Fundraising with Coca Cola Products & My Coke Rewards

I love love love to volunteer at school with our kids.

I've been lucky enough to go out on a few field trips this year, and it's so fun to get to spend time with the kids and their classmates!

I wish I could do more, but life gets in the way of that....

One thing that we are able to do, however, to give back to our school, is the MyCokeRewards for schools program!

We don't drink a lot of pop at home (anymore) but we know a lot of folks who do, and we do buy cases of water, and some cases (Dasani) have codes on the bottom of their plastic packages!

Each Coca Cola rewards code varies in points from 3 points for the codes in the caps, to 10-25, depending on if you get the code from a 12 pack, a case, or one of those shrink wrapped packages of bottles from your local big big box store.

Every 3 points is the equivalent to a nickel!

Doesn't take long for all those codes to add up, and after entering those codes, you can go under 'CAUSES' in your MyCokeRewards account, find your cause, and viola!

DONATE!

1000 points is a quick $15.00 for your cause!

(Ours being our kiddos elementary school!)

Doesn't get much easier than that, does it? Well, I guess it can...

If you don't save your Coke Rewards codes, or don't want to enter them yourself, we'd love to add them to our collection along with our Box Tops for Education! 

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Pumpin It Up!

One of our favorite Elementary School Aged Kiddos Fundraisers is at our local

Pump It Up!

It was a smashing success when we went last spring ~

So we were so excited to give it a shot again this fall...

Who doesn't love a great game of air hockey?

                                         Especially when it's boyS vs. girl - GO HAILEY GO!

Would you believe these 2 are only ONE YEAR apart in age? Both VERY tall for their age groups!

First grade buddies!

Lifelong friends in the making...Big sister hanging out with the younger kids - they so look up to her!

                                    Pump it up got crazy with their Jump N Glow action...

And the awesome employees took it one step further...

using a marker to write the kiddos names and draw a few pictures...

These are the kind of FUNdraisers I don't mind doing again and again and again...

Everyone wins!

What is your favorite type of fundraiser to participate in?

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Project Playground - Feeling Famous!

Two weeks ago, the kids had the opportunity to particiate in a Fun Run Fundraiser at their school, raising funds for Project Playground ~ Project Playground is the Fundraising initiative trying to raise the 80,000 needed to build a new playground at our school. (YIKES!)

The fun run came up pretty quickly and we had just one day to solicit pledges, which was frustrating - but hey, you do what you can with what you have to work with right?
A HUGE thank you to those who did offer pledges to our girl ~ She ended up being a top fundraiser in her class, earning her a gift card to a local sporting goods store! Imagine what we could have done if we'd of had this form in hand for a couple of weeks?

The Savage Pacer (see page A14) ran a little story on the Project Playground Fun Run -
(Click the images to enlarge them enough to read)

Is there anything cooler than seeing your picture in a newspaper when you are a kid?

 We don't get the Savage paper, but our daycare provider was kind enough to cut it out for us, and she even had Derek autograph the picture! Oh my HEART!

                          Autographed his first, middle and last name, in pencil at the bottom of the pic! #love

I'm not exactly sure why I didn't bring my 'real camera' to the Fun Run - and for some other unknown reason, I didn't even bring my point and shoot - all I had was my crusty old Droid - which takes really terrible photos...
I got lucky on this day though - and I managed to get a few shots to commemorate the event!

 These two are becoming fast friends - Not only is the handsome fella in red in H's class, he's also one of her boyfriends...(so that's pretty fitting that her brother is buddies with him right? We're only starting this, oh, 20 years earlier than I'm ready for! ACK!) &...
We've learned that his family also lives within walking distance of our own home! YAY!

 

Kindergarten Classmates & Running Buddies!

The kids had a great time at the first Fun Run and surely there will be another one in the future as the kids work to raise the funds for Project Playground - I just love seeing the friendships they are forming ~ and pray that it will be like this for them for years and years to come.


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Box Tops for Education - You CAN make a difference!

If you know me, (and really, let's be honest here, most everyone who comes here does know me, I don't get a lot of random blog traffic ~)

Anyhoo - If you know me, you know I'm passionate I love finding ways to really make a difference -

Be it this, that, or the other thing, I'm constantly looking for little ways that I can make a difference, without it making a huge difference in my schedule, or more importantly, my checkbook.

Remember last fall when I told you guys about Box Tops for Education?

Well, now that I've got a kid in kindy and another one headed there in a few months (WHAT!?! I KNOW! oh, I KNOW!)

I'm even more on the look out for ways to give back, ways to make a difference. Especially in light of all the the headline making budget talks going on.

I had high hopes of attending a PTO meeting way back last fall. September came and went. I didn't make the meeting. October came and went. Nope, didn't fit it in. November. December. January.  Nothing. 

Finally, in February, I made it to a meeting. I was intimidated by this group that had been meeting for months (years even!) but, I went home with ideas swirling around in my head. I returned the following month, proposed an idea and 2 weeks later, we had successfully raised $402 for our school.

The next meeting, I found myself nominated for and accepting the Co-President of the PTO position for the upcoming school year!

WHAT?

I KNOW!

I'm not sure what I have gotten myself into - but, here's to jumping in head first and really making a difference!

So, now...get to the point right?

For years, long before we had kiddos we've been saving Box Tops for Education. I would simply give them to friends who did have kids in the school system.  Now that we are here ourselves - I'm seeing JUST how VERY VERY much these things add up!

Our school has been earning, on average, approximately $2000 each year, give or take.  Not too shabby right?

Well, it's certainly not pocket change.  All of those little .10 cent box tops for education really DO add up!

But, look closer at the diagram below...I entered in a couple of other schools in our hood -

Looks like we've got some work to do folks!

Our numbers look great - but, look how awesome the OTHER schools are doing?!?

Curious, I dug a little deeper -

You guys!! you GUYS!

One area school has raised almost ELEVEN. THOUSAND. DOLLARS. in one year!

$10, 836. in one year's time!

For clipping box tops and dropping them off at school!

Amazing, I tell you.

Simply. Amazing.

And now, it looks like we've got some work to do!

So, what do you say? Will you all save your box tops?

You can find them on everything from cereal to granola bars to cake mixes to ziploc baggies to yogurt!

I'd love to take your box tops for our school - but, if you don't want to share them with us, that's totally fine too!

But PLEASE, please drop them off or mail them in to your neighborhood elementary school.

Chances are they not only take them, but rely on that money as well!

Your 10 box tops added to her 10 box tops added to his 10 box tops = SUCCESS!

This is one teensy tiny way you can make a difference in the lives of many, many children with minimal commitment! And together, we really CAN make a difference!

If you sign up HERE you can select any school you want and earn FIVE BONUS BOX TOPS automatically credited to your school! (That's .50 gang! That adds up pretty fast!)

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Let them be Little...Her first dance...

Last fall there was a school dance that I didn't make it a priority to attend...We weren't told about it with too much notice (I don't know about you but I need a couple/few weeks of notice for most everything around here...we are always penciling things in on our calendars and the sooner, the better if we have any hope of attending!)

Anyhoo -
Our kindergartender was pretty disappointed we didn't make the fall dance, so I hunted up the dates for the 'winter dance' and put it on the calendar...
Not only was it something she really wanted to do, it's also a major fundraiser for our school's PTO - Anything for a good cause right?

So...
I played a little new age telephone, wrote a note on paper and gave it to my 6 year old, to give to her new 6 year old BFF from school, to give to her mom...offering to pick up said friend and bring her to the dance with us.
To our delight - she responded via email and it wasn't long before me, my kindergartener and her BFF and the soon to be kindergartener little brother were off to the school dance.
What could a school dance for kindergarten kids possibly be like I wondered....boys on one side, girls on the other?
We certainly didn't have dances when we were SIX!
Well, this school dance was for the whole school - grades K-6...
Even more awkward?

No. Not-so-much.

I cannot get over how much FUN this Friday night was!

We arrived at the school about 15 minutes after the 2 hour dance started...
It was already rocking...
The gym was a hopping, lights were turned down, disco ball on, DJ spinning tunes like Tik Tok by Ke$ha, Firework by Katy Perry and Gaga's PokerFace...(None of this my kind of music - but me oh my did the kids have a BLAST!)
They also played We're not going to take it - Twisted Sister!
WHAT?

The whole night was so much fun...Maybe it was seeing my kids enter 'the next stage' in their lives...the chapter that involves hanging out with friends while Mom hangs back...The part where for two hours, they don't need me, except for to check in with me from time to time.

I sat alone, hanging out on the sidelines, handing out money for Crazy Hair Paint ($2.00), bottled water (.50), glow in the dark items ($2.00-$3.00) and popcorn, candy and chip treats (.50)...
(Admission was $5.00 per family)
(Note to self, go early, get a table or a seat and bring along a kindle or an ipad like dozens of other parents did...another note to self: get a kindle or an ipad like other parents did!)

I wandered around, making sure the kids were doing ok, were having fun, and were being good...

I snapped some pictures and some videos - at the request of the kids...
And now, excuse me while I wipe away some tears...
The 6 year old has requested that I don't share them all with you here in my blog land.
WHAT?
I KNOW!

She's having some self esteem issues...
She isn't a big fan of compliments at all, and for that reason, chooses play clothes most days over her adorable jeans and sweaters...over her cowboy boots and hats that she previously adored. BOO!

So, I present you...
The night in pictures...but only the pictures allowed by the 6 year old residing in this house.
I guess this marks the day where I now take the kids' privacy into account before blogging...and that's ok with me. And it's not like I never have...but now comes the time when I actually ask them before using my own judgement...

We have the pictures and videos saved at home and the kids enjoy seeing them over and over - they just aren't ready to share them all just yet!
Which is too bad...cuz 6 year old jamming out to some of today's hottest hits?
Does life get any better than this?

Also, no, it wasn't snowing in the gym - please ignore the dirty filthy lens on my point and shoot -
There was too much action and it was too dark for my cell phone to take any pictures...so I had to use the crusty old point and shoot...it's better than nothing...

D and H's best boyfriend from school jammin' -

Break Dancing!

The Class of 2024 having fun on a Friday night!

The older kids (probably 3-6 grade or so, hung out at the front of the gym, near the DJ and danced and sang, the younger kids did just fine on their own with the wide open spaces that the back of the gym allowed them.

Crazy Hair Paint - $2.00

H and her BFF~ M~ in her kindy class - born just 1 day apart ~ 

For the days leading up to the dance, she walked around the house singing about this boy...
H and M, sitting in a tree, K.I.S.S.I.N.G

WHAT? I KNOW? Oh my heart...
She just loves him and he's the sweetest little thing...

 At first, D wasn't so sure he wanted to go to a crummy old school dance.  What he forgets is, he has just as many friends at school as she does - including a good buddy from daycare who is in kindy this year...

They showed off their breakdancing skills all night long!

Ah yes...I am in no hurry to have them grow up...

Let them be little I say...

But I sure am enjoying the new experiences that life is bringing their way...and seeing life through their eyes.

And helping the school to raise a few funds for the PTO? 

Everyone wins...