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Box Tops Bring in $300 Million for Schools
My kid isn’t even in “real” school yet, but I’ve spent the last few months pouring over the boxes in my pantry for “box tops.” Apparently, I’m not the only one.
A report just released on the Box Tops for Education program revealed carton-conscious families raked in $50.6 million for U.S. schools simply by clipping off the tops this school year. The earnings were up nineteen percent from last year, and they round out the program at $300 million since its inception in 1996.
For me, it started with a request from my young cousin. If her first grade class collected enough tops, they’d get a huge basket of playground equipment that their class – and only their class – could play with for the rest of the year. Second prize sounded even better to me – an ice cream party for the class.
But even after I got the call that her grade led the way – and won the playground equipment – I’ve found I can’t stop cutting. It’s like giving up free money.
It’s a brilliant marketing strategy on behalf of the companies that have bought into the program. Parents spy the tops, and they’re more willing to buy. I’m not going that far. I buy the brands I’d normally go for, and if the Box Tops are there, all the better. But even with a child who is still a full year away from attending public school, I feel guilty slipping the cartons into my recycling bin without taking the few seconds to snip off the top. I weigh it out – pay through my taxes for stuff for the local school or pay through my groceries. I’ll do both.
True, they top out at ten cents apiece, but ten cents is a tenth of a way to a dollar. And I was going to buy the box of cereal or six pack of yogurt drinks anyway. So while my husband rolls his eyes when he catches me pawing through the recycling bin to make sure he didn’t skip a clipping, I feel a little better knowing I saved money somewhere down the line.
Do you clip tops or do you throw ‘em out?
Image: Box Tops for Education
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3 Comments
carefree childhood commented on Jun 10 09 at 3:50 pmI clip but the big money is in registering with Box Tops to shop online. Unfortunately it ends up that the richer schools get more money, but then again it is free money, so I can’t complain.
Sarah Kane commented on Jun 21 09 at 10:08 pmcheck it out. pretty cute: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3QPVfKERCU
NY Phoenix commented on Aug 07 11 at 7:47 pmmy 11 year old clips them. You can also go to the boxtops website and register your store rewards card (also can be done on the campbell’s website) and every time you swipe your store rewards card and buy one of their products, the school you’ve designated gets the credit for it.
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