Glocally Newark

Excuse me miss. Would you like to buy some candy? It’s for the children.

I can’t tell you how many times I hear this throughout the year, and more so around the holiday season. You usually see them on Broad Street by the Starbucks peddling their “Fundraiser Candy”… for “the children”. But what exactly does that mean? What cause is your money supporting? Who are these children?

With the recent shutdown of the United Homeless Fund (UHO) in NYC, people are really starting to take a closer look at where their donations are going. And let me tell you… if you haven’t been already, you need to start doing it now.

Let me first start off by saying that whenever I get asked to buy candy from someone over the age of 17, I’m not buying it. Sure, I’ve come across some parents who use their children as props, to hustle you out of your hard earned cash with lies about charities. I sold fundraiser candy throughout my public school career, so I’m no stranger to their sizes and prices. If something looks fishy, I just say, “no thank you.”

Here the word "fundraising" is printed on the box.

I had a guy who would come into my job, peddling his “Fundraiser candy”. It consisted of a shopping cart filled with candy he probably bought from Costco and a laminated sheet (courtesy of Kinko’s) stating the “required donation tiers”. One for $2, two for $3, Three for $5. He came in a few times and people tons of people fell for it, or felt obligated to buy candy since it was “for the children”. One day I told him the usual story about not having any cash on me, but I’d like to send a check to the organization. What was the address, and who could i make the check out to? There was no response. He mumbled something as if he hadn’t heard me and we never saw him again!

The next time you have someone trying to sell you a normal size Hershey’s bar for $2.00 on a street corner here’s my advice. Ask for specifics. What’s the name of the school or organization? If they tell you it’s to fund a senior class trip to Washington DC, fine. Make sure you get a school name with it. Take note of what your salesperson is wearing. If they’re representing a major charitable organization they might be wearing attire to represent it. Be aware of the candy itself. Generally fundraiser candy come in a larger size and features a label that indicates it is candy for fundraising. Also, the price is usually printed on the wrapper in those cases. So don’t let someone charge you $3.00 for a 1 oz package of M & M’s. And finally, use your discretion. If something just doesn’t look right, then don’t feel obligated to buy whatever it is a person is selling out of guilt.

I don’t want this post to discourage anyone from buying fundraiser candy. Please don’t curse out a 1o year old because he doesn’t know the address, phone, and fax number to the homeless shelter he’s collecting for. I just simply want people to be more thoughtful about where their donations go. If this is all too much to handle, then perhaps you should consider donating your time to a school or organization. The bottom line is, sometimes your time is much more beneficial to “the children” than your money is.