"bizby40" wrote in message
...

Our Girl Scout leaders are retiring after 5 years. All I wanted to do was
to get a little gift, show a little appreciation. After all, we haven't
given them anything as a group *ever*.

So I send out e-mail and ask for ideas - "Great idea! Thanks! Whatever
you
want to do is fine!"

Grrr.

So I decide to give them a framed picture of the girls, and have the girls
sign the matte. I also decided to get a little brass plate to go on the
picture frame. I asked the parents to have their girls wear their
uniforms
to school tomorrow (regular meeting day) so I could get the picture. I
also
asked for donations to pay for the framing, with whatever is left over to
be
put into gift certificates for the leaders.

"How much should we donate?"

"Oh, I don't know, how about $10"

"$10 is too much!"

"Okay, well whatever you want is fine."

"My daughter doesn't have a uniform!"

"I only meant her sash or vest -- most of the girls don't have full
uniforms."

"Well, *my* daughter doesn't have a sash or vest!"

Grrr.

"Look, wear whatever you want -- show up or don't show up -- donate or
don't
donate -- I *don't* care anymore! Why did I ever get into this???"

Okay, I didn't actually send out that last one, but the others all went
back
and forth. Now I know why I'm not the one to try to organize anything
from
a group. Too much hassle. You know, I didn't expect every parent to
donate, but this isn't a collection for the co-worker you didn't really
like
in the first place, these two women have put in countless hours over the
course of 5 long years for *our* children! There are ~15 regular
meetings
during the year, plus field trips, camping and so forth. It's a
tremendous
amount of work, and I'm personally ashamed that we've never done anything
as
a group to show our appreciation. I've given them token thank you gifts
in
the past, as have a few others, but the bulk of the parents have not.

So I'm a bit surprised at how few people have responded at all. And
rather
frustrated by those being difficult about it. And honestly, I didn't know
what to say to the woman whose daughter doesn't have a sash or vest. I
know
her well enough to know money isn't the issue. Her son has a full scout
uniform, and both kids are well equipped for the many sports they play. I
mean, obviously she doesn't need to have the vest to be in the picture,
but
why the heck doesn't she have it? It's not even the girl's first year in
scouts!

Anyway, I do have one question. If the bulk of the parents donated, then
I
was planning to give the pictures from the "troop". However, if only 4 or
5
out of 23 help out, what should I do? Should I give only the people that
donated a chance to sign the card? Would you feel cheated if everyone who
did nothing was given the same "credit" as you if you donated?

Bizby



here goes:
How old are the girls? I'm assuming 10 years old or older?
Do the girls get allowances? Can the children not contribute on their own?
1st. I understand your vent, but blow off worrying about what they are
wearing. It won't matter to the scout leader
2nd. call a local frame shop to find out approx. what your idea will
cost...you will be surprised to
find it may be over $100.00 if the frame shop does the matting and
framing.
3rd. If you are going to do the work yourself, figure out what it's going to
cost.
4th. Set a dollar amount for each child to donate based on your approx. cost
and call all the parents to get a
firm yes or no for that amount.

a: only photograph the girls that contribute
b: photograph all the girls, but only the girls that contribute sign the
matte
c: all the girls sign the matte, but only contributing parents sign the card

thoughts....
If you want this present to be from the entire troop, the entire troop needs
to pitch in.
If only a few parents are interested, then take a picture of only those
girls, they sign the matte and
the card reads: Happy retirement from your friends in troop 2014.

If get fed up and want to give this as a give from your family, don't sign
the matte, but sign the card from your family
only.

The initial way I would approach it is this.
Call ALL the parents. Hi, many of us thought it would be a god idea to bla
bla bla.
The gift will cost approx. ?? per child. If you would like to contribute and
have your child in the picture I need this much money from you. If you
cannot convince them to contribute, drop them. It obviously is not that
important to them.

jojo