Fundraisers

Christmas is here so you know what that means -- gift wrapper fundraisers! Have you ever been approached by someone asking you to buy these expensive $9-10/roll Christmas gift wrappers for a school fundraiser? I hate fundraisers, and I've been approached too many times that it's getting really annoying. There is this one woman at my workplace whose full-time job is to help her son fund-raise. I am honestly very sick and tired of her constant harrassment. Every 2-3 months, there is something: Candy bars for sale, magazine subscription drives, sponsorship to some spelling bee contest or a book-a-thon. Then of course, there is the annual gift wrap fundraiser -- don't ever forget about that. I think companies should ban employees from soliciting business from other fellow employees in the workplace.

I don't mind the occasional donation, but the practice has become too apparent and frequent that it has now become a pure annoyance. Being who I am, I never liked to say no to people asking for favors, especially from co-workers who you see everyday. But this year, I am able to put my foot down to end all of this misery. When I was approached this year (no surprise) to buy a gift wrap, I looked through the catalog out of courtesy and told her straight in the face, "You know, quite frankly, I still have the unopened rolls of gift wrap that I bought from the past 2 years. I don't need any of this stuff." I also let her know that I have nieces and nephews that have the same fundraisers, and that if I ever needed a roll of gift wrap or any chocolate tinboxes for that matter, I would probably buy it from them. After declining to her request, I think she got the picture, at least on my perspective. I think she realized that I don't appreciate the frequency of her requests. I am sure that many people around the workplace think the same way, but are probably too polite to say anything. Well, let them be, so they can continue to buy those rolls of expensive gift wraps year after year.