Boosterthon at Haycock
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Anonymous
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My children are at Haycock and they are doing a "Boosterthon" this month. I'm a little confused. From the principal's email, I gathered that they are doing this to buy new computers. I know all of the SOLs are now online. Is that why we need new computers? If we are required to do SOLs online, why wouldn't the state our the county provide us with adequate computers to do that? Why would the parents be asked to pay for them and the students be expected to "earn" them by running? Also, it looks like this is a fundraiser that the school itslef, not the PTA is sponsoring. Does anyone know if that's correct?
After receiving the email and hearing from my children within the past few days how they have to call their relatives all over the country for pledges, I did a little research. Are folks aware that Boosterthon keeps about half of the money raised? I had no idea this was through a for-profit company that would get half of the $125 that the principal suggests people contribute. What do others think about this? I know I should ask the school some of these questions directly but I am reluctant to go to the administration becuase I don't want to be branded as a troublemaker. I will likely contribute becuase I do support my kids' school, but I'm thinking of writing a separate check and indicating it is not for Boosterthon so they don't get half of the money. |
Anonymous
| Booster thorn gets half of the money and they also ask $2000 as a processing fee. |
Anonymous
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Here's some more information:
http://www.fcps.edu/HaycockES/news_notes/Principal_Coffee_3-1-13.pdf It says both Franklin Sherman and Lemon Road did similar fundraisers with Boosterthon in the past. Maybe some parents there can share how it went, whether it was worthwhile, etc. |
Anonymous
| My school did it as a major fundraiser as well and raised a lot of money. My guess your school sounds like they need a lot of help with technology. |
Anonymous
| Talk to the principal and staff, they are desperate in needing the funds to support our students. I fully support this. |
Anonymous
Franklin Sherman parent here. I committed to give each of my children I think $20 per lap because I thought that the idea of doing exercise to raise money was great. After processing my pledge, I then read all the fine print and learned exactly what you learned about Boosterthon keeping half the money! I immediately wanted to get a refund. I would much rather just give a check for the full amount that I pledged to the school. To me Boosterthon was a total waste of time and money fore everyone who is involved because there is too much given to the company. |
Anonymous
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I refuse to participate in fundraisers in which an outside company gets half of the donations. I write a check to the school once a year that is designated as a donation to the school.
I do not need gift wrap or cards or candy, and I do not need to support outside companies. I particularly dislike companies that encourage students to call or write to far away relatives or friends, or entice kids to sell more with the promise of "bonus gifts." I love fundraisers like Spaghetti Nights or dances or Bingo Nights. These activities raise money while also bringing families together to get to know each other better. |
Anonymous
| We're not participating in it. |
Anonymous
| Boosterthon raises a heckuva lot of money in a very short period of time - much more so than Spaghetti or Bingo Nights - both of which require ALOT of parent participation to do, which is not always easy to get. Further, with the Boosterthon the school/PTA gets to keep a much greater percentage than they do with other typical fundraisers. Do it or not - that's up to you, but don't base it on whether the company gets to keep too much - the company keeps less and does more than most that are in that business. Plus, the kids LOVE it. I am a parent with a child at a school that did it in the past. |
Anonymous
| Write your school a check, I'm sure they'd be just as happy! |
Anonymous
Great post--in complete agreement. The push to sell magazine subscriptions at my student's middle school was aggressive. It felt like they were putting way too much pressure on selling/fundraising and not enough on the important things like education and the school community. |
Anonymous
| How is it that Haycock can be so far behind in technology? Kelly says it has one of the worst student/computer ratios in the county. It's a well off district. How is it so far behind? |
Anonymous
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The PTA used to arrange a run for the school. It wasn't a fund raiser, but could easily have been turned into one. It seems odd to pay a company 50% of your profits to do this.
Also, wasn't the "armchair fundraiser" supposed to obviate the other fundraisers? They seem to have been sneaking back in the past year. |
Anonymous
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The PTA provides funds to the school that supports regular yearly purchasing, etc. To buy technology, the school needs additional money than what the PTA already provides. My understanding is that the PTA didn't want to do a large fundraiser for technology this year so the school decided to do it instead. And, recognize that the next 3 years, the PTA will have to do large fundraising efforts for the renovation. As Kelly said, it's either now or never.
The last time the PTA did a large fundraiser for technology was 7 years ago (Silent Auction) and that was the last time technology was purchased. Hence, why the school is so behind. I applaud Kelly and her staff, they're taking the only option they have to raise money for the school. I'm tired, frankly, of our parents complaining, criticizing, etc and instead should trust the teachers and staff what is needed most. Ask any teacher, they fully support the need and necessity of technology. If you attended her coffee or PTA meeting, she recognized that 40% goes to Boosterthon (which is a typical deduction in any fundraising company). Less than 10% of actual donations come from parents. It's clear the school needs help. I plan to write a flat donation to the school. All kids can run, so support the need for technology, give directly to the school and it's a win/win. |
Anonymous
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Why is the PTA going to have to fundraise for the renovation?
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