundraisers are fundraisers, and events are events. Avoid having a big after-fundraiser party and tell your fundraiser rep that you want the cost of the party/incentives in cash, or that they are to sponsor a particular event in return for your business. Remember, it is totally legitimate to ask for extra cash, merchandise, etc, from your fundraiser companies in exchange for your business if 100% of the proceeds benefit your group. I just asked the fall fundraiser rep for enough free gift wrap for the Santa Shop - and it worked!
The parents will respond positively because they will see what your group is doing with the $$ they raised, and you'll see more smiling kids at your events!
Our children do not sell things. It is an unwritten policy. During our major fundraisers (the Fall Festival, Santa Shop, and Spring Fling) we give every child tickets or vouchers. Most kids that have money and know that some children don't give their tickets to them. It is really sweet and I've seen some of these kids do it without even flinching. They just say "You can have mine and go on". It is really touching.
We, too, see this as a problem. It seems the fundraising companies are encouraging more and more rewards where those who partipate get to attend a party or get some other big reward. (We got hit by this another way: My family generally donates $50 or $100 cash for a fundraiser rather than buying merchandise. But since we didn't BUY anything, my kids can't go to the party, even though their contribution to the school was probably higher than average.)
But looking at the bigger picture, at our elementary school there are only about 2 possible times each year when a situation like this arises. Meanwhile, we and the school have non-monetary competitions all year long. Art contest for the directory, behaviour rewards, spirit awards, literary challenges, math stars, track and field day. For every program there are those whom are recognized and those who aren't.
So, while I'm not thrilled with some of the individaul fundraiser incentives, I'm not sure it really stands out all that much to a child in the grand scheme of things.
Our group does prefer to have class contests where possible (class with the most memberships or class with the most box tops). It doesn't single out the individuals as much and allows everyone in the class to "win".
I agree with you that it's good to be sensitive to the issue and to consider alternatives.
I can't find any info on creative ways to NOT leave children out for lack of money in school.
It seems that so many of our fundraisers simply make the situation worse... we constantly do things in the elementary school that allow kids with money to participate, while kids whose parents don't send money cannot participate.
Does anyone know of a successful program for solving this problem? Perhaps one where *every* child can "earn" scrip of some kind that he or she can spend on school pictures, yearbooks, pencils, etc.? And where kids with money might learn that they have to earn their way also?
And not to belabor it, but with this huge industry we've created for school fundraising, how has it come to be that we are oblivious to leaving 5 and 6 year olds on the sidelines? We wouldn't invite them to a birthday party and not give them a party bag.
