School Promo ~ BTFE: I have sinned....

[tmsmalley]

I admit it. I have thrown out who knows how many thousands of BTFE's. They weren't relevant to me, I didn't know they a significant value to a school, my kids weren't in school yet.

Now that my daughter is in public school, we're on board. Unfortunately, it seems we've got a weak coordinator. All I got from school was one sheet of paper with 25 squares on it that said "'Boxtop Bingo' fill out and return to be entered into a drawing". That's it. Didn't say BTFE on it anywhere, didn't explain the program, what the things are worth, where to find them, nothing. I had of course seen some references to BTFE on here and figured this must be what they were talking about (I never heard about them at all before HotCouponWorld). Went to the BTFE website, found out they were worth TEN CENTS EACH! Holy cow! And the online ordering too? Sheesh. My little 5 year old has been in school less than a month and so far we've managed to turn in 175 of them. I've got to order about $1000 worth of stuff for work and nearly everyone I need to order from is in their Marketplace too. You betcha I'm going to use that route.

There's about 550 kids in this school and their total goal is about $1000. I can't decide if it is just that I'm so competitive or so thrifty or so guilt ridden from all the ones I've thrown away, but I'm really tempted to offer to help the coordinator. I've got a name from the BTFE site, but no email contact, so I'll have to check with the school as to who is doing it. I don't know how invested that person is in this or if it is more something they sort of got stuck with. I'm sure that volunteering could either mean I end up working for Attila the Hun or get stuck with the whole ball of wax.

I just don't see why they couldn't hit $5-$10 per kid on these throughout the year with a tiny bit of effort (like, oh, I dunno, actually EXPLAINING the friggin' program maybe?). Like sending home more than one sheet? Like asking people to ask friends and relatives for them? Like offering baggies with a BTFE sticker that could go on the fridge to remind people to save them? Like even putting something about it on the webpage that has every other goofy thing on it but nothing about this?

Ok, so seriously. Tell me how much work this is and talk me down before I go ahead and volunteer to help. I do have a full time job, 2 kids, a hubby and of course a couponing habit to support too. :) On the flip side, I do have an employer that loves to support community involvement stuff so it wouldn’t be a problem to get an hour here and there for this.

Tess

[fussypants]

Don't be too hard on yourself! Without a child in school, it would be pretty hard to know what they are for. Our school sends out a Newsletter at the beginning of the school year explaining it and also sheets with ALL the products listed that have box tops on them. Their incentive is a running challenge for all the classes.
The class with the most box tops at the end of each month gets a little party. Popsicles, chips, cupcakes, etc. supplied by the PTO. They get 1 point per box top and if the box top is neatly clipped along the lines, it's worth 2 points.
They also send out reminders monthly to keep on savin' them. I honestly don't know how difficult it is on the receiving end though. I know the school gets a check twice a year from the box tops program.
I think they are just collected, counted and mailed in.
I would say it would be quite a pain to have to clip a zillion of them if the parents didn't do it and maybe just sent in a whole flap from a box. (yes, that happens, I've seen it.)

With that many kids in your school it should be easy to hit your goal. Our school is right around 450 and last year our goal was $1100 and we actually got $1200. This year we are aiming big, going for $1500!!

The baggie on the fridge idea is great, that is exactly what I do. I think just getting people to remember to do it is the key.

Also, make sure the school has registered at the box tops website. They hold contests often to win bonus box tops! Good luck to you!!

[JrandMdB]

You arent alone.. I only learned what a BTFE meant a few days ago and have never saved one and I have 3 sons in school! I know nothing about the program to be honest and most likely have thrown thousands of them away.

[isis]

I've been collecting them for years, long before my kids were in school, its how I did alot of trading before I got paypal!! Still trade them time to time, but this year I'm ISO!!

IDK about the Coordinator position, but when ds1 was in PreK, his assistant teacher was in charge of the program. She would take them home and trim if necessary, and stack them in a certain amount (100 maybe??) Think they were sent in a couple times during the year. Not sure on when they got reimbursed.

Like PP, we get a notice at the beginning of the year, reminding parents to save those BTFE and a list of products they can be found on. Each month, the kids get a sheet to fill out which I think comes from the BTFE site b/c it has the logo on the top or somewhere on the page. Once the sheet is turned in, the kids get a prize (usually 2 pencils). 1 class from each grade level who collects the most, gets a party at the end of the year. Not sure on what DS2's school plans on doing for most collected. Sometimes BTFE get exchanged for fair tickets, or a free drink or popcorn for movie night.

So far, for DS1, I've filled out 3, an ABC back to school (27 btfe) and 2 Halloween forms (10 btfe each) For DS2, I've only filled out the ABC one. Between the both of them, thats alot of BTFE for the year!!

[CW&M Mom]

My daughters school...honestly I don't even know if they want them or not...but I send them...seriously I could be the only one.

I don't do the campbell soup ones though...just a pain and I rarely buy the stuff.

[janatberry]

I had one of the teachers that I knew at our school to start doing the program years ago when it first came out. She has been doing it ever since . She takes care of it all. Some of the other teachers ask her why she even bothered with it and she said because over the years she has gotten a lot of good things for her classroom and for the school too! We only have about 325 in the elementary school here but I noticed that she sets her goal every year and has made it most of the time. When I read about it years ago I took all the information to her. She loved the ideal and just kept it going. I try to get everyone I know to save the box tops. I worked with Senior Citizens for 17 years and we collected them for the school's program too! I could not believe so many people trade them, or for them on here. Just think about all those GM products that you have in your house or stockpile with box top points on them.

[JrandMdB]

I just went to the site to register... thinking I can at least help our school... well our school didnt get anything last year so apparently they dont do it. So whats the benefit if the school doesnt participate? Nothing... ? :shrug7:

[tinabohio]

I collected them last year for my cousin. He brought in HALF of what the whole school brought in! I kept looking for the bonus ones, like last month at my grocery store if you bought X boxtops products you got a catalina worth 70 boxtops! I got 3 of those. Last December there was a promotion for 100 boxtops at the grocery store. I got so many of those for my cousin and am hoping to get a ton for my daughters school this year!
At our school, it's a PTA member who coordinates the BTFE. The school is kindergartens only, next year she'll be in either the public school that is 1-5 grades or the Catholic school that is goes up to 8th grade. The Catholic school got way more than the public schools around here, but our Parish school is the largest in the diocese.
Either way I saw the schools goal where she is at for this year and am determined to get about half of it if we can! I already have about $50 worth cutout and bonus ones. I have TONS of BTFE products all over the house that I need to use so I can get them bagged too! They don't collect them yet though.
I already am working on cutting them off of products that I can, cereal boxes will be the next thing I work on cutting them off of.
Have fun with it!

[SaraO]

I'm a coordinator. It's easy. You just total up how many you get from the students and send them in. You can send in as often or little as you want. They pay the school twice a year. Submission deadlines are end of October and February, if I remember correctly. I bet the coordinator would love you to help!

[Queeney]

I know our school collects them but they have never sent a note home or anything about it. What website did you go to? I have been saving them but I just don't know much about them.