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Original poster

School sponsorship forms - is it ok to just attach a tenner or is that missing the point and not entering into the spirit?

60 replies

WideWebWitch · 13/03/2006 09:23

The spirit of sponsorship of course is touching up friends and family for money which they pay if you do something. Ds's school have given us a sponsorship form (I don't want to say what the thing is but the whole school are doing it and it's a pointless exercise imo: a craft thnig, not making anything useful or doing anything particularly enjoyable) and I have neither the time nor inclination to start tapping people up. We don't know that many people to touch up anyway come to think of it, well, not enough that we'll see this week and we only got the form on Friday.

So my proposal is that I attach a tenner and send it back, since the idea is to raise funds for the school and this achieves that objective. But what's the mumsnet verdict, is this anti the spirit of sponsorship and getting involved or is it fair enough? Votes and comments please! I hate all this stuff, am v grumpy about PTA fundraising things and would much rather hand over £100 at the beginning of each year if it bought me NOT going to cake sales/fayres/other stuff. All comments very welcome!

OP posts:

LadySherlockofLGJ · 13/03/2006 10:32

Believe me the PTA will not care how the money is sent.

We would love parents to write us a cheque at the beginning of every school year, it would make our lives easier.

But the fact of the matter is that most people would not write a cheque, the parental apathy is breathtaking. When we run cake sales we end up with so much shop bought stuff, it is shocking.

Some parents at our school moan about having to support the PTA, however they are not moaning when the PTA are handing over thousands of pounds for mobile computer suites for the school, or indeed paying for an other interactive whiteboard.

Rant over.

iota · 13/03/2006 10:34

agree with you LGJ.

milward · 13/03/2006 10:34

lj - I give shop bought cakes to the pta cake sales. They sell better!

cutekids · 13/03/2006 10:35

i do the same thing....write down family-members' names and then pay up myself!!!

Issymum · 13/03/2006 10:36

A bit of a bugbear for me.

DD1 goes to a private school and I can see absolutely no rationale for raising money for the school. If they really need more money, put up the fees. If they don't, stop hassling me. If they want to instill a bit of corp d'esprit, raise money for people who need it, not for the over-privileged children of Surrey.

DD2 goes to a small, parent-run pre-school. It's fabulous and the session fees barely cover the cost of running it. We make a donation at the beginning of the year from DH's work-administered charity account. It's tax efficient and DH's employer will match it £ for £.

I then don't feel under any compulsion to be involved in money-raising activities and I certainly don't bake cakes (mad - the ingredients often cost more than the cakes are sold for), but I will buy them. And eat them!

gomez · 13/03/2006 10:38

LGJ - you really wouldn't want me to make cakes for any school fair, the M & S version is edible at least.

And to be fair I don't want to come home from work at the weekend or of an evening and bake - hence I buy them , the PTA sell them - not sure why that is shocking TBH.

iota · 13/03/2006 10:40

agree with Issymum - don't undertand why a private school would need to fundraise via PTA, however ds1 is at state school and we fundraise for things like additional playground equipment, new school stage and other 'nice to haves'

LadySherlockofLGJ · 13/03/2006 10:46

Perhaps shocking was a tad OTT.

But it would imo, be nice for the kids to be buying homemade buns that probably would not take any more than 45 minutes from start to finish.

Also there is less rubbish in home made stuff in terms of sugar and colourings etc.,

iota · 13/03/2006 10:48

us SAHM's have loads of time to bake cakes

LadySherlockofLGJ · 13/03/2006 10:49

Thats all we do isn't it ? That and coffee mornings.

gomez · 13/03/2006 10:54

I thought so and berate us poor useless non-domestic goodess for feeding our children SHOP BOUGHT cakes at said coffee mornings.

My word the shame of it

Tortington · 13/03/2006 10:54

i dont do it. i used to then i got fucked off with being ripped of by a school a school who wanted money for everything.

so i just didnt send in the sponsorship money. even if you do your kid always comes back with well hannah has £154 for her sponsorship. and you feel inadequate anyway - fo i decided to turn my feeling of inadequacy into a firm stance. 'no money for robbing bastard school' stance.

Boopert · 13/03/2006 10:56

SHOP BOUGHT CAKES????? What a disgrace...

Enid · 13/03/2006 10:57

shop bought cakes

gomez · 13/03/2006 11:08

Leave me alone - I am proud to be a user of shop bought cakes, they are soft & yummy & moist and most importantly edible . Only posh shops thou', no Greggs Yumm Yumm or the like you understand

I make my own pasta - do I get brownie points for that????

bluebear · 13/03/2006 11:08

This is one of my bugbears - my parent's refused to have anything to do with 'sponsered' events at school and I was always the only child in the class who didn't even bring the form back, with 4 children and no spare cash i don't blame them, but I was very upset at the time. (was also the only child who didn't have the official school photo purchased..the photo used to hang around in the teacher's drawer for years, and a couple of them were given to me at a later date because the school obviously didn't want them!)
Ds is now at that age, and although I would not ask friends/rellies to sponser him for anything I would attach some money 'from our family'...since September we have had 3 non-uniform days at £1 each, charity wristband sales at £2 each, and a school craft fair where each family had to man a craft stall for a couple of hours and help the kids make something (which is a lot to ask when you might have pre-school children of your own to think about).
I would much rather do one donation to the PTA.

Boopert · 13/03/2006 11:11

Was only joking about shop bpught cakes.
I myself make them but thats only cos i trained as a chef. But everything else is shop bought...
Waitrose lemon yumyums....mmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Boopert · 13/03/2006 11:11

bought.

Enid · 13/03/2006 11:12

no brownie points I am afraid gomez

homemade cakes win out over homemade pasta everytime (de Cecco dried pasta infinitely superior to homemade imo)

gomez · 13/03/2006 11:18

Bugger.

But my pasta is much nicer than shop bought stuff - well maybe .

I can make nice tablet does that count?

I just can't bake - always too heavy and stodgy and just generally crap.

Enid · 13/03/2006 11:20

I bet your pasta is yummy

what the hell is tablet?

gomez · 13/03/2006 11:32

\link{http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/usrecipes/scottishtablet/index.html\instant tooth decay}

'Tis yummy thou!

gomez · 13/03/2006 11:33

PS Good luck at Nursery this afternoon.

Tortington · 13/03/2006 11:56

i BAKED cakes
i ICED cakes

me, moi. ME!

for a school fair last year.

to find every bugger else had bought mr kiplings for the cake stall.

was muchio pissed off

Aero · 13/03/2006 11:59

I went to the trouble of baking a job lot of cookies and brownies for our last school fayre with a view to buying some of course. Was miffed to find a load of shop bought stuff on the stall and my goodies nowhere to be seen! I reckon they were scoffed before the event, or held back until after, then scoffed!

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