Eagle Eyes (Forest Hills Grid 18)

Back-to-school will soon be upon us.

A casual conversation among my colleagues detailed what we least like about school days; “packing lunches,” “supervising homework,” “yelling at kids to get out of bed” topped the list.

But one of my pet peeves is fundraising.

I don’t want to buy any overpriced gift wrap or chocolates, nor do I want my children to hassle our friends and neighbors to buy it. Occasionally the school picks something useful to sell, like pizza kits or magazine subscriptions, but even then you pay a premium.

I understand the need schools have to make these efforts, but that doesn’t make it any more pleasant.

That’s why I like the “Box Tops For Education” program.

You school can earn money from purchases you are already making. On useful items like cereal and sandwich bags. Your part comes in when you clip those little pink “box tops” off the packaging. Each one is good for 10 cents.

I save them up for several months and even get them from my mother who mails them to me when she sends a letter along. Then I submit them to my school’s coordinator for credit.

Since my kids now attend middle school, participation seems to be off. The same parents who were so gung-ho when the kids were in elementary seem to have stopped clipping. The same neighbors who used to raise nearly $2,000 a year for the kids are now only putting in the effort for about $500. That’s a shame.

Even if you don’t see yourself making the effort to clip, you can still help your school by subscribing online to the monthly newsletter. In it are tips for acquiring addtional box tops on products you already buy, contests for earning hundreds of dollars for your school and shopping links where your designated school benefits from a portion of the sales.