‘We had to close the store before Christmas’: Local school organizes toy store for families in need with substantial discounts, new customer base ruins it for everyone

Author image for Eleonora Bader
Eleonora Bader
Nov 25, 2023 1:00 PM EST

Good deeds are a dime a dozen, but this school really gave it its all so that kids would get great Christmas gifts from their parents who did not have a lot of money. Unfortunately, along comes a Grinch, today known as a Karen, and has to ruin it for everyone. In this case, many Karens. Let's start at the beginning… One school used to organize a toy store for families in need, and this store would be stocked to the brim with all kinds of donations. The parents could shop there and get new toys for just one dollar, which was about 99 percent off. 

The discounts were amazing, and their sole purpose was to allow poorer families to experience Christmas in a way that they had never experienced. Unfortunately, people who were definitely not poor began taking advantage of the toy store, and word spread fast. Scroll down to read what happened, and then check out this office Karen who tried scoring points with her manager, attempting to get a coworker's phone taken away. What on earth goes on in people's minds… It sure beats me. Enjoy your Thanksgiving…

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  • 01
    "That was the end of the Christmas store." WALAN
    via Canva
  • 02
    The End of the Christmas Toy Store MEDIUM Offering a different CB story vs. all of the Santa wishlists being posted.
    via u/IrishWave
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    Background: A local school used to organize a toy store for poorer families. The store would be stocked with donations of toys, books, clothes, etc. (all new), and would then be "sold" to needy families at a dramatic discount (generally somewhere between 95% and 99% off what it would
    via u/IrishWave
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    cost in a store). The gist of the store was to allow families to actually shop for gifts for their children, letting them both directly select the gifts and feel like they purchased it rather than asked for it.
    via u/IrishWave
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    The Story: The event started off small, but gained a bit of local popularity roughly 5-6 years ago with an increased quality to the gifts. Someone affiliated with the Eagles would drop off a bunch of merchandise, a family cleaned out a few Targets on Black Friday and dropped off a few dozen
    via u/IrishWave
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    Razer scooters, lego sets became popular, and even tickets to Flyers / Sixers games started to regularly appear. Unfortunately, this also started to draw a different customer base as well, leading to a few problems:
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    Someone trashed the place after being told she couldn't buy all ~30 scooters (which were being sold for $1 each) as all of the bigger items had a 1 per person limit.
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    ● People were getting increasingly vocal and angry with the volunteers, demanding they re-stock certain items or sizes and getting hostile when told it is what it is. Similar outbursts were occurring
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    over gifts not offered (gift cards were always the hot button that the store wouldn't offer, but people were also getting upset over only having toddler/child sized clothes and not sizes for adults).
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    • While there weren't guidelines on who could and couldn't shop, there started to be an increase in families shopping here that were far from poor. . And the straw that broke the camel's back, people
    via u/IrishWave
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    started threatening the teacher running store in person and on facebook when she wouldn't hold items that may or may not be donated at all (a lot of I need X Sixers tickets for Y game and you'd better have them when I come tomorrow).
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    Teacher who ran the event got tired of dealing with everything and stepped down. Given all the challenges the past few years, no one wants to take over and the event is not going to be scheduled this year.
    via u/IrishWave
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    madkins007. 20 hr. ago My wife and I volunteered to run an Easter egg hunt for the neighborhood association one year. We asked that we be able to limit it to families that were members. No.
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    We asked is there was a budget for supplies. No. We asked if anyone else wanted to help. A couple did but mostly No.
    via u/madkins007
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    We advertised it in the newsletter with a big note that the event will start promptly at 10am and to bring your own basket. The two of us bought bags of empty eggs and small things to put in them. We spent a big chunk of time assembling the
    via u/madkins007
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    eggs, making a sign, etc. Nice and early we start hiding the eggs and chasing away people trying to start early. No other volunteers showed up. At the stroke of 10, we started and a huge mob of people I've never seen before descended
    via u/madkins007
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    on the field. It was over in about a minute. Afterwards, all we got was grief. • why didn't you get more ● supplies? Couldn't afford it. why'd you let all those people play? Public park
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    and you said no. • I was on my way down and you should have waited! I didn't see you and we started at 10. Weekly was they're just cheap stuff in the eggs? No budget, remember? • You shoulda been psychic
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    and known this would happen and held it on private property, with more and better stuff, and has assistants help you. You're right- YOU do it next year. They never did it again.
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    ItsJoeMomma · 19 hr. ago Typical. People are horrible. And you just know the lady who wanted to buy the 30 scooters for $1 apiece was going to turn around and sell them at full price. € 417 € Reply Share
    via u/ItsJoeMama
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    Bucklebunny2014 - 18 hr. ago There was a lady that would go to all the sites in the summer to pick up the free bagged lunches for the school kids in my county (always 4-6 bags for her kids so about 12-20 per day)
    via u/Bucklebunny2014
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    and then resell them on the marketplace online. Finally got banned and made a fuss about it. She said and I quote, "Well they were free so why not?" It's a program to make sure that kids have a lunch for the summer, now kids have to physically be at the site to get a lunch.
    via u/Bucklebunny2014
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    unholy_hotdog- 16 hr. ago Yup. The park I worked for had a rule the lunches had to be eaten on site, so that parents didn't eat their children's food. € 136 € Reply Share
    via u/unholy_hotdog
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    tacosdepapa 20 hr. ago Horrible. No good deed goes unpunished. I don't understand how people can feel so entitled and not see how their behavior ruins things for everyone.
    via u/tacosdepapa

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discounts christmas local school toys choosing beggars reddit new customers donations books karen customers santa toy store customer base store children
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