frenchstewarter: Take Notes on How These GA Moms Turned Excitement into Dollars ...

Box Tops Moms from GreenForest McCalep Christian Academic Center in Decatur, GA. They are raising funds that will be used in the technology center.
Photo Credit: Lamar Tyler

After attending a local Box Tops University program four years ago, the Box Tops Moms at GreenForest McCalep Christian Academic Center in Decatur, GA, returned to their school invigorated and ready to bring in more money for their school. And the group of 10 moms did just that. In just four years, they?ve gone from collecting $78.00 for the entire school year, to collecting $4,000.00 in the first of two collection periods of this year alone.

We recently sat down with the Box Tops Moms of GreenForest-McCalep to get some insight on just how they were able to do it. And, we?ve provided their amazing tips below. Try them out at your school and let us know how well they work.

Committee member, Sherlonda Martin

Keep Everyone Informed:

Committee member, Sherlonda Martin shared with us that funds from the Box Tops 4 Education program are going directly to the PTO. The PTO uses the money to purchase additional technology needs for the school. Keeping the students and administration informed of their progress and about what?s going on in the program, ensures that everyone has a vested interest in collecting Box Tops.

Box Tops Mom Nicole Larson Jenkins

Get Everyone Involved:

Box Tops Mom Nicole Larson Jenkins, asked her siblings and her children?s grandparents to get involved. Her mother went to the ladies club in her neighborhood and started rounding up box tops for her grandchildren. Now, they have box tops being sent in from around the country. People are helping the school by sending in box tops from products that they?ve already been buying, but throwing away, up until now.

In an effort to keep things as simple as possible for the parents, the Box Tops Moms also drafted a letter that explained the Box Tops program, the school?s goals, how the money will be used, and how you can get involved. They gave the letter template to the parents of the school who, in turn, sent the pre-drafted letters off to their relatives and friends.

Box Tops Mom, Ursala Maddox

Set Goals:

The Box Tops Moms emphasized the importance of setting goals. Prior to the third year they set a goal of 100,000 box tops, a knowingly very aggressive goal. Ursala Maddox shared that:

?the thinking was we may not meet this goal but we?ll definitely have fun trying.?

At the end of the school year they had collected 56,000 box tops and went from raising $831.00 to $5,600.00 in just a one-year span.

Committee Member, Karlotta Brown

Get Creative:

How did they collect 56,000 box tops last year? Karlotta Brown told us that they got creative by thinking of ways to get everyone excited about the Box Tops program at the school. And the primary tool for raising so many box tops was contests. Monthly competitions with prizes such as pizza parties, cup cakes and ice cream excited the students and raised involvement. They even had friendly competitions between classrooms and grade levels. They also gave out certificates to the students who turned in the most box tops. You would be surprised at how much something like a free certificate would mean to the students.

And for many of their prizes, they reached out to the local community and asked for donations from merchants and organizations.

Maintain High Visibility with bulletin boards and banners.

Maintain High Visibility:

One of the main keys to their success was high visibility. The Box Tops Moms maintain high visibility for the program at the school. Each mom wore a Box Tops badge every time they entered the school. Additionally, they have dedicated bulletin boards in several places throughout the school for the Box Tops program. They posted flyers around the school, have public collection boxes, and they even have a Box Tops mascot that one of the parents made from a cardboard box. By keeping the visibility high, everyone at the school has a constant reminder of the Box Tops program.

?These ladies are doing an amazing job at their school. Hopefully you can take some of these tips to multiply your Box Tops earnings, and catapult your school to the next level. ?They are an excellent example of the benefits of having parents that are involved in their children?s educations.

BMWK ? please leave an encouraging word for the moms of?GreenForest McCalep Christian Academic Center as they are providing an excellent example of the power of parental involvement! ? Do you participate in your school?s Box Tops program? ?If yes, give us some additional tips and ideas for getting the school and parents excited about the program.

Disclosure: Lamar and I are paid spokesbloggers for the Box Tops For Education program. We will be providing information and stories throughout the school year in hopes of encouraging our community to take advantage of the millions of dollars that are being given to schools across the country each year. All opinions expressed are our very own.

About the author

Ronnie Tyler is the co-creator of BlackandMarriedWithKids.com and co-producer of the films Happily Ever After: A Positive Image of Black Marriage, You Saved Me, Men Ain?t Boys and Still Standing. The proud mom of 4 has been selected by Parenting Magazine as a Must-Read Mom and is one of Babble?s Top 100 Mom Bloggers.