On my Soapbox-School Fundraisers

I am on my soapbox this morning about something that I might get a few comments about. I might be viewed as an "nonsupportive" parent. I am going mad regarding all of these school fundraisers!!! You know the ones where your child is expected to go out and sell large volumes of gift wrap, or candy, in this case it is Boosterthon (marathon). I get so aggravated because the school has a motivational talk with the kids, pumping them up with prizes that are hardly attainable. To be eligible for the "cool prizes" one must sell thousands of dollars. What the kids actually earn is cheap things that do not even stand fit against that in a gumball machine. We live in a small community, filled with children. Both schools sell either identical or very similar items. On our street alone there are numerous children that are all expected to sell. The competition is fierce because the school pumps it up so big. I understand the reason for this, they want to raise funds so that my child will receive "a better education". My beef ....why make some kids feel inadequate because that cannot sell as much as another child? For goodness sakes, my children are so concerned that the "prize man" will pass them by as he makes stops at each classroom every morning with a overfilled wheel barrel of cheap crap the kids "have to have" to feel they are as special as "little Johnny" sitting beside them.
Additionally , in the world we live in today, I do not want my children going door to door selling. Many times, I have just had my children "sit out" from the selling and they come home disappointed because they didn't win the yo yo ("it is really cool") if they sold 25,000 units. Why even do these fundraisers?OK, I know, again, I am a "bad parent" for not being supportive of these things, but I would be much more willing to write a check to each school at the beginning of the school year to avoid having to participate in these fundraisers. I suppose that I have "rambled' enough, now I must go pledge half my income to my children's goal thermometer so they can "earn" the yo yo.