This Norwood (Ohio) Middle School Choir fundraiser has upset me

Thursday, September 3, the teachers and parents connected with the Norwood (Ohio) Middle School Choir made me feel bad and I don’t like it.

A student, whom I don’t know, knocked on my door and asked for $15 to buy a cup as a fundraiser for the Middle School Choir. But he wanted the $15 now for a cup to be delivered later. This put me in a bad position: If my cup didn’t show up, how would I find him again? I really didn’t want to ask him his name and address as that didn’t seem appropriate. So I explained to him that I wouldn’t pay without a cup and that wasn’t an option for him. I had to say, “Sorry” and he went on to the next person. I noticed that he hadn’t sold any cups. After he left, I felt terrible for turning him down, especially if he lives just down the street from me.

But it irritates me that the teachers and parents created this situation in the first place. When the Norwood Marching Band went door to door, they often went in uniform and in groups of three or four. There was an adult nearby who could vouch for them. I had no problem giving them $20 (which helped with their band camp fees). (Full disclosure: My son was in the band and I was a band parent.)

I know that learning how to sell and dealing with the inevitable rejection is a good learning experience, but this goes too far.

If I gave this student $15, how much would go to the choir? $3? $4? I’ll make the Choir a deal: If a teacher or parent contacts me by Friday, September 11, I’ll write a check for $15 for the Choir and they don’t have to provide me a with a cup. If there is a contest to see who sells the most cups, I’ll try to identify the student so he gets credit for a cup sold. I'll update this post next weekend with the outcome of this.

Update September 20: It's been over two weeks since I made this post and I didn't hear anything from the Middle School Choir about their fundraiser.

(Note: I posted this on Nextdoor for the Norwood neighborhood (my mistake; just one of three Norwood neighborhoods) about 12:45 a.m. and only got one "Thank" through 6 p.m. I'm thinking that this isn't resonating with anyone. I've deleted that post.)