Hi folks-
It seems that there is a lot of speculation going on in this thread. I think it's time to close it down. If you have any questions or concerns feel free to message me.

~Lisa

As you can imagine, the proponents of this, and those who respond so positively on this website are the teachers/PTA/PTO who benefit or the Boosterthon Fun Run members. See page 1 of this thread, from Cathy Doggett. A wife of a Boosterthon Fun Run executive here in Birmingham. You bet she says is great! It pays her bills! "The same 5" falls in to the category of one who benefits by Boosterthon Fun Run doing the work.

I do not see the parents of the children who are turned into servicemen being proponents on the website.

It is a shame that the educators who are supposed to be teaching and also standing up for my child are blinded by the greed and turning on my family to fill their pockets and using my own child as a part of their army.

All of this is very clever and uses social pressure on the kids to want to get the prizes, uses social pressure on the administration to tell themselves it is for the benefit for the school, it uses pressure on the parents who do not want see their kids heartbroken by not participating, and it uses pressure on the parents to keep quiet and not go against the grain.

I think there is a white elephant in the room on this one.

I attened the Boosterthon Pep Rally, classroom visits and the Fun Run last year. There are so many problems with this organization it's mind blowing. The Pep Rally is like a sales kick off. Make no mistake that this is about making Boosterthon money, not your school. Boosterthon made more money than our school. What's worse is that parents and doners were not aware of the percentage that Boosterthon was taking. That information does not appear in any promotional materials or on their website. The idea that "values" can be taught to children in a classroom visit by a stranger is absurd. Keep your school and your children far away from Boosterthon.

I love the Boosterthon and think they are a great addition to any school. I felt like they truly want to serve the school and encourage the students with character traits, leadership lessons and fitness goals, as well as help the school raise the funds that we needed. It was a win-win for us! A GREAT experience.

I am shocked that any school district would allow Boosterthon or any similar company to use students for their own profit. Yes, cookie dough/catalog sales take money but the parent is getting a PRODUCT they choose to buy. Boosterthon costs the school 2,000 and many PTO officers dont understand that when the boosterthon boys say they will waive the upfront fee...they waive it upfront but TAKE the 2,000 from total sales. They also get 48 % of the money, what parent would want to GIVE AWAY that much money. The shirts they provide are CHEAP and the trinkets are worth PENNIES!! Additionally, they come into the classroom to distribute prizes and teach the kids how to get more pledges. They do give a short talk about fitness related to the theme but the majority of the time is prizes! Students are stressed, teachers are annoyed, and Parents are angry! ANY PTO can put on a FUN RUN...seriously the event is JUST KIDS RUNNING IN A CIRCLE AT THE SCHOOL!! If your PTO chooses this they are lazy and dont want to do work. PTO will brag they made 50,000 but never mention they gave away about $25,000 to the Boosterthon BOYS. Add they only use boys...I think its b/c most PTOs only have moms and they always end conversations with you are so great, what you do for the school is amazing, etc. Basically they give the PTO the positive feedback they wish they could hear everyday!!!

Boosterthon does take quite a bit of the profit. Does anyone know of another organization that hosts fundraisers? Thx!