The Final Paper Box Tops Collection.. Oh, It's On!

It's on!

TLDR: C'mon, it's not that long. 

The DMS PTA is collecting your family's remaining paper Box Tops on Feb 19-21 (that's this Wed, Thu, Fri). Send them in with your student to be dropped off on their way into school.

We need every last Box Top you have in your cupboard to make our budgeted goal for this fundraising activity.

Every student who brings in at least one paper Box Top will be entered into a drawing to win BIG PRIZES! 

Paper Box Tops, We Hardly Knew Ye

It feels a little like the last episode of M*A*S*H, doesn't it?

TLDR: What is likely to be our final collection of paper Box Tops in the history of DMS will occur February 19 - 21. Hold nothing back!

This week (Wed, Thu, and Fri) is likely to be DMS' final collection of paper Box Tops since the program is now rapidly going digital.

Let that sink in for a moment... a final collection at DMS for paper Box Tops.

So for those of you who have been waiting or biding your time, now would be when to unload all of the paper Box Tops you may be storing and send them into school with your student.

For a final time since the school opened in 1973, the DMS PTA will be collecting them as the kids enter school in the morning - this Wednesday (19th), Thursday (20th), and Friday (21st).

Every student who contributes any amount of Box Tops will be entered into a drawing for big prizes that are worthy of such a momentous occasion.

Thank you in advance for recognizing the gravitas of this moment. With your help, I know it will be a collection for the ages and catapult the DMS PTA toward its 2019-2020 fundraising goals.

Remain Vigilant!

TLDR: Keep clipping all of the paper Box Tops you can still find. They will be collected by DMS PTA in mid-February. And learn to start using the digital app.

Greetings, fellow DMS supporters! Time to finally shake off the holiday rust and kick Box Tops back into hi-gear so that DMS is reaping all of the available funding necessary for enrichment activities. 

Two quick announcements:  

Keep returning these paper Box Tops to DMS
for as long as you can find them.

Announcement #1: Do not be deceived. Paper Box Tops are still out there in circulation! It is our job as engaged parents to let none escape and make sure they get back to the DMS PTA. So when shopping and/or recycling your food packaging, please be alert to keep clipping those paper Box Tops.

The DMS PTA will be hosting the Spring Box Tops collection in mid-Febuary since they are due back to General Mills by March 1st.

Announcement #2: While the paper Box Tops do eventually wind down, the fundraising program will continue to exist digitally. Please take a moment to watch the short video on how Box Tops purchases will now be credited to DMS after purchase of qualified products. 

I hope you had a festive holiday season and your 2020 is off to a great start - abundantly filled with Box Tops products!

Box Tops Meme of the Week

TLDR: Go to imgflip.com and make your own meme about Box Tops. I am happy to post it on this blog. 

Welcome to our irregular feature, the Box Tops meme of the week. This is an invitation for you and your family to design your own memes reflecting your most favorite (or frustrating) experiences with Box Tops.

Here is a Return of the Jedi-themed one referencing the next generation of digital Box Tops:

Submit your own to be showcased on this blog by e-mailing me at: fred-dot-jorgensen-at-gmail-dot-com.

More than 600 Box Tops from the 6th Graders

TLDR: The 6th graders tore away with the top count of Box Tops to earn an extended lunch period. The DMS PTA collected $171.50 in redeemable Box Tops this fall.

My apologies if you have been waiting for the long overdue results of the PTA's fall Box Tops collection. Firstly, thank you to all of the parents who went out of their way to buy General Mills' products and preserve enough of the packaging that we might have been able to harvest the Box Tops label.

Hands down, the 6th graders at DMS handed the 7th and 8 graders their proverbial you-know-what's by delivering almost 3x as many unexpired Box Tops. Without question, the 6th graders have earned their award of an extended lunch period.

You can click on the image to enlarge it.

All told, the DMS PTA collected $171.50 in redeemable Box Tops this fall. If you are trying to do the math using the charts above, it won't work because we received several instances of Box Tops donations that were anonymous.

One significant donation that was not anonymous was that of First Evangelical Lutheran Church at the corner of Chatham and Frederick Road. Their faith community directed 371 Box Tops (or $37.10) to DMS this fall. Please be sure to thank any of your friends or neighbors who may worship there.

Again, a sincere thank you to the 27 DMS families who participated this fall in the Box Tops collection. I look forward to positing theories and speculations about ways to improve our Box Tops fundraising in future blog posts. Until then, be sure to keep clipping the remaining labels you see, as well as, getting familiar with using the Box Tops mobile app.

DMS Students: Take A Long Lunch, then Go Shopping

For illustrative purposes only!

Next week, Monday, October 14th, kicks off the DMS PTA's fall collection for Box Tops. 

As incentive to make this the most epic Box Tops drive ever, the grade (6th, 7th, or 8th) that contributes the most clipped Box Tops next week will be awarded an extended lunch. 

And every student who brings in Box Tops next week (of any amount) will also be entered into a drawing to win some amazing gift cards.

So that your donation is attributed to the right student (and grade level), please send your Box Tops in a plastic bag or envelope with your student's name and grade level clearly marked on it.

  

Box Tops Meme of the Week

TLDR: Go to imgflip.com and make your own meme about Box Tops. I am happy to post it on this blog. 

Welcome to our newest feature, the Box Tops meme of the week. This is an invitation for you and your family to design your own memes reflecting your most favorite (or frustrating) experiences with Box Tops.

Here is a seasonal one that someone close to me made for your enjoyment:

Submit your own to be showcased on this blog by e-mailing me at: fred-dot-jorgensen-at-gmail-dot-com. Keep it classy! 

Box Tops is Just a Math Problem

TLDR: Any amount is welcome, but eight (8) is the magic number of Box Tops to send in on October 14th.

Next Monday, October 14, kicks off our fall Box Tops drive. The goal is to raise $500 for the DMS PTA budget to be used exclusively for student enrichment.

As with most things, we can quantify the situation so that it can be broken down into a simple math problem:

• $500 goal = 5,000 clipped Box Tops
• 660 students attending DMS
• 5,000 Box Tops / 660 students = 8 Box Tops per student

Not so bad, right? Be part of the winning solution - send in at least eight (8) Box Tops with your student(s) next Monday, October 14th.

Now of course there is some slippage in the above math due to different shopping habits, awareness of the Box Tops program, or outright lack of concern for enhancing our the learning experience of DMS' student body. 😞 

No problem. Just send in extra Box Tops! Adopt an imaginary DMS student and send in 16 Box Tops. Or better yet, adopt seven imaginary DMS students and and send in 64 Box Tops. Prizes to the student with the biggest DMS family!

Circle October 14th on Your Calendars

TLDR: Send your paper Box Tops in with your student on October 14th.

Tired of pushing that gallon size plastic bag of Box Tops around the kitchen counter? Is your desk drawer impossible to close because there are too many Box Tops stuffed in there?

Hang in there because in less than one month, the DMS PTA will be accepting every paper Box Top we can find as part of its fall collection.

During the entire week of October 14th, send your student into school with the Box Tops your family (and extended family) has been collecting all summer. A parent volunteer will be waiting to accept them and ensure they are submitted to General Mills and redeemed for a cash donation to the DMS PTA.

Whether you have just a few, or have accumulated an obnoxiously tall pile, bring your Box Tops back to DMS on October 14th to help raise funds for our students and the activities that will provide academic enrichment.

Box Tops as Currency

TLDR: Regardless of their financial stature, nobody throws a dime in the trash. Why would you throw out a Box Top? 

One of the many reasons I am drawn to clipping and collecting Box Tops on behalf of Dunloggin is because they are a form of currency. As you likely already know, when a Box Top is returned to General Mills - $.10 is credited to the DMS PTA.

If you were walking down the street and saw an unclaimed dime lying on the ground, would you just pass it by? I think not. Most of us would definitely reach down to put it in our pocket.

Do you throw the spare change in your pocket or purse into the trash or recycle bin? Of course not. (That would also be a federal crime, by the way.) You collect it in a jar or dish until you amass a few dollars.

It's the same with Box Tops. Just visualize all of the dimes (er, Box Tops) laying in the cupboards and recycling bins of our houses, sitting there ready to be put to use on behalf of our students! 

Box Tops are Dead, Long Live Box Tops!

TLDR: Box Tops is phasing out the collection of package labels in favor of a mobile app that scans your grocery receipts. Save both for now to help raise money for DMS students.

Last spring, General Mills announced a change to the Box Tops for Education program.

Here is what your DMS family needs to know:

1) Box Tops remain a significant part of the PTA's fundraising mix for the 2019-2020 school year. Please don't stop clipping!

2) The program, however, is transitioning toward a mobile phone app-based system in which families photograph their grocery receipts (instead of cutting out the labels and returning them to the school). The scanning technology automatically detects the products purchased with the Box Tops seal.

3) Provided you have linked "Dunloggin Middle School (Ellicott City, MD)" as the beneficiary in your Box Tops in the mobile app, 10 cents is credited to the DMS PTA for every participating product found on your receipt.

Our family is using the mobile app and it really quite impressive. I would encourage you to download the app today and give it a try.

One more very important (in fact, critical) thing: keep clipping Box Tops labels as you see them and hold on to the ones you've been collecting all spring and summer! The PTA will be collecting them this fall as DMS is permitted to redeem these with General Mills until the program has fully transitioned away from clipping.    

For more details, this short video from the Box Tops team at General Mills is worth a watch, as well as, a quick tour through the Box Tops website.

So keep scanning those receipts and keep clipping (for now)!

Introductions!

TLDR: I am Fred and Box Tops is an unexpected interest of mine. Let me know if or when you have questions about the program.

Hello! My name is Fred Jorgensen and I am a Dunloggin Middle School (DMS) parent, as well as, the lead volunteer for our Box Tops for Education (BT4E) fundraising stream. This is my second year in the role.

For the 2019-2020 school year, my plan is to publish regular (and short) blog postings on the subject of Box Tops that inform, entertain, and motivate DMS families. As you'll see throughout the school year, Box Tops is a subject with many fascinating layers that we can only try to unpack together over a span of nine months. 

For anyone not familiar with "Box Tops", it is a school-fundraising / brand affinity program created by the General Mills corporation in 1996. When you buy GM food products from the grocery store with the below seal somewhere on the package, cut it out (before recycling), and return the seal to DMS... the school will redeem the seal to get $.10 to be used by the PTA for different types of student support. 

In an average year, DMS collects around 8,000 of these Box Tops seals from families to generate about $800 in fundraising toward the total PTA budget. Not bad... but still only a small sliver of what is DMS' grocery buying power with 650 students enrolled. (Don't worry, we will do the math to prove this out in a future post.)

For now, keep clipping those Box Tops while they last and definitely download the app to become more familiar with it. (In case you had not heard, General Mills is phasing out the paper box tops in favor of a mobile app. More to come on that subject.)