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About 700 million — yes, million — box tops poured into a General Mills processing center this school year, marking record-high participation in Box Tops for Education, a school fundraiser that has exploded to become the biggest in the nation.
The program, launched in 1996, has paid out nearly half a billion dollars to more than 90,000 schools.
Cheerios box tops have been joined by 240 products, from Kleenex anti-viral tissues to gluten-free cake mixes. And parents can acquire virtual box tops by doing everything from watching an online Ford commercial to participating in a consumer survey.
While some critics charge that it’s one more example of corporate marketing seeping into the nation’s schools, volunteers who run the programs say cutting box tops for 10 cents a crack is a relatively simple way to raise money for cash-strapped classrooms.
“School budget cuts have made it even more important than when it started,” said Joan Fering, box tops coordinator at the Shakopee (Minn.) Area Catholic School, which raked in $10,835 this school year.
Said Fering: “This money goes for field trips, buses, teaching supplies, speakers for special programs.”
Most parents are familiar with the drill. A volunteer at their children’s school notifies parents that they should cut box tops off various products and send them to school with their kids. A collection box is set up at school or in classrooms. Parent volunteers sort and mail them out.
The fundraiser’s soaring popularity reflects the tough economic times facing schools, as well as new ways of courting parents.
Check out the Box Tops for Education website and find that visiting the grocery store is now optional. Parents can shop at the “Online Marketplace” and earn virtual box tops at about 175 stores, from Best Buy to Baby Gap. At the “Click and Earn” section, parents earn box tops by participating in such activities as watching a promotional video.
“We continue to evolve the program,” said Zack Ruderman, director of Box Tops for Education.
But the boom in popularity is not welcomed by all. Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington, D.C., has been trying to convince General Mills to offer more healthy options.
In 2007, the center evaluated the nutritional content listed on the box tops of products ranging from Cocoa Puffs to Bugles, she said. It found that 80 percent had “poor nutritional value.” That was five years ago, she said, so the data may have changed.
“It is not consistent with General Mills’ pledge to not market unhealthy food to children,” Wootan said.
No one denies that Box Tops for Education is an exceptional marketing strategy.
The $74 million sent to schools this year represents hundreds of millions of dollars in sales.
In the world of cause marketing, Box Tops for Education is the gold standard. The program stands out for its longevity, its transparency and its dollar volume of support to schools, said David Hessekiel, president of Cause Marketing Forum Inc.
“It’s extraordinary,” Hessekiel said. “Hundreds of millions of dollars raised 10 cents at a time.”
Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.
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