to not send Ds's to harvest festival this morning??????????

[frangipan]

Its a matter of principal I suppose.
last year and this year each child has to find 1 of each coin of the realm (£1.88) and tape it to a sheet to take into harvest for wateraid in underdeveloped countries.
We always used to send in food for the local community which was great, we all had a choice to send what we could spare, whether that was a tin of beans or a bag full, it was all put together and taken into church.
Now I feel we are being forced to give money to cause I know nothing about...and if I don't send DS's in with it they will be ostricised(sp) from the service and I don't feel happy about that, so I'm keeping them off until 11.30 AIBU...probrably
so what do you think?????

What did the school say when you told them?
They'll have you marked down as a loony forever more.

If I were religious I would pray never to be so vulnerable and in need that I be visited in hospital by Royalty, or given a second-hand tin of Spam.

But all of that would be infinitely preferable than having to offer my children unclean drinking water.

I think it's a shame the school are doing that, there are so many charities and charity events where money is sent abroad, Harvest is a nice way of looking after the community you live in - whether that's elderly or DV shelters. I don't have any objections to supporting foreign aid charities but I think we need to look after those at home as well.

I'd rather give money to a worthy charity.

The "poor of the parish" , ie greedy old people, sent an edict that they only wanted branded goods.

I would a million times rather send £1.88 where it might make a difference rather than think the recipient of the Harvest Festival bounty is some miserable old sod only on the lookout for John West red salmon.

I used to be involved with a couple of places that collected food and other items and they were always desperate, constantly putting out appeals as they never had enough, I've been involved with other local organisations that struggle. Most fundraising events through the year are for global charities, it's sad that we're forgetting about people close to home now.

good lord.

at insisting on branded goods

at 'second-hand spam'

YABU

I like the idea of giving to a charity like wateraid for harvest festival. Maybe it would give children the idea of the 'world community' (if that doesn't sound too...well you know..)

At ds1's school they want donations for the christmas shoe box thing - is it operation christmas child - and I do think this is totally inappropriate for harvest festival.

I think YABU not to send them but I agree with LittleBella that this occasion seems to have been implemented in a very irritating way.

YABU - there are so many other important things to get worked up about.

I sometimes wonder why more people do not home educate their children - they seem to get so riled up about every little thing the school does.

YANBU - I am so sick of being chugged at every oportunity - at least as an adult I can refuse the endless requests for sponsorship that come in every day into my mailbox - is there ANYONE who has not yet cycled up Kilimanjaro for charity? - but the children are bewildered and exploited for all this.

My old school , seniors did water aid and presentation on why! and primary did food for local elderlty

Agree with the OP that the way in which the amount donated is made very obvious is off putting but our school had to stop collecting food at Harvest Festival as no one wanted it. This year the School Council (dd1 is Vice Chair-proud mother emoticon!)have decided to take a collection at the special Harvest assembly and buy farming related items from the World Vision catalogue.

"Please explain how exactly you think your near-date can of butterbeans is going to find the right person in need, be distributed to that person, and be of use to that person? How?"

It's not about the tin of beans. It's about the visit from the school children.

Now that we've got to assume every adult without a CRB check is a paedophile, if they don't actually have grandchildren, none of these old biddies have contact with children and the couple of visits they get at harvest and christmas from the kids a tthe local primary, is something they really look forward to. But yes, making lonely old people feel good is quite inefficient.

YANBU
I think to ask for a certain amount of money is very unfair to families who either have serveral children or who simply can't afford that much. Just asking for a donation would have been much better.
However I am a great lover of the harvest hestival and loved seeing all the los faces as they handed over their offerings to the vicar and saw them added to growing pile.
Ds was taught at school where all the food was going to(soup to newly opened soup kitchen for the homeless, other things to needy families and the elderly)and how it would help them.
I have to agree with bella a big part of the harvest festival as we know it is the food being given in person to the elderly, I think this is great for both the children giving the food and the person receiving it, it would be sad if this stopped.

If you have lots of children, then you will have to pay a lot for everything. That's life.
We have such things as contraception.

what a thing to write mlovesL

It's true though.

At our harvest festival last week someone donated a half used tube of tomato puree.

Where is their dignity?

It maybe true but doesn't help people with twins and triplets!

soultaken that is awful

That's true. Didn't think about twins/ triplets. They are quite rare.

I know someone with 7 children, always moaning about the cost of everything.
The answer seems simple to me.

at 7 children

StewieGriffinsMom - I feel you in particular are missing the point a little. Also perhaps you have undertaken too much community work in the past as your tone comes across as slightly agressive and certainly resentful. Perhaps you could just pick one cause to support instead of trying to do it all, and getting disillusioned as you clearly are?

One of the major benefits of Harvest Festival is that it helps to focus children on other members in their local community for whom they may not have had previous knowledge or experience of, ie the elderley, the poor, the disadvantaged. Children caring about their environment and the people who live there is the key to a civilised society.

It is NOT just about the logistics and personal inconvenience of delivering second hand Spam to an OAP who wanted John West salmon!!! Nor is it about the convenience of collecting cash of kids - where's the connection in that for them?

IF it has to be a cash thing due to logistics then why not get the kids to have a ballot to choose one of several worthy causes? With a little presentation on each cause ie Wateraid, or Help the Aged, or a local Hospice etc??? THAT would be more meaningful.