Reply to Why do we feed teachers for "staff appreciation" when we have so many families below poverty level?

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Reply to "Why do we feed teachers for "staff appreciation" when we have so many families below poverty level?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Why do PTSAs demand pies for teachers on Pi Day, and on staff appreciation day and on ... .  Well, you get my drift.  I see this at a school where many kids are supposedly without the means to have a good meal.  So, teachers why don't you tell our PTSA people to make a difference by feeding the needy?  [/quote]

I just don't see this as an either/or. My schools PTA plans many free evening family events at the school, that all can enjoy without having to pay an admission fee. My PTA also supports programs like coat donations, holiday baskets, and programs that provide food to families over long weekends and school breaks, knowing that for some families it's a struggle to feed their kids when they aren't going to school and getting the free breakfast and free lunch.

My PTA also supports things like staff appreciation lunches. We often work to get in-kind donations from local eateries, and similar types of contributions, so it doesn't take up too much or the PTA annual budget. People also can choose to contribute not with money, but with time, perhaps baking cookies or volunteering to help pick up and deliver food to the school or help with clean up. People do this because we want to, because we are grateful for the people who spend so much time with our children, and do so much for our children.

At the risk of alienating folks with a religious reference...
Paraphrasing mightily here but there is a passage in the Bible where a woman spends money to buy expensive oil to bathe Jesus's feet. An apostle chastises the woman for spending that money when she could have given it to the poor. Jesus then admonishes the apostle, pointing out that there will always be poor unfortunate people, and while we should always remember them and help them, that did not mean we needed to refrain from moments of pleasure or giving honor or praise those we care about.
(Full disclosure: while I regularly attend church and do read the bible, my memory of this passage comes chiefly from Jesus Christ Superstar, but I still think it's relevant!)  :D [/quote]

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