Boosterthon Runs at MCPS schools?

[Anonymous]

Will someone please think of the children???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Will someone please think of the children???

we are. Plenty of parents on here said they don't mind doing a donate-for-nothing. we just don't want to give half our money to a for profit corporation; we don't want companies using the kids to raise money, and we also hate the whole giving a prize to the kid who managed to guilt the most people out of their money. Do you think the relatives and friends of the kids know that half the money goes straight to the company? My sibling sponsored my DC last year but I hadn't realized how much goes to the company. I feel guilty now. I am not going to do it this year.

[Anonymous]

Ha ha, 21:37, you must have never seen The Simpsons.

But go ahead with your crazy conspiracy theories, and adjust that tin foil hat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ha ha, 21:37, you must have never seen The Simpsons.

But go ahead with your crazy conspiracy theories, and adjust that tin foil hat.

what? what's the conspiracy? that boosterthon doesn't take almost half of the money raised?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our school is doing this event this year and I am just shocked it is even allowed. They are asking the kids to raise money for the school but the company takes half the money. I asked at the PTA meeting if families are made aware upfront about the percentages and they looked at me like "Why the F would we do that?" I felt a few of use were wondering why this is happening but the board was so happy to have it like it is going to make so much money. It just seems corrupt. Can anyone tell me anymore info. Pros/Cons?

I didn't know they took half the money until a friend from out of state told me about it when I sent the link. I started doing more research and I don't understand how PTA's do not divulged the percentage going to the school. They make it seem like 100% of the proceeds are going the school. I wish the state would just ban them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our school is doing this event this year and I am just shocked it is even allowed. They are asking the kids to raise money for the school but the company takes half the money. I asked at the PTA meeting if families are made aware upfront about the percentages and they looked at me like "Why the F would we do that?" I felt a few of use were wondering why this is happening but the board was so happy to have it like it is going to make so much money. It just seems corrupt. Can anyone tell me anymore info. Pros/Cons?

I didn't know they took half the money until a friend from out of state told me about it when I sent the link. I started doing more research and I don't understand how PTA's do not divulged the percentage going to the school. They make it seem like 100% of the proceeds are going the school. I wish the state would just ban them.

complain to the overall PTA of your district. I did. But it hasn't helped yet. Not enough parents complaining about it. If only a handful of us actually take the time to send a complaint, they won't do anything about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our school is doing this event this year and I am just shocked it is even allowed. They are asking the kids to raise money for the school but the company takes half the money. I asked at the PTA meeting if families are made aware upfront about the percentages and they looked at me like "Why the F would we do that?" I felt a few of use were wondering why this is happening but the board was so happy to have it like it is going to make so much money. It just seems corrupt. Can anyone tell me anymore info. Pros/Cons?

I didn't know they took half the money until a friend from out of state told me about it when I sent the link. I started doing more research and I don't understand how PTA's do not divulged the percentage going to the school. They make it seem like 100% of the proceeds are going the school. I wish the state would just ban them.

complain to the overall PTA of your district. I did. But it hasn't helped yet. Not enough parents complaining about it. If only a handful of us actually take the time to send a complaint, they won't do anything about it.

I complained to the MCCPTA a few years ago, but got a response from them basically saying they didn't see a problem with it - very discouraging. I'd love to advocate more, but feel kind of helpless on my own. If others were interested in working together I'd be very interested in advocating on a county or state level - I just don't know where to go to get this banned from the schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good luck. It is awful. We finally got rid of it after a few years in FCPS. There are lots of threads on this in the VA public schools forum. It does make a lot of money for the school but their scare tactics with the kids are horrible.

It is also horrible to see the school principals accepting and celebrating this way of raising money. Disgusting attitude from FCPS administrators.

[Anonymous]

Overheard our principal talking to a staff member at our MCPS school about boosterthon. No official announcement has been made by the school yet. We've never had one and have a direct donation PTA. So mad that she is planning to hold one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Overheard our principal talking to a staff member at our MCPS school about boosterthon. No official announcement has been made by the school yet. We've never had one and have a direct donation PTA. So mad that she is planning to hold one.

When it gets mentioned at your PTA meeting, make sure you voice your concern about the tactics, and how so much of the money goes to the organization, and people who donate should be fully made aware of this. I am passively boycotting it by not having my DC participate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Will someone please think of the children???

we are. Plenty of parents on here said they don't mind doing a donate-for-nothing. we just don't want to give half our money to a for profit corporation; we don't want companies using the kids to raise money, and we also hate the whole giving a prize to the kid who managed to guilt the most people out of their money. Do you think the relatives and friends of the kids know that half the money goes straight to the company? My sibling sponsored my DC last year but I hadn't realized how much goes to the company. I feel guilty now. I am not going to do it this year.

Every company that sponsors fundraising at schools takes a cut - even scholastic - and it is usually far more than the 50% of boosterthon. Now, I agree, donate-for-nothing is my preferred fundraising technique, but let's not think that Boosterthon is an outlier on this.

[Anonymous]

Boosterthon is completely different than Scholastic!

Scholastic gives my kids an opportunity to get excited about reading and learn/explore new things through books. My family gets low-cost books (value for me) and the school gets funding and/or credit to buy more books for its own library (value for them AND my kid).

Boosterthon takes up class time to encourage my kid to shill for them. They bribe kids with cheap plastic junk. Rather than base their pricing off the number of hours they spend or the size of the school (aka ethical fundraising practices) they take a percentage of everything raised -- generally about half. They discourage anyone from revealing that they are taking half or more of the money donated by hard working parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Overheard our principal talking to a staff member at our MCPS school about boosterthon. No official announcement has been made by the school yet. We've never had one and have a direct donation PTA. So mad that she is planning to hold one.

When it gets mentioned at your PTA meeting, make sure you voice your concern about the tactics, and how so much of the money goes to the organization, and people who donate should be fully made aware of this. I am passively boycotting it by not having my DC participate.

I absolutely plan to. My son won't be participating in any of it. I've been hearing stories for years from parents at neighboring schools. Does boosterthon participation originate from the principal or the PTA?

[Anonymous]

Don't forget that they sell data about you and your child to other companies.

"If fun run participants or their parent/legal guardian (if child is less than 13 years old) opt to allow us to use or share Business Information and other data with trusted affiliates, independent contractors and other businesses for marketing and business purposes, we may choose to do so."

I cannot find how to opt out of this, so I am not completing the registration process for my kid.

[Anonymous]

I hope the PP's that are boycotting Boosterthon will still make contributions to the school outside of the Boosterthon. Otherwise, your spite against Boosterthon just results in less money for your school. Unless, of course, you don't give a crap about your kids school.