Thanks to all of you we have officially dropped Campbells labels!! I'm so excited! Now more effort can go into Box tops(which we made just under $1000.00 this year)and for those of you that have Kemps brand milk at your grocery store, they are doing the same type of program as box tops except it's 5 cents per milk cap. Not sure how that is run yet but if anyone is interested they can email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and I will find out more info.
I agree with the everything you said. Sometimes I despise me to. I am going to start a new thread about working parents (near and dear to my heart) and I would like your take on it.
No, I hear ya on this and it's a response I've heard before. I guess i'd just hope that -- if we're searching for really simple busywork to make someone feel connected -- than there's got to be *something* better than this.
I like the goal, but BoxTops (for example) would be better -- at least 10 times better. Or creating bulletin board cut-outs. Or something.
It's not the end of the world, even if I make it seem so. Sounds like you guys are doing a good job.
After we decided to discontinue the Campbell's program, a couple of parent were disappointed because that was the way they were able to help the school. It is hard finding ways for parents who can't be at the school all the time to help. Sending labels home for parents to cut and tie at night lets them feel a part of the process. By all means if you don't have parents who want to do this, don't do the Campbell's labels. But it is hard to find jobs for working parents to help with that does not require them to be at school. This is one they can do.
Before I was involved in PTO (I know - hard to believe any of us had lives before PTO, right?) I thought Campbells was the greatest thing since sliced bread for all the good they do for the school kids. . . HA!!!!! After promoting for a while without the wisdom and insight found at this site, I came to my senses and saw the light. I DID the research and asked the questions, then I pulled the program, promoting instead that "other" one that gives us cold hard cash! Yes - labels continue to show up at the school - and when we have them accumulate we drop them in the box of some other unsuspecting soul who has yet to realize that for eating hundreds of cans of soup you can have a box of colored pencils. Oh yeah - in addition to eating the soup (or spaghettios or whatever else qualifies) you also get to cut them exactly right, string exactly the right amount together in the same exact way, package them correctly, apply postage and wait. Yes, Tim, my time and that of those who give of their time for the good of the kids is much more valuable than that box of colored pencils. We will continue to drop off labels to other places we are going anyway (Church, local parks department) and not throw them away, for that would be wasteful, but what is more wasteful is the time spent that could be spent reading to a classroom, cutting out things for a teacher, or answering the phones for an overworked school secretary.
It does sound like those sweepstakes may be worth entering. May i suggest you keep your LFE account active, enter the sweepstakes, pray you get lucky -- and STILL never send out another flyer about the labels program. It's an involvement killer.
Couple of things about the math in the above post:
1. The "retail value" thing confirms the penny-or-so-per-label math. A $10,000 scholarship plus 250,000 labels = about $12,800 in value, they say. Which means they value a label at about $0.0115. Double ugh.
2. I can't believe they even bother promoting that "specially marked cans will be worth 2 LFE points." Triple ugh -- they're doubling a penny!
There's a reason LFE uses points instead of cash. It's because too many folks never figure out that their volunteers and supporters are working hundreds of people-hours (and promoting the heck out of Campbell's) for a grand-total of about $40. Don't make the same mistake.
Your volunteer's time and your few chances to connect with your parents are too precious.
