Up until yesterday I did not know much about the Box Tops for Education Program offered by General Mills. I was diagnosed with celiac disease when my oldest son was only 1, then he was diagnosed with CD right after he turned 5… almost a year before entering kindergarten, so I never had the chance to get acquainted with the program, let alone participate by buying the products that support the Box Tops for Education Program.
Then came the big gluten-free “game changer,” when General Mills made the decision to reformulate some of their products to be gluten-free, like most Chex cereals (R.I.P. Strawberry Chex), as well as introducing the Betty Crocker line of Gluten Free Dessert Mixes. I had noticed the Box Tops for Education coupon on the gluten-free products I had begun to buy, but I had no idea what to do with them!
Then came along this giveaway, courtesy of General Mills through My Blog Spark; and after checking it out further, I now know how the program works and have been amazed by all the brands that participate!
It is actually a really cool program, click here to go to the Box Tops for Education FAQ page to learn the details. You basically clip the Box Tops For Education coupon off of eligible products and send them to your school’s Box Tops For Education Coordinator. Don’t have a school aged child? What about grandchildren, nieces, nephews, friends or even supporting a school in a low income area where you live? You can enlist friends and family members to sign up online to support your school. It doesn’t matter where they live, anyone can support any school that participates in the Box Tops program. If you are already buying some of these products anyway, why not put in a little added effort to help support eduction? 😉
There are also many non-food items that are in the Box Tops for Education program, like Kleenex, Ziploc storage bags and containers, Hefty waste bags and disposable tableware (like Zoo Pals!), and (this is what kills me, because I have been up to my ears in diapers for the past 6 years, and I just wish I had started saving a long time ago!!) Huggies line of diapers, wipes and Pull-Ups training pants! Click here for a complete list of eligible products.
Do you have a “Family Game Night” in your house? We do, and I just read that certain HASBRO games can earn Bonus Box Top points. I just bought Sam the Sorry Sliders game and it qualifies for “Bonus” points. Click here for a list of participating games.
You can also visit the Marketplace section of the Box Tops for Education website for special deals, discounts and current promotions to earn even more Box Top points!
Not all food items that are eligible for the program are gluten-free. You can visit LiveGlutenFreely.com to see all of the food products from General Mills that are gluten-free. By the way, General Mills has added more gluten-free products to their list and there are now over 250 of them!! 😀
It’s hard to believe that the simple act of clipping coupons has raised over $300 million for our kids’ schools. Now you can earn even more money for the school of your choice because from now through March 18th, the Kroger Family of Stores is giving you the chance to get even MORE Bonus Box Tops!
All you have to do is register at www.RewardYourSchool.com and select the personalized offers that you would like to receive. Once you register, you will automatically receive 5 Bonus Box Tops just for signing up! You will also receive custom offers for bonus box tops for purchasing participating General Mills Products. The offers you select will then load onto your Kroger Shopper Card to be redeemed once you purchase the items. The great part is there´s no clipping! The Bonus Box Tops will automatically go straight to your chosen school. Just remember to scan your card when purchasing the participating items.
Here are the details of the offer:
- Get 3, 4, or 5 Bonus Box Tops when you buy the corresponding amount of participating General Mills Cereals:
- Participating cereals include Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Lucky Charms, Cocoa Puffs, Cookie Crisp Sprinkles, Trix, Reese´s Puffs, Cookie Crisp, Golden Grahams, Kix, Fruity Cheerios, Dora the Explorer, Honey Kix, and all varieties of Cascadian Farm.
- Get 3, 4, or 5 Bonus Box Tops when you buy the corresponding amount of participating Yoplait Kid products:
- Participating products include Yoplait Kids Yogurt Drink, Yoplait Go-GURT, Yoplait Kids Lowfat Yogurt, and Yoplait Trix Lowfat Yogurt.
- Get 3, 4, or 5 Bonus Box Tops when you buy the corresponding amount of participating Pillsbury products:
- Participating products include 8 ct. packages of all varieties of Pillsbury Grands! Biscuits, Pillsbury Grands! Cinnamon Rolls, Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls, Pillsbury Flaky Twists, and Pillsbury Sweet Rolls.
JUST REMEMBER, if you are buying for someone on the gluten-free diet, be sure to check each product’s gluten-free status first! Just because I have posted this on my gluten-free blog, does not mean all of the products listed above are gluten-free!! And just in case you are wondering if Pillsbury has suddenly started making gluten-free “pastries in a can”… NO they have not! 😉
After March 18th the Bonus Box Tops program at the Kroger Family of Stores will expire, so act quickly to take advantage of this offer.
General Mills, through MyBlogSpark, has provided me with a $25 gift card for use at any of the Kroger Family of Stores (for my fellow Albuquerqueans: Smith’s is a Kroger store) to giveaway to one of my readers. What a great way to get a jump start on collecting bonus box tops!
To enter this giveaway for a $25 grocery gift card, just leave a reply to this post, answering one of the following questions:
Have you participated in the Box Tops for Education program for your child’s school? If so, how has your child’s school benefited from the program?
OR
If you are like me and were unaware of exactly how the program worked or didn’t know of all the different products/brands that participate in the program, is this something you could find yourself getting involved in (even if you do not have a school-aged child)?
I will pick the winner using a Random Number Generator on Friday, February, 19, 2010.
Good Luck! 🙂
And welcome to my blog!
Whether you're here looking for advice on how to go gluten free (with delicious kid-approved recipes of course!), or to read some of the latest medical research on celiac disease and non-celiac gluten sensitivity...or even to read about one woman's rise from the depths of gluten-free despair to a place of downright enthusiasm, it makes no matter. The point is, you are here now so let's have some fun!
We have been collecting box tops for years! 🙂 Jon used to win in his class for brining in the most all the time! Hannah is now working on that, too. They get an ice cream party when their class brings in the most! How cool is that?
That is cool! Sam's school was listed as participating in the program, but they had zero dollars earned. I think I will check into that and see if they need a coordinator…
I did not know how the program worked–thanks for explaining it!
My daughter will enter school this Fall, so this is the type of program that I will participate in, but was unaware of. Seems like a great way to earn money for the schools with such little effort on our parts.
I work in an elementary school grades preschool through fifth. Our grades have box top wars to see who can bring in the most. So far the second grade classes made over 600 dollars and the third made over 700 dollars. Its a great idea to help schools.
I've been collecting BTFE for my kids for years. With budget cut, BTFE helps them getting new equipment and books for the library.
Yes, I have and still do. She has benefited because the school gpt new sports equipment!
carla
cpullum(at)yahoo(dot)com
I used to work in schools (as a traveling music teacher), and yet somehow, I wasn't very aware of this program! I don't think any of the schools I worked at promoted this program, or if they did, word never got around to me! It's definitely something I'll consider – just have to pick a school to support!
Rebecca,
I hadn't heard about the program through Sam's school either, in fact when I looked his school up on the Box Top website, they had earned $0 year-to-date! It seems like a great way to inspire "community" among the students, teachers and parents; all working toward a common goal: to earn "free" computers, books, maybe even musical instuments, art and gym supplies that could possibly help keep some of these "dying" programs alive for our kids! You always hear about school budget cuts and how these very important "enrichment" classes seem to be the first to go. I wonder if earning "free" money would help offset those cuts?
I'm like you…I don't know too much about the program, but I'd definitely be up for doing anything that helped out my child's school.
I do support the box tops for education program! Not only does it help the school out by recieving new equipment, books, computers that are paid for by the amount of box tops collected, but the schools reward the classroom with the most box tops collected as well! My children actually cut box tops off of things that aren't even open in my house!! I think it is a great program to help schools out!
I would love to get involved but hardly anything I buy has box tops. I usually buy generic brands & I even looked in my cabinets and couldn't find a single box top. It's a wonderful idea, though! 🙂
Yes, we have used the Box Top program for many years…not sure when it started but my kids are all adults now! It is a great program
First time I put my email in wrong!
I'm pretty familiar with the Box Tops program and have been cutting every box top we come across for a least 3 years now.
I'm not too sure if my child has benefited from it?
I am so glad that I ran across your blog! Thank you for explaining the box tops so well! My sons school is really lacking funding and the box tops seem so easy! We need a coordinator that is more passionate about it than the current one:) Thanks again!