Aibu to not want to fill a smarties tube with £1 coins

[Invisimamma]

This will be outing if any parents from my child's school are on here...

Both children came home from school and nursery today with a tube of smarties each as a gift from the PTA with instructions to eat them and fill the tube with £1 coins or 20p, letter specifically states not coppers or 5/10ps. Apparently the tube will hold £12 of 20pences.

There will be a prize for the class who brings back the most money.

Now I have a few issues with this:

1. my friends child has a diary allergy was really upset he can't eat his treat (she didn't know this was happening so couldn't provide an alternative)
2. we still have lots of Easter chocolate and don't need more
3. dp and I both work but childcare and other costs are crippling us at the moment and we're skint, an extra £24 is really beyond us just now
4. we've just paid £46 snack money to nursery and £12 for a school trip for one and £8 for a trip for another (amongst lots of other recent school costs)
5. does anyone even has coins lying around the house anymore? I use contactless payment for almost everything and don't draw out cash.

The children have been hyped up about it and both have said they need to raise money for the school. I guess I'm feeling guilty that we're not in a position to participate/it's a pain in the arse idea.

I am going to sound like that Victor Meldrew bloke, but seriously?? No, no, and no again.

This lacks so much imagination, made me chuckle. ‘Here fill this tub with money.’

Stick a rolled up list of decent fundraising ideas in there Op

We had a leaflet and a bag with the request to fill it with our 'loose change'. Again, their subtle, imaginative fund raising efforts equated to "Erm, just give us money, will you?!"

The thing is, there's another word to describe loose change: 'money'. Also, magically, when you spend part of a note (money) in a shop and get the difference back in coins, these also count as money and you're actually allowed to spend them as well in your next visit to a shop. I don't accumulate lots of 'loose change' - I spend it. Because it's money and that's what money is for.

Maybe missing the point here (and showing my age), but part of the fun of filling a Smarties tube with coins (hitherto to save up and then eventually spend it yourself) was the fact that it was a rigid, properly cylindrical tube with a removable/replaceable stopper, in which certain coins fit perfectly. How does it even work with the thin, floppy, hexagonal modern ones? You must have to keep them permanently upright (hoping they don't topple over or just collapse) until you fill them and then tape them up to return them, with the coins all loose and rattling around in this flimsy bit of paper which will likely split under the weight and scatter its contents anyway?

Oh come off it Sophia! Cut out the faux naïf nonsense!

You KNOW the kids themselves notice and discuss each other's contributions and the poorer kids will likely get grief over this.

ANY fundraising initiative that makes comparison so obvious/easy is unacceptable and discriminatory.

I'm from an army background so have experience of different schools and methods of fundraising plenty of schools always have managed fundraising without effectively marking the poorer kids with a scarlet letter!

If you genuinely care that poorer kids aren't further discriminated against (they have it hard enough as it is) then you would take the same stance and feed that perspective back to your pta.

Graphista
Well said I was about to say the exact same

Sophia as said before I would it tolerate this happening at our school I always look at things from the view point of our families that struggle most

It’s beyond naive to say pta do not know the kids know the kids feel bad when they cannot contribute
At the heart of every school activity should be the feelings and perspective of the children if that’s not positive for every child then just don’t do it

I think it stinks that they blackmail you by doing it through the kids. I'd be tempted to complain if I could be arsed otherwise try to ignore

If it was just the tube it would be annoying (we never have cash) but I'd be okay with it. The fact there's a prize for the child who raises the most though is just so tone deaf and the request for 20p or £1 is crass.

I'd be sending in a note- it's fine for the PTA to ask for money, but I think school competitions should focus on encouraging skills or kindness instead of rewarding the kid with the richest family.

Haven’t rtft however I would tell them to keep their smarties tubes due to boycotting nestle.

Your DC are only little I know, but you can teach them the value of money. Explain what you could buy with £12 (how many of their favourite treat) then tell them that the prize won’t be as good as that and they might not win anyway.

Then explain that the PTA already has an awful lot of money - enough to buy x number if their favourite treats, so actually your family needs the money much more than the PTA 😊.

The nursery aged child will be happy just eating the chocolate and taking the tube back filled with little stones out of the garden surely?! Sounds just as good! 😊

We did it with 1ps too. You could bring in a few smartie rolls, but only 1ps inside. It was fun and we had all term to collect them.

5ps might still be pushing up - 20ps are taking the piss!!

Ugh I can’t wait for my DS to start school and have all this crap. Im lucky enough that £12 isn’t a lot of money for me

🤣😂 can you see the difference here?!

Your DS hasn’t started school yet, the fleecing has not yet begun. You’ll look back and wonder where those days of having money went...

This lacks so much imagination, made me chuckle. ‘Here fill this tub with money.’

Stick a rolled up list of decent fundraising ideas in there Op

We had a letter sent home asking us to collect up our ‘loose change’ and send it in. The basic premise of this subtle, imaginative fund raising effort was basically “Erm, just give us some money, please” (although, I suppose, at least they put them in their book bags for the parents to find rather than directly handing the kids a treat with an emotionally-pressuring sting in the tale).

They’re strongly hinting at the suggestion that ‘loose change’ is effectively left over and/or nigh-on useless scraps. However, if you spend some of the value of a note (money) in a shop, they give you back the difference in coins (and maybe smaller notes), which, magically, also qualify as money and you’re actually allowed to use them as well in exchange for goods when you next go to a shop. I don’t hang on to loose change, I spend it on things that I need – because it’s money and that’s what money is wholly intended for.

I may be missing the point here (and showing my age), but surely the whole joy of collecting coins in a used Smarties tube was always the fact that it was a rigid, perfectly round cylinder which was a perfect fit for certain denominations of coin and had a removable/replaceable seal. The thin, floppy, hexagonal ones that they have now are not an ideal shape for coins, are flimsy and tear easily. They are not sturdy, would have to be left as upright as possible in one place until they are full and then need to be taped shut, during which time they are liable to overbalance and topple over and vomit their contents all over the floor at any time.

I think that’s awful

Whatever happened to sponsored walks or raising funds that way

Various charities have also hit on this inventive idea as well.

They give out boxes in which you simply collect your 'loose change' and then, when the box is full, you count it and transfer the equivalent amount to them online or send a cheque for the total (probably feeling mean if you don't round it up at least a bit to the next £1/£5/£10).

Now, you are left with the original loose change (the value of which you've already given) - and what do you always do whenever you have any loose change? Yup, back into the box with it. And so the cycle continues. I'll bet some of these charities get the exact same money donated to them many times over.

My primary school did this in the early 90s. DM went mad and made me and DB return the smarties tubes unopened except I did sneak a couple out

Such a stupid fundraising idea.

I should say they only wanted us to fill them up with 20ps. I think if it were pound coins poor DM would have had a heart attack.

She still goes on about the smarties tubes 20+ years later...

I hate this and hate that they have to do this. Our school recently did a sponsored read thingy...with the class/child raising the most...etc. My son read for Britain because he is autistic and he thought that whatever he read would increase coins, even road signs, shop signs etc...because it's all literal to him! The fact I had to go around asking for sponsorship was lost on him. I have an amazing group of friends and family who all chipped in a quid (as I asked, a quid and no more) and he raised a sizeable sum. Not good enough, he didn't win. Then I have to deal with the fallout. Too much pressure and indeed the kids whose parents are not as involved because of work pressures, life etc are left feeling failures. No school or child should have to be faced with this sort of pressure.

That's terrible. I'm on the PTA and we would never do that. We put on events that kids enjoy and make a profit for school, e.g. disco. We never ask something for nothing.

I have no objection whatsoever when they organise a fete, quiz, raffle, barbecue, fun day etc to which everybody is invited, where there will be plenty of opportunities to buy things or play games with the proceeds going to the cause.

If all they're basically going to do is to ask for you to give money, and they genuinely don't want any poorer families to feel pressured or embarrassed, all they need do is to send a letter direct to parents, giving their bank details, and saying that, if you're in a position to give, any voluntary donations would be gratefully received. This way, the wealthy can give as much as they like and there's no stigma if the poorest give nothing or a nominal amount. I don't know if they're registered as charities, but if so, they could also potentially claim gift aid on these donations as well.

So why don't they just do this instead of directly involving the children and making it into a game/competition with all giving publicly on view? I wonder....

Also, this may be controversial, but I don't see why children should be expected to do jobs in order to earn money for the school. It's always good to encourage youngsters to give to charity and good causes of their own free will, but how does it teach them money skills and a work ethic if they put in the time and dedication in order to earn money which they're then immediately expected to give away in its entirety? Yes, it's going to their school, but are they really going to properly understand or appreciate where it all goes? Would adults feel motivated to work if income tax was at 100% - even though the money is all being supposedly spent for the good of society?

We had this at dds nursery a few years ago. Really naff. We just gave what change we could including coppers. If they didn’t like it they didn’t shoe it as no one said anything 🤷🏼‍♀️

This would make me uncomfortable too. It's a mean way to divide kids over money. And to use kids feelings to beg off parents...

Weird

I'm on our PTA and if we tried this scam we certainly wouldn't get many tubes of coins back. It's a dreadful idea!
I don't think the HT would allow it anyway. She has more sense and sensitivity.

My rule of thumb is to only ever give £1 regardless of the fundraiser. That way I don't get annoyed when there is a term when all three children have constant notes asking for donations!

In your position I wouldn't put my own money in there. I'd bake a batch of small fairy cakes with the kids, stick one of the smarties on top of each and take them round guilt tripping offering them to the neighbours for 50p each. That way the Smarties would get used, the kids have a fun activity and if they sell some it'll give them a sense of achievement, and counting/adding the 50ps is a fun maths activity. If they don't sell any they may be disappointed but that's a lesson in itself - life doesn't always go the way we want!

It infuriates me!

There are many thousands possibly even 100,000's of families in this country at the moment who can barely afford food, clothes, heating...who are homeless, using food banks etc

When you're poor and on the bones of your arse you do all you can to ensure your kids never miss out and are never embarrassed.

Bollocks like this makes that damn hard to achieve! Gives parents sleepless nights and increased anxiety and guilt - and for what? So the (usually wealthier) members of the PTA can show off to their mates and the school!

No! Instead of the hubris of virtue signalling what a wonderful fundraiser you are how about you actually think about the children and families involved and find ways to involve people and to fundraise that doesn't shame the poor?

I’m all for giving money to my kids school but I have three of the fuckers there, I wouldn’t bloody pay that!