Reply to Class fund non-participants: where do you think the party food comes from??

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Reply to "Class fund non-participants: where do you think the party food comes from??"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
You see it as a demand. I see it as a way to appreciate people who positively affect my family’s life:  tutor, leader of book club, teacher, dentist if we go that month, close neighbors, all get something.  What’s the “a lot” you’re donating to the classroom?  Supplies for the kids - like napkins for parties - or gifts for a teacher to thank her?

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We have donated homemade dishes for staff appreciation events when money was tight at home.  I have  volunteered to cut, sort, copy, assemble stuff for teachers at home so that they can prep for future lessons and I have donated whenever I could afford to give, Thankfully, we are now blessed to be able to afford to give $5 -$10 dollars every semester without any problem.

As a room parent, I create an excel spreadsheet with all the parents names and amount contributed and put it on  a shared google drive.  I update as needed.  I keep sending the link to parents in a group message, and I have set a limit of $20 for the entire year. I do not accept more than that because it pays easily for classroom supplies and one or two ice cream party in the middle and end of the school year.  People can see who has contributed etc, and that is an effective way to have everyone contribute in a timely manner. I have parent who will contribute on behalf of other families too when they see that these families have not contributed even after several reminders.

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[b]Well that is embarrassing for families who need the "charity" of other families. [/b][/quote]

Welcome to the real world.

Some people are selfish and some generous. Some have money and some need the charity of others.  I am not in the business of making the world fair for everyone.

I have only taken the volunteer task of making sure that the classroom has supplies, books and one or two ice-cream social that coincides with the culmination of a big class project etc.   My attempt was to do it in the most equitable way by keeping costs down ($20 is affordable for our class demographics), being transparent (the shared google drive), having accountability (excel spreadsheet) and good communication without it sucking up all my time.  It has helped to set a precedence for the next room parent and has set expectations about what to expect in terms of communication for the entire class. I am grateful to the parents who want to give more and have covered for other parents.  [/quote]

If the classroom needs supplies or books, you ask for donations of such as well as party stuff.  Demanding $20 per family and harassing them until you get it is not ok.  [/quote]

You will be happy to know that no one gets harassed as other families step in and give for those who do not give.  Usually those who do not give do so because - they don't read the emails, they don't want to give, they cannot be shamed into giving.  Very rarely it is because of their economic situation.  Other parents give on their behalf and they are happy to ride the gravy train.  Oh well - you will always have the freeloaders in all situations in life.  You just soldier on. [/quote]

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