Back to school supply issue. Should parents be punished?

Question

Saw a post on FB about marking sharpie through barcodes when you donate school supplies so they can’t be returned by parents for money. I asked a friend who worked at Walmart last year if it was a real issue and she said YES. And she said the worst part is is there there is no policy or anything in place that stops them. 
But how do you return donated stuff without a receipt?? 
Should there be a policy about returning donated items? 
Should parents who do it be given some kind of consequences?

Answer

If a parent is so desperate for money they return a sharpie and get a couple dollars back... what good would punishing them do? 
I don’t think it’s right for them to do, but punishment doesn’t seem necessary. Adding additional barcodes and tracking costs money.... and for what purpose? The store gets the item back and a parent gets what like $2?

Answer

Should they do it no. But imagine being so desperate for money u have to make a decison on rather to feed your kid or allow them to have school supplies. I dont think punishing them is going to do anything, and honestly thats a bit oppressive and discriminatory.

Answer

I’m sorry, but if a parent is that desperate for a few bucks then they need to re-evaluate their lifestyle. MOST school supplies don’t cost a whole lot individually.

Answer

Aren't they being donated to the school? How are the parents getting their hands on them?

Answer

Just donate to the school.

Answer

No. A person once told me once you donate something it is not yours to dictate. Yes I wish they would keep their school supplies. I teach and I buy a bunch of stuff for "my kids" to have at school and it would be helpful if the kids had those donated items. And while yes some of the people who return donated items use it for cigarettes or lottery tickets. That's not usually the case. Some people use it to pay that last 2 dollars the owe on rent/utilities.Maybe they needed some cans of soup to get through pay day. Teachers/schools can usually also get access to donated items that stays at school and I'd much rather have students without supplies than hungry and not knowing if they have a place to go home too.   Besides All punishing parents usually does is hurt the kids we are trying to help.  I try my best to not judge because I'm privilaged enough to never needed to rely on any donations and always knew there would be food on the table and  house to go home to.

Answer

There is a policy. You can return a couple of things without a receipt, not over a certain amount. I dont remember the exact numbers, but you do have to show your ID for it.

Answer

I’ve not heard of parents doing this, but I’ve heard parents buying supplies for the teachers who in turn bring it back to Walmart to return, which is wrong, you can never have too much supplies as a teacher.

Answer

I never thought about this. My church collects donations from us and our community and hands out generic  backpacks filled with basic school supplies to needy families every back to school season. It would bother me if the families didn't actually need these items and returned the supplies just to pocket the extra money. If they returned the supplies in order to buy necessities such as groceries it wouldn't bother me as much as much.

Back to school supply issue. Should parents be punished?

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