Money Moral Dilemma: Should we sign our child up to a free book scheme when we can afford books?

timehastoldme

Marcon said:

timehastoldme said:

Sign them up! It's books, if you can pay it back with donations then that's lovely, but the main point is to get books into the hands of children and that's a good thing.

Dolly would want you to.

Whoever Dolly is, they don't seem to live in the real world where charities have limited resources...

Dolly Parton, the founder of the imagination library, the charity that gifts 2 million books to children around the world every month, for the sole purpose of inspiring book reading, and the charity the OP is talking about. 

ripongrammargirl

Could you possibly sign up a child you know that comes from a less affluent family or put down a children’s home address/ brownie group/play group details as a gift from yourselves and then maybe donate towards the books they are sending? I don’t know how this scheme works so there are probably stupid rules/ red tape around gifting books to others in this “woke and PC” nonsense country. Worth a try though but if they are silly about this just give them a donation instead. Never take from less well off people if you can afford it, especially as one day the situation might reverse, and then you’re in trouble if people abuse the system set up to help those in need and you can’t get help. 

Mother_of_Many

So what you are actually asking is……’we are very rich, should we take away the resources of a charity, meant for a disadvantaged child?’ 

If this was a stall in a shop, that would be called stealing….but because you have the computer to hide behind, you would consider it??? 

Clearly some people don’t have morals! Astounding that anyone who admits to earning THREE time the national average would have the audacity!!!!!


I would be amazed if this was really sent in……it’s up there with the nose unbelievable ‘moral’ dilemmas. The ‘sender’ clearly knows they aren’t supposed to sign up! How entitled are people!!! 🤯🤯🤯

MoneyDebatingIdeas

Join the scheme so that your children can look forward to receiving new books. This will develop their love of reading and learning. It will enable them to talk about popular books with friends or on guided discussion groups. At the same time make a regular donation to the charity so that their work can continue and other children can enjoy books and learning. 

dirtmother

Fascinating and educational responses from other people.

I think it is great you acknowledge your privilege and you ask a legitimate question. My suggestion is to contact the charity itself and ask for their thoughts... although if it is indeed Dolly Parton's project, the 'regardless of income' seems to be quite important to them as it looks to be in their mission statement. The question is 'Will it help the organisation and those it seeks to help if I don't sign up?'

Many services, public and charity, actually work more efficiently and serve more of the target population if they are universal and not gatekept. Being in need is - subtly or not so subtly - looked down on by so many people (including those who are in that situation themselves) so if everybody does it - treating it as a gift rather than a shameful handout, it can help those who stand to benefit most. I can think of situations where people who might appear to be in a position to buy books for their children have challenges that others may not know about - financial control within relationships, mental health difficulties, fears about book damage, unacknowledged reading difficulties - and it being 'normal' to use a scheme like this helps them.

Obviously it would be excellent for you to donate to the charity and publicise its work.

Agent57

Surely the charity itself should give some guidance as to who it is and isn't there for. Where does one draw the line?  Who decides?  

Should someone that smokes /  has Sky TV use a food bank?  

Maybe their goal is to just get everybody reading more regardless of income.  

kimwp

Use the library instead.

oldbuthealthy

Take your children to the local library, where you are also order specific books, but be prepared to wait until available.  

thegentleway

Of course you should sign up, it sounds like a great service. I would suggest you donate to the charity more than the cost of the books you receive. Involve your child in the process, great for them to learn about generosity/lovely for them to know they are getting books for other children that can't afford them.

silvercar

There are benefits of you taking part in the scheme. Your child will share this with other children, that in turn may encourage others to sign up, thus spreading knowledge of the scheme.

Some comments on here are ridiculous. The scheme would choose to market itself to those that cannot afford the books if it wanted to.

Does everyone eligible for an NHS flu vaccine, that could afford to buy it for say £15 from the local pharmacy, decline the free one as the NHS is short of cash?