Don’t Label Kids as ‘Poor’

To the Editor:

While your November 2 issue is great, I would like to express a concern.

I noticed that on the front page (“Top Charities See Donations Surge Again”), the caption under the large photograph reads: “Children’s Scholarship Fund…was started…to help poor youngsters attend private schools.”

I always take issue with using labels such as “poor” to describe people. When we speak of the children we serve at the Boys & Girls Clubs, we say that they are “children from disadvantaged circumstances” or “children lacking financial resources.” That way, we convey that they definitely have needs — but we are not labeling them or putting them into a category. I think it’s not only more sensitive, but also more descriptive.

“Poor” is overused and has a negative connotation. What child wants to grow up thinking that he or she is “poor”?

Laura A. Merritt
Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee
Milwaukee