We're fortunate to have a new "No Call" law in Colorado. We signed up when it started, and we rarely receive cold calls anymore. If one slips through, all we have to say is that we're on the No Call list, and they apologize and hang up - no if, ands, or buts about it as my grandma used to say!
We participate in Target Take Charge. You can get either a store card or a credit card. Using the credit card doesn't mean racking up interest charges if you pay it off at the end of the month. If you have to buy something you know you can't pay off, then use a different card with a lower rate. Also watch the amount of credit they give you when you are accepted. They approved me for a $10,000 limit. When I said I didn't need that high of a limit, the clerk said very few people come close to it. That's not the point! When applying for a loan, ANY open credit counts against you. As soon as my card came in the mail, I called and had them lower it to $1,000.
I agree with Momski! I don't participate in the Target program-god forbid I have a credit card from them;I'd be broke in no time!-but our school does and I've heard no complaints.
My son attended K in a very affluent school and has been in a Title One school since. I have been in charge of fundraising there for 2 years and I receive many solicitations that I can see would be great for the first school but aren't going to work at all for us. Different area, different population, different incomes,different programs. There is no "one-size-fits-all" fundraiser. If you don't like something, by all means, don't participate; but don't be snide about the people who do.
Telemarketing calls at dinner time every night are frazzling to volunteers!If you enjoy that type of thing then go for it! Sorting junk mail and dealing with that six days out of seven is just as much work as counting box tops.