'Kids shouldn't take part in door-to-door fundraising'

Herzliya Deputy Mayor calls for Education Ministry to forbid pupils’ participation in door-to-door fund-raising for NGOs.

By DANIELLE ZIRI
Back to School (photo credit: Wikicommons)
Back to School
(photo credit: Wikicommons)
Herzliya Deputy Mayor, Tova Rafael called on Tuesday for the Education Ministry to forbid pupils’ participation in door-to-door fund-raising for NGOs.
Such activities are “risky” and “do not hold any educational value to contribute to the child,” she wrote in a letter sent to the ministry.
Rafael’s letter came after a 15-year-old in Herzliya robbed two seventh-graders earlier this month as they took part in the annual March of Dimes organized by the NGO ILAN, which assists people with neuromuscular disabilities.
The nationwide event included some 10,000 children who collected donations for the organization in their neighborhoods.
In the letter, addressed to the Education Ministry’s director-general Dalit Stauber, Rafael stressed that although such robberies are rare, it made her realize that the education system should reconsider its policy on letting children engage in door-to-door fund-raising.
“I think there is a level of risk when the education system sends students to the homes of people with no security. It creates a situation in which they carry cash around, which makes them targets for criminals,” she wrote.
“The Herzliya education system teaches students, from an early age, the values of mutual trust, acceptance of differences, and social responsibility. They learn about the importance of contributing to the community as well as social involvement and internalize these values as part of their lifestyle,” Rafael continued.
“Door-to-door fund-raising activities do not hold any educational value to contribute to the child.”
Nowadays, charitable organizations can raise money using various means such as text messages and social networking websites, she continued. This, Rafael wrote, makes door-to-door type initiatives irrelevant and outdated.
“Since there is no way to send youth to fund-raise safely and since organizations can employ alternative methods, using pupils for this purpose has become a cynical and unnecessary thing,” she explained. “The ministry should therefore immediately forbid these initiatives and avoid exposing children to unnecessary risks outside of schools.”
The ministry released a statement on Wednesday explaining that it is “currently examining the conclusions of the committee that investigates the issue of fund-raising in the education system.”
The NGO ILAN did not wish to comment on the matter.