I was ambushed by a Girl Guide

[Occasionally]

The best is when kids come door to door to raise money to go to camp etc and their parents are waiting out at the curb for them in a 100k SUV.

I hear ya.

Or those asshole parents who go around the office with raffle and sign up sheets to help pay for their kid's hockey fees.

Two fucking parents. Both working. Both make ok money. Both know hockey can be an expensive sport. And they nag and pester coworkers to toss them $10 every year.

And no shame either. It can be a new hire making $40,000 and trying to get his or feet on the ground with a career, a car and savings, yet still wave those sign up sheets in their face. A mom and dad team making probably $150,000 or more of household income scrounging for every buck they can grab off anyone.

"Ahh..... no thanks"

"Aw c'mon! It's for my kids. You guys make good money. What's $10?"

Assholes. Pay for your kid's hobbies.

 

[managee]

Well, by this definition, it is extortion because there is a threat that if I do not give money, the kid will be disappointed and so will I. Force does not have to be physical, and, in case of kids, emotional force is huge. It is not about money, it is about the concept of begging and the fact that adults teach children that it is OK and use them to actually collect money. Kids are not going to be "better people" because of such fundraising, just the opposite. It is not kid's job to do sales - adults who supervise this clubs should raise money. It is OK to ask kids to perform at a fundraising concert or make some souvenirs, but kids should never be involved into the actual sales because of unfair use of "it is just $5 bucks, do not disappoint the kid" argument. i do not blame kids for that, I blame their parents, club supervisors, and people like James Kirk. Making fundraising or charitable donations personal is extortion.

It’s nice that you have these sensibilities about disappointing children, honestly.

But comparing this to extortion is a bit crazy.

If a SW asks you after a great session for a tip, ultimately as a big boy, you choose whether to save face and pony up, or to say no, with or without explanation/conflict. It’s not extortion if saying no doesn’t come with some kind of threat of consequences beyond ‘making you feel awkward.’

If a SW somehow asks you for a tip while she’s got your dick in her mouth, implying harm might come to you if you don’t pay up, or threatens to Tweet out your personal information if you don’t donate some money to her college fund (or whatever), that’s prophably moving closer to extortion.

If Jehovah witnesses or political canvassers come to your house, do you find it’s a similar kind of extortion if you don’t give them your time?

It’s been said before - GG’s teach a specific skill here. It’s not ‘just’ about fundraising to offset troop finances. ‘Sales’ was the career of tomorrow for many first-wave feminists involved in the movement when the program started.

 

[basketcase]

...
This shit makes sense for the breeders where I work. It’s their giant circle jerk. I’ll give you $5 for your kids school if you give me $5 for my kid’s hockey team.

....

Time to start "adopting" causes. Maybe they realize that lack of kids means you have more money to donate?

 

[basketcase]

Door-to-door cookies sale is just another form of begging. It is a shame that adults encourage little girls to do it. ....

Not any different from the cadets or dozens of (alleged?) kids charities that set kids up outside grocery stores, etc.

At least with the guides, you know it is an actual group that works with children. I've seen a bunch which the only youth work they do is to give the kids a cut of their sales.

And then there's the people with vests on the street working for a fundraising company that skims their fee for donations before passing them along to the mentioned charities.

 

[managee]

Time to start "adopting" causes. Maybe they realize that lack of kids means you have more money to donate?

Although I’d usually agree with you, my corproate eMail bounces with an away message for 3 months of the year because of the NFP work I do.

If you could see my office, you’d know it’s no great secret about what I do when I’m not at work. I literally have a full-size (framed) poster with the organization name and logo behind my desk and wear logowear almost every casual Friday. Even the nickname I have at work would be reflective of a staff who know what I do and why I do it.

But ‘breeder’ is a word I use with a lot of tongue in cheek.

You might be right, but at least in the workplaces I’m involved in, all staff and management seem to be treated equally in-terms or who gets hit with requests.

For the record, I pay up, as do pretty much all managers. Up until a a couple years ago, I used to get my AA to support staff if they pass the hat while I’m away.

 

[Samranchoi]

I never donate at the register, give money to street beggars, or donate to police when they have their fund run by phone campaign. But if a little girl knocks on your door and asks to buy a box of cookies, or a bunch of kids at your door collecting money for their sport teem or animal shelter, it is hard to say no. If it was not in person, but just a stand on the street (without an attempt to communicate to people directly), it would be a different story. So, it is extortion. And the worst part is that that adults who make kids to do that do not understand that it is extortion and honestly believe that it is OK to use little kids to beg for money.

I guess this is what happened to you, lol

https://youtu.be/4u5zFBD5Klk

If not, to even suggest what they do is extortion, well, you have some deep rooted problems and should get help.

 

[rhuarc29]

The best is when kids come door to door to raise money to go to camp etc and their parents are waiting out at the curb for them in a 100k SUV.

So you're saying rich parents should just give their kids everything and not have them work for it? :biggrin1:

 

[sempel]

I hear ya.

Or those asshole parents who go around the office with raffle and sign up sheets to help pay for their kid's hockey fees.

Two fucking parents. Both working. Both make ok money. Both know hockey can be an expensive sport. And they nag and pester coworkers to toss them $10 every year.

And no shame either. It can be a new hire making $40,000 and trying to get his or feet on the ground with a career, a car and savings, yet still wave those sign up sheets in their face. A mom and dad team making probably $150,000 or more of household income scrounging for every buck they can grab off anyone.

"Ahh..... no thanks"

"Aw c'mon! It's for my kids. You guys make good money. What's $10?"

Assholes. Pay for your kid's hobbies.

Couldn't agree more. However, I think GG or Boy Scouts is vastly different from activities like hockey. The former is not-for-profit, involves lots of volunteers, and kids learn life skills/lessons that shape their character. Hockey, no offense, is a sport like any other but the costs are significantly higher. Why should anyone else have to shoulder the cost so your kid can play? Plenty of other sports/activities that are less expensive (I played soccer for years and house league is cheap).

I will say I've done two things to raise money for hockey kids (or other charities) that I'm okay with

1) I've had kids selling MacGregor's Meats - a small portion I imagine is given to the team but I get something out of it
2) charity poker tournaments. I have the chance to win money!

So you're saying rich parents should just give their kids everything and not have them work for it? :biggrin1:

I don't think a child learns much from going around asking strangers for money. Yes, it gives them some humility but it's exploitative. Either give a kid an allowance that they earn or if they are old enough, a part time job.

 

[Occasionally]

Couldn't agree more. However, I think GG or Boy Scouts is vastly different from activities like hockey. The former is not-for-profit, involves lots of volunteers, and kids learn life skills/lessons that shape their character. Hockey, no offense, is a sport like any other but the costs are significantly higher. Why should anyone else have to shoulder the cost so your kid can play? Plenty of other sports/activities that are less expensive (I played soccer for years and house league is cheap).

I will say I've done two things to raise money for hockey kids (or other charities) that I'm okay with

1) I've had kids selling MacGregor's Meats - a small portion I imagine is given to the team but I get something out of it
2) charity poker tournaments. I have the chance to win money!



I don't think a child learns much from going around asking strangers for money. Yes, it gives them some humility but it's exploitative. Either give a kid an allowance that they earn or if they are old enough, a part time job.

Agreed.

I don't see an issue with GG. Or any kid trying to raise money standing outside a Loblaws for a cause. Hell, they are probably 10 years old on average. It's basically the only way to help raise some money. It's not like they have newspaper routes anymore.

But I also agree with some people seeing it as exploitative. Having young kids with a baby face ask for donations is a lot different than an adult going door to door selling something. Organizations perfectly know that using kids to raise funds, or as I said parents going around the office asking everyone trying to raise funds for their kids sports is basically influencing people to open up their wallets or be perceived as a cheap jerk.

And even worse is that these kinds of things are done in public, so some people can get influenced easier if they care a lot about people nearby.

For example, let's say I was in a meeting with 10 people and at the end of it, I asked them if they'd like to donate to someone who has a gofundme page who needs money. No doubt it may be a good cause. But to plant that in front of people is in poor taste as they know they are using pressure cooker sales tactics. They know what they are doing.

 

[Samranchoi]

When my daughters were in Girl Guides we had no problems selling the cookies to people at work or to family members, of which there were many. Many saw buying and eating Girl Guide cookies as a tradition. So many people at work knew when the Girl Guide cookies were being sold and I presold the cookies even before I had them. Many bought 4 to 6 boxes as they really liked them (some even froze them to eat later). So many enjoyed the familiar chocolate and vanilla cookies, not so much the chocolate mint. I guess times have changed as well as the price going up by a couple of dollars a box. At the end of the day, the Girl Guide troop raised money and my daughters did many things with their Girl Guide friends, including weekend retreats at their camp.