Supporting Your School May Be Easier Than You Think

Submitted by Justin Staley at Plank Road Publishing, Brookfield, Wisconsin

Idea posted June 7, 2005

 Many grocery stores have programs in place that allow customers to donate funds to their school of choice at checkout. Two such stores are Pick 'n Save and Jewel-Osco.

 The WE CARE program at participating Pick 'n Save stores, gives the specified school a percentage of that customer's total grocery bill for that visit when they use their Advantage® Saver's Card. Pick 'n Save then distributes the donations every three months. For this to work, however, the customer must specify the school's ID number with Pick 'n Save. Please note that it is possible to receive WE CARE donations for a specific program, such as the music program. All that is needed for this is a letter signed by the principal on school letterhead, stating that the school can have multiple accounts (this letter will be in lieu of the tax exempt document). Visit Pick 'n Save's web site for details, or call the WE CARE staff at 1-800-600-4983. There is no cost to customers for this program.

 Jewel-Osco has a similar plan called "Shop & Share." With this program, shoppers must shop during a three-day slot (Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday) specified for that school. At checkout, the customer presents a school identification slip to the cashier. Five weeks later, the school is given their donations. Just as above, this program can be used specifically for a school program, such as the music program. Simply use the school's name followed by a dash (-) and "Music Program" (or whatever's appropriate). Visit Jewel-Osco's web site for details, or call the "Shop & Share" Coordinator at 708-531-6464. There is no cost to customers for this program.

 To get the word out about their fund-raising efforts, teachers may want to create a flyer for parents and other teachers detailing the program, encouraging them to sign up. Chances are your local grocer is doing something similar to what Pick 'n Save and Jewel-Osco are doing. If you're unsure, ask. Who knows, you may be the first!