Schools dig prizes from box

Summerville mom Angie Grant was teased by family over the Christmas holiday for digging through her in-laws’ trash for the little coupons known as Box Tops for Education.

‘It might just be 10 cents, but it becomes obsessive,’ she said. ‘Every one counts.’

Grant collects the coupons in two baggies, one for each of her children to take to Summerville’s Beech Hill Elementary School every month.

General Mills, which runs the Box Tops for Education program, gives schools a dime for every coupon they send in.

The coupons are on more than 240 products ranging from Cheerios to Betty Crocker to Pillsbury to Ziploc.

‘They are on products they are already buying anyway,’ said Sarah Hays, assistant manager of Box Tops for Education.

Photo by Brenda Rindge

Beech Hill Elementary School students Aciey Cantey, Carson Butts and Layne Schelest turn in Box Tops for Education to parent volunteer Michele Schelest.

Schools can earn up to $20,000 a year through the coupon program. Shopping through the company’s online marketplace can bring in another $20,000 and ordering books through its reading room, another $20,000.

Beech Hill and Mount Pleasant’s Belle Hall Elementary each raised nearly $4,000 last year and are on track to surpass $5,000 this year. They are among the top earners in the state. Barnwell Primary School in Barnwell earned the most last year with more than $6,000.

At a time when school budgets are being cut to the bone, Box Tops are a way to finance some items that schools might otherwise have to do without.

‘I am really inspired by what these coordinators do to make a difference in their schools and bring in those extras,’ said Hays, who will be in Charleston on Thursday to lead a free program called Box Tops University for area coordinators. ‘One of my favorite parts is hearing from the coordinators what an impact it’s made on their school. We’ve heard everything from funding artists-in-residence to extracurricular programs and supplementing teacher salaries.’

Three years ago, Box Tops collection at the Beech Hill was not a priority. Then parents like Grant and Michele Schelest got involved.

‘We thought, ‘Geez, this is easy money for our school,’ ‘ Grant said. ‘Everybody buys these products.’

Schelest, Beech Hill’s Box Tops coordinator, said she sometimes makes buying decisions based on whether the item has a Box Tops coupon.

Belle Hall PTA board member Allison Meyer said officials there had the same realization about the program.

‘Somebody said, ‘Why don’t we do that?’ ‘ she said. ‘It just seems insane because it’s so easy, but we kicked if off and it worked.’

Now the schools set ambitious goals each year.

‘For us, Box Tops is a big deal,’ said Beech Hill Principal Rene Harris. ‘We encourage all of our students to participate.’

Information on the program goes home on Fact and Fee day at the beginning of each school year.

‘Our PTA uses that as an opportunity to get everything in front of parents,’ Grant said. ‘It introduces the program and gives an idea of what products they might find them on and outlines our goals for the year.’

Grant said the PTA has found it helpful to tell parents how the money will be spent. The school also holds two traditional fundraisers each year.

‘I think it helps when they see that the funds that PTA raises all go back into the school,’ Grant said. ‘We typically shoot in the direction of technology. This year, we plan to buy some iPads. Last year, we bought web- cams. We also have a six-week period during which teachers can apply for mini-grants if they have something specific they want to do.’

To encourage participation, PTAs offers incentives, such as quarterly ice cream parties for the winning classes. Students who bring in 25 Box Tops at Beech Hill are entered into a drawing to have breakfast with Harris. At Belle Hall, students can win a Target gift card.

The collected coupons are bagged and logged by volunteers who send them to General Mills twice a year. The school then receives a check.

‘It’s an easy way to make money, and the kids have fun doing it,’ Grant said.

Reach Brenda Rindge at 937-5713 or www.facebook.com/brindge.