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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We hosted one at my church last weekend. The bags are mostly really cheap.

Also, the backpacks weren’t pre-packed at our event, so the child (parent) chose a backpack, and then came over for the appropriate school supplies (we pulled lists by grade, and had bundles ready to go). The large backpacks were snatched up first, by kids who should have gotten a smaller bag. About halfway through, there were only small backpacks left, but lots of high school supplies.[/quote]

I used to run one of the largest donation centers in the NY tri-state area & there is definitely protocol that should be followed when handing out donations. Otherwise if it's just done willy-nilly, the are tons of kids that miss out & you end up with overage of the least wanted items.

You have to remember that they're receiving something from others generosity & they don't get a say in what size they get. Sure, they can choose the color & design they want, but NOT size.

Your church should have NEVER allowed elementary school kids to choose large backpacks, as high schoolers are SO much more in need of them.  They are a dire necessity for high schoolers, especially ones that are dependent on them to carry 10-20 lbs of books... they're not dire for kids in elementary school.

This could have been easily avoided by having the backpacks separated out by schools, then this wouldn't have been a problem.

You could have put all of the small backpacks on a table marked ELEMENTARY (in all caps) across the room put the medium backpacks on a table marked (MIDDLE SCHOOL) & the large ones go on a table manned by the most hard nosed member of your church (so they don't give it to empathetic stories) & mark that sign ([u]HIGH SCHOOL ONLY[/u]).  Keep the 3 tables in different areas of the room (one table in the front of the room, another in the back & the last off to the side).  Separated and not in each other's eye line.

This way, the parents of elementary students won't see the bags that high schoolers are getting, because they're nowhere near each other.

If the parents ask for a large backpack instead, you tell them that they are strictly reserved for high schoolers only as you only have a certain amount.  If they all of a sudden want to switch from elementary & say their kid is in high school now (I've heard it all), you make sure that ONLY high school items go in the high school bags.

I don't mean to sound unsympathetic & I'm truly, truly not, it's just I have a very big problem with anyone who becomes DEMANDING when they are there to receive something for free that someone else has donated to them out of the kindness of their heart.

There are so many ungrateful people in this world who feel entitled to get whatever they want (I'm not specifically talking about any one group, race, SES, etc, as entitlement spans across all demographics, rich & poor, white, black, beige & polka dot).

If you don't like what's being offered, feel free to buy your own. [/quote]

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