I'm sure most of us have been summoned to the door by an enthusiastic young entrepreneur selling something on behalf of their school? Everything from raffle tickets to cheese to wreaths to wrapping paper.....oh, and chocolate bars too are sold door to door for the sake of new gym mats, band instruments or whatever the district budget never seems to be able to afford. In order to REV up the enthusiasm, the kids are lured by a host of prizes.........prizes that get bigger the more you can SELL,SELL,SELL!
This year, my 11 year old son who is at a new bigkid school (aka middle school/junior high) along with the whole student body were asked to sell a bunch of crap out of a catalogue. The golden egg prize? A Limosine ride for 4 to and from the movie theatre.....tickets and popcorn included. Well! BADABING! That got the entrepreneurial imagination stirred. Within minutes of that announcement, Max pulled three of his buddies together and suggested that whatever they sell individually they would pool it under one name on the order form and if they won, they would all get a Limo ride.
SURE!
SURE!
YEAH!
They approached their teacher with this idea to make sure it would be alright. She seemed all for it and off they went to plan their marketing strategy by mapping out the neighbourhood. For a few days, the boys paired up and scampered up and down the streets knocking on doors and smiling their adorable 11 year old smiles and before they knew it, they had managed to sell close to 800 dollars worth of trumped up dollar store items. It took an evening to make sure everything was itemized and accounted for on the order sheet, all monitored by one of the parents. It all seemed like a GREAT exercise in business practises. The boys were learning, cooperating, and applying both their social skills and their imaginations.
Well............they won! It was announced over the loudspeaker! Cheers all around the little Grade 6 class! They beat out the rest of the student body!! The Limo was theirs! Bring it ON!
Then, somebody put on the brakes! A complaint was filed. It wasn't fair said the complaint. Someone in the office agreed....it wasn't fair. Before we knew it, 4 very rejected sad faces shuffled home to inform their parents that they were told they didn't win because they pooled their order under one name and that wasn't FAIR! "That's the last time I'm selling crap for that school.." says Max. "They knew what we were doing. The teacher told us we could..."
It turns out however that these 4 boys are sons of parents who have put in many many MANY hours of fundraising over the years when they were too young to sell crap from a catalogue. They did it! Christmas bazaars, raffle tickets, auctions, garage sales, silent auctions.....wreaths, pointsettias, T-shirts, CD's, you name it, we sold it. Not only that, we ORGANIZED the selling of it. If you were to pool the $$ raised between the 4 families it would be quite a heap of gym mats, library books, playground equipment and musical instruments. We had been on both sides of the fundraising game......SO.... fair is fair is FAIR!
One scripted email, highlighting the fact that these guys were up front about their gameplan and were creative enough to sell the most product, and the Limosine, movie tickies and popcorn was regifted. The Principal shook their hands and praised them for their ingenuity. The Vice Principal shook her head and said......"this is the first time in the 13 years we've been selling crap from a catalogue" that this approach was used. We'll have to make sure we have the rules in order for next year....."
Last night, the boys congregated at one of the homes with 11 year old excited anticipation. Slowly up the street came a shining white stretch limosine to pick up the stars. The boys poured out of the house and down the driveway with ooooo's and ahhhhhhh's and enough laughter to fill the Friday night sky! The driver, a woman named Ned Kelly (honest to God) welcomed them and opened the door into a world of entrepreneurial dreamland!
Off they went for a ride........
11 comments:
How fun for them. I praise their ingenuity and blast the person(s) who thought to take it away from them. Congrats, guys!!
Sweet story...not hard to guess which one of these cuties belongs to you. He looks so much like you; what a smile.
Good for them! That school should be happy to have students like these who find ways to make something most kids dread doing fun and beneficial to the entire student body. Kids today are a lot smarter than we know.
I don't have to guess who scripted that e-mail either, do I?
You know? As I was reading down the story I just knew that the complaint part was coming!
These are the people who lose and are jealous that they didn't have the brains to do what they did.
Rather than suck it up and plan for the future these people are not happy until they've done all that they can to steal the moment from those who really deserve it. There have been far too many occasions that I have also had to resort to sending a scathing letter to put things right.
How sad is it that it has to come to that.
Good for you and great job to the lads.
Judy....you sure can tell from the looks on their faces how much fun they had. I gave Max my camera to get the shots. He came home PUMPED and promptly downloaded all the photos onto his facebook for all their friends to see.
m2p....No, it wasn't me who scripted the email. I definately thought about it, but I'm often the one to do such a thing. One of the other parents (a lawyer :)) took it upon himself to send an email on the boys behalf. It was very cordial and pointed out the facts and info etc. In no time the decision was overturned. LOVE it!!
I don't see the resemblance between max and I. He's the one in the beige coat?
Tim....I was really impressed with the tone of the email and it worked. I think we were all under the impression that perhaps the Administration didn't know what exactly had happened. Once the story came out, it was quickly fixed.
Sometimes scathing isn't needed. :) And, I stayed in the background on this one.
Aw, what a neat story! Thanks for sharing it... I'm glad your son was able to enjoy the win!
Thanks for coming by to play the Meet n' Greet! I sent myself by to see ya!
Cheers...
Tanya (aka NetChick)
I'm deeply impressed - and hope you take a bow for raising a kid with such backbone and creativity.
Perversely, the kerfuffle over the pooling turned what might have otherwise been a straightforward performance-reward milestone into a lesson in complex human dynamics that'll stick with them all for far longer than might have otherwise been the case.
Sometimes, a little detour becomes an amazing blessing.
May he continue to go from strength to strength.
Tanya asked me to drop by because she says Canadians need to stick together.
Netchick/Tanya....glad you took over Michele's reins. thank you for stopping by.
Carmi....I agree with you. Much more was gained by how the cards played out. 2009 bodes well for both of my children with respect to their own personal growth. On their own initiative, they have become involved in a local chapter of CISV (Children's International Summer Villages). I don't know if there is one in London but its a great organization which promotes social awareness and cultural exchange opportunities. They are both applying for different programs for next summer.....I plan to write more about this organization in the New Year once we know if they are accepted. I'm very impressed with their choices and interests...and proud.
You must be joking...look at those dimples, that smile and those eyes...he looks so much like you anyone would expect he belongs to you:)
sorry, still feeling shitty but wanted to say good on you - carmi has said all i feel
hope mine turn out half as good
m2p...if you say so. :) I see my sister in him but not me. He also has the same way of moving as his Dad.
Paul..... I stand back and observe them now and see that a few lessons their Dad and I have tried to pass on have been taken to heart. Both of them are kind human beings with a desire to make a difference. And I do believe they have the ability to do just that. I hope one day you'll get a chance to meet them if I can win the lottery and get my family to Greenbelt. right now though, Max has his eyes on a summer village in mexico and martha's an internation leadership camp for 15 year olds in Madrid next summer. Both are applying to a wonderful social/cultural awareness program called CISV (childrens international student villages...). We'll know early in the New year.... It will open up big things in their hearts and minds....AND it's all their own initiative. I just have to raise the $$ to make it happen. :)
I like their ingenuity and applaud them for taking such an initiative. Thank goodness that stupid decision was overturned.
Max has the cutest dimples I have ever seen. I see a heartbreaker in the making :)
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