Guest Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 Our church is starting to gather worker volunteers for our VBS, but when I asked how much it was, I about fell over. I'm trying to get an average of what other churches charge, to see if we might look around at doing it elsewhere this year. I was able to call another church that we attend Awana at, and they are half the price, but the drive would make up the difference. :glare: All the others are starting to close with it being Friday, so I thought I'd ask here. Thanks! ETA: I realize most people haven't advertised this year's yet, last year's charge is fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairfarmhand Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 I've never heard of a church charging for VBS. All the churches I've ever been involved with do it for free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giraffe Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 I never knew church's charged for VBS. I've never seen charges before in all the churches I've attended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 So you guys probably wouldn't want to pay $20 per child, huh? I know that growing up it was always free, but I've heard more and more that churches charge these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 Churches charge for VBS!??! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne in CA Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 The most I have ever heard of charging for VBS is the Catholic church here charges $20. Most other churches in our area ask for $10 a child to cover costs, but they waive that if a parent volunteers or if you can't pay. There is one church I know of that charges $140 a week for daycamp, but that is not VBS, that is one full forty hour week of daycamp with activities and it is so much fun that they sell out almost instantly when they open registration. You have to bring your child's lunch on top of paying the $140, so it is not cheap, but not meant to be. Hope that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristusG Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 I *would* pay the $20 if I had to....just cause I know how much fun VBS is and because my DD enjoys it....but I have NEVER heard of a church charging for VBS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LidiyaDawn Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 I've never heard of a church charging for VBS. All the churches I've ever been involved with do it for free. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niffercoo Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 Our church does VBS at night and we don't charge. Other churches do VBS during the day, including the one where my daughter goes because it has a special needs class, and they charge about $15-$20 per child. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herbalgirl Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 I have never had to pay for VBS. Hmmm. No, I wouldn't pay $20/child! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakarimom5 Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 I want to say I paid $15 for each of my children to go last year...but it could have been $20. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrianne in TX Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 We paid $20 kid but that included a T-shirt, VBS trinkets and lots of snacks--the kids loved it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoxcell Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 I have never heard of a church charging for VBS:confused:! I thought VBS was supposed to be a community outreach. Our church does fundraisers throughout the year for VBS, and they do not charge. I do find it sad that people I know will sign their kids up for every church in town so their kids will have something to do all summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiguirre Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 Ours is also $20 and includes the t-shirt, snacks, crafts and trinkets. I think all the money goes to cover those costs because they aren't cheapie things. VBS fills up almost instantly at our parish and you'd better go to Saturday night mass when they open registration if you want a spot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 Well, it's good to know that ours isn't the only one that charges that much. I still think I'm going to look for a cheaper one. I see both sides of the coin, I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jec3113 Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 VBS costs money here. . Can't recall how much. DH and kids are Catholic and they even charge for Sunday school. **shaking head** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crafty Mathy Mom Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 No charge at our church. They do take up a special offering to help with expenses. We don't do T-shirts or the themed trinkets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 (edited) Our is free. Sometimes we charge $5 for t-shirts, but purchase is not required and we usually give them to kids whose families are tight on money or who have 4+ kids at VBS. VBS can be a large budget item. Our is often around $6000 for 500 or so kids (including under 5 yos for childcare and not including the nursery workers' salaries.) It can be done less expensively, but sometimes it becomes the money for time tradeoff. Edited April 1, 2011 by ScoutTN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YarnAddict Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 Our church does it for free and it's seen as a missions outreach. Every year they take up an offering for something, last couple of yrs it's beenm to buy backpacks and school stuff for needy kids. They do sell CDs of the songs and themed t-shirts, but the CD's I think were around $4 and the shirts maybe $7? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 No charge at our church. They do take up a special offering to help with expenses. We don't do T-shirts or the themed trinkets. Same here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChemMommy Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 Free! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 VBS is free at our church and at others in our town. We budget $1000 and draw about 100 kids which is really good for our small church. Fewer than 10 kids are from our church. We do always have some kind of offering project--food drive, school supply drive, or raising funds for mosquito nets in Africa last year. The offering projects are always well-received and successful. We see VBS as one of our most significant ministries and a way to be part of our community. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassenach Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 Local churches range from free to $50 per child. A common compromise is to charge for members, but not non-members. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cylau Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 Churches in our area charge about $40-50 per child. This has been going on for a few years now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heatherwith4 Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 We don't charge. We provide t-shirts, crafts, CDs, trinkets, and snacks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristusG Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 Churches in our area charge about $40-50 per child. This has been going on for a few years now. WOW! That is really a lot of money. Do you know if they get many participants? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisB Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 Ours is $30/child unless you volunteer and then it's 1/2 off, if I remember correctly. But, honestly, if they are asked, they will waive the fee for those who cannot pay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 We don't charge for VBS but I have friends in another state that pay $50.00 a child. They don't find it a problem and much cheaper than other "camps". I guess it depends on what kind of things you want to bring home and how much money your families have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaAkins Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 Our church is starting to gather worker volunteers for our VBS, but when I asked how much it was, I about fell over. I'm trying to get an average of what other churches charge, to see if we might look around at doing it elsewhere this year. I was able to call another church that we attend Awana at, and they are half the price, but the drive would make up the difference. :glare: All the others are starting to close with it being Friday, so I thought I'd ask here. Thanks! ETA: I realize most people haven't advertised this year's yet, last year's charge is fine. Our church doesn't charge at all. They provide VBS for about 300 kids between the morning sessions & evening sessions. They do put out a list of requested donations beforehand to see if anyone would like to donate, but there is no requirement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plucky Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 We pay $20 for tshirts and crafts. My older kids now volunteer. All my kids love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frontier Mom Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 Our church doesn't charge at all. They provide VBS for about 300 kids between the morning sessions & evening sessions. They do put out a list of requested donations beforehand to see if anyone would like to donate, but there is no requirement. Same here. We do offer T-shirts and just charge whatever they cost us, usually less than $10. Never charged but we usually write out things we need specifically on a theme based card (like beach balls this year for our beach theme) with very specific items like: 12 pack of 8 oz waters. We put them out one Sunday and the people always take them and want more to bring. They then just bring their item to a designated spot and we have more than enough. This covers our "extra expenses" that are not budgeted items. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UnsinkableKristen Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 I have never heard of a church charging for a traditional VBS. Our church has a HUGE VBS and we see probably 2,000 kids over a one week period. There are snacks, tshirts, crafts, and a musical and it is still free to church members and the public. It's in the budget and seen as community outreach, but it is not a "drop off" VBS - parents have to stay. I can see paying for day time VBS or a drop-off night time VBS, though, I guess. ETA: Our church does ask for craft donations, though, like paper towel tubes, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m0mmaBuck Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 The church where DS attends AWANA has a drop-off VBS that is $85 which includes a t-shirt, crafts, activities (from zip lines and rock walls to concerts to street luge to bounce houses and whatever else). The staff is volunteer and there are about 2,000 kids who attend but because it is more of a carnival atmosphere the program is pricey. The Christian school where my MIL works if offering what they call VBS this year but it is actually more like weekly summer camps with a religious component. There is a "theme" to each week complete with some sort of "field trip" (ranging from visiting the Farmers Market to the Musueum of Flight to Great Wolf Lodge). The kids can be dropped off from 8 a.m. til 6 p.m. so they they looked at what it would cost to have your child in a daycare ($40-50/day is the going rate for most centers here), did some fuzzy math, and came up with $125/wk (+ additional fees in some cases based on field trip expenses). It's all very crazy pants to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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