The Costco Connection

SPECIAL SECTION

EVERYDAY LIVING

BY HANA MEDINA

IT’S NO SECRET that many of our nation’s schools are struggling with funding. But the good news is, your purchases at Costco can help fill in some of those gaps. Box Tops for Education (BTFE), started by General Mills in ;;;;, has a simple premise: Purchase a product with a BTFE logo, clip the box top and turn it in to your child’s school. In return, the school receives ;; cents for every box top; General Mills issues checks twice a year. And they add up fast. “To date, Box Tops has contributed ;;;; million to more than ;;,;;; American schools,” says Maria Lopez-May, who runs the Box Tops program for General Mills.

Due to the simple nature of this ;;- year-old fundraising effort, about one in four U.S. households participate, making it one of the larger private funders of U.S. education.

THECOSTCOCONNECTION

Costco is offering 25 different products from General Mills, Kleenex, Ziploc, Lysol and Finish, each worth eight box tops. Three thousand Costco members will also be eligible to win 100 box tops in a social media contest. Visit costcobtfe.com for more information.

Lopez-May says schools can use the earnings to buy books, musical instruments and gym equipment, fund enrichment programs, hire crossing guards, create school gardens and more.

Chris McIntire, principal at McKinley Primary School in Gridley, California, says, “Box Tops has been vital in some of the budgeting issues that we have in our school district and in the state of California. We have been able to use some of our Box Tops earnings to promote some of the field trips.” He explains that their first-graders visit the Sacramento Zoo after they study the animals in the classroom.

Kimberly Odom, principal at River
Gate Elementary School in Charlotte,
North Carolina, says her school’s parent-
teacher association (PTA) had always found
creative ways to get parents to turn in box
tops. However, one lucky parent electroni-
cally entered a BTFE code from a package of
Cheerios at boxtops; education.com
(another way parents can participate) and
randomly won ;;;;,;;; for the school.

Odom says they were grateful to have the funds to fill in for some long-standing technological needs, such as new Chrome-books and a ViewSonic flat-planel display (similar to a SMART board). They were also able to update the school’s sign to an electronic marquee, purchase new playground equipment, provide professional development for their staff and engage students in a new literacy program. “We’re just very grateful to our PTA—they’re a hard-working group of moms—and especially to the parent who entered on a whim,” says Odom.

Box tops in bulk

Today, it’s not just General Mills products that bear the BTFE logo. Additional brands have jumped on the bandwagon, including Ziploc, Kleenex, Lysol and Finish. Costco’s product offerings from these brands are each worth eight box tops, while items found at other grocery retailers are worth only a single box top.

“Costco’s participation in the Box Tops program is important to General Mills because they are a trusted and valued partner,” says Bill Malkowiak, director of field sales at General Mills. “Over the last six years, this program with Costco alone has generated ;;.; million in earnings to local schools. We know that Costco members are very passionate about education-related initiatives, and their participation in Box Tops for Education increases the number of schools we can impact in their communities.”

Additional ways to earn box tops can also be found on the BTFE website.

A Costco competition

Exclusive to Costco members this year is the “Inspire Imagination Sweepstakes.” Three thousand members will be chosen to win ;;; box tops. Enter by snapping a photo or tweeting about how Box Tops for Education inspires imagination in your kids. Share your entry via Instagram or Twitter with ;InspireContest, or enter online at costcobtfe.com. Contest details are available on the site.

Whether your school needs help purchasing new library books, laptops or providing educational activities, all it takes is a pair of scissors and the BTFE logo to make a lasting impact. C