My daughter has a teacher's aide in her kinder class who will be leaving in in less than a month to do some volunteer work in Southeast Asia for a few months. The aide has never been to Southeast Asia and needs some supplies, etc. so the teacher and I thought it would be nice to get her a gift card to REI. I emailed the class parents requesting donations for the gift card.
I've collected a few hundred so far, but they were from only a handful of (very generous) parents. When we give the gift card to the aide, should we say it's from the whole class or from specific parents? I want to say the whole class donated because it feel bad that only a few contributed, but wondering if it's unfair to those who contributed for not giving them credit. What are your thoughts?
Nevermind. I decided I'm going to say the gift is from the class.
Make it from the whole class.
It's not like those who gave earn more brownie points than those who don't
You aren't giving a gift for an ego boost or to put anyone down.
I don't know about you but anything more than $20 is more than I could afford.
You've made the right decision to make it from the whole class. Whenever I've collected for group things like this (kid's school, something for our exercise class instructor, etc.), I simply put a list of people on the outside of a big envelope. I tell them to put in whatever they want and cross their name off the list to show they have seen the envelope. They might put in $50, $20 or $0 - and I would have no way of knowing who gave what unless someone wrote a check. I like it that way - anonymous, as true charity should be. So many parents can't even afford to send their kids in with lunch, so being hit up for another cause (no matter how worthy) can put them in a very awkward position. People who can afford something but who don't contribute may not support the project, or they may possibly want to take credit for other people's generosity - either way, everyone knows if they did their best or not. As collector, it's not my business. It's more important for me to protect those who are out of work or not receiving promised child support or with a relative needing help with medical bills than it is to worry about someone getting "credit" who didn't "deserve it." Life's too short. It's either a group project, or it's not.
It was very nice of you to do this and I'm sure she will appreciate it.
I think you made the right decision saying it’s from the whole class.
I know from experience of being in the classroom teaching and knowing children’s backgrounds that some parents simply can’t budget extra money for things like this.
It’s very thoughtful of you to initiate this sweet gesture of showing support for the aide.
Since you don't know the financial situation of everyone in the class? You state it's from the class. Period.
You aren't having everyone sign the card, right? You can just have it be from Ms. Jone's Kinder Class, we wish you safe travels and much success on this adventure!
I'm glad you've decided to say it's from the whole class. The gift's intention is both to provide the teacher with some money for the trip and the emotional support of knowing that her kids' parents are rooting for her. I'm sure the parents who didn't contribute do still wish her well on this adventure, and it will mean more to the aide to know that they're all supporting her.
I know you've already made up your mind, but this is just to say I think you made the right decision.
That's happened before where parents just forgot - when we did similar things to give gifts to helpers on teams, etc. Some parents just don't have their acts together around holidays or for whatever reason. They mean well, but ...
That seems generous for a teacher's aid (that's more than we've raised for some choir teachers etc.) so I think you should feel pretty good about the gift card.
Happy Easter :)
if she's been doing this work for any amount of time, she knows what's going on behind the scenes. say it's from the whole class.
and good for you.
khairete
S.
I wanted to add something to this (oh and I agree-say it's from the whole class for the reasons mentioned below)> But the next thing I was thinking is that if possible: put aside a little bit of this money so if she gets things shipped or delivered (not familiar with REI either) she doesn't have to pay out of pocket if it is already taken care of for her. Aides don't make much money in the first place so on top of your kind gesture I bet she would really appreciate that. What a wonderful idea!
Updated
I wanted to add something to this (oh and I agree-say it's from the whole class for the reasons mentioned below)> But the next thing I was thinking is that if possible: put aside a little bit of this money so if she gets things shipped or delivered (not familiar with REI either) she doesn't have to pay out of pocket if it is already taken care of for her. Aides don't make much money in the first place so on top of your kind gesture I bet she would really appreciate that. What a wonderful idea!
