My youngest son (Stanley) will be participating in a Read-a-Thon for his school. They are attempting to use this as a fundraiser instead of the typical “we’ll-sell-you-cheap-crap-at-horrific-prices-and-keep-1%-of-the-proceeds” type fundraiser that enriches the company providing the products more than the school.
The kids will read some number of minutes each day starting today through March 10. There are several ways to pledge:
1. You can pledge by the minute. I’d estimate he would read somewhere between 200 and 400 minutes over the 10 day period, so that’d be good for $2 to $4 dollars at a penny per minute. Or you can pledge a dollar a minute, I’m sure they wouldn’t mind. :) Or something in the middle.
2. You can pledge just a flat amount and I’ll figure out what the per minute rate was when we return the paperwork by March 15.
3. You can completely ignore this email! By far the simplest solution.
I know in the past when I’ve been approached about buying stuff from students for fundraising, I balk because of the relatively small return the school sees. In this case, you will be assured that 100% of the money raised goes to the kids. That’s why *I* like it. There is a downside, of course: there will be no cookie dough or other goodies to enjoy later. To resolve this, I’d recommend you buy something you really like at the store, donate a similar amount to the school, and feel good knowing you’ve saved probably 50% of the cost that you would have paid in a school fundraiser *plus* given the school more money than they would have seen from their paltry commissions.
Thank you for reading this note. We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.