Box Tops Moms: The Dream Team
08/01/2012
Two years ago Greenforest-McCalep Christian Academy Center PTO in Decatur, GA was earning less than $100 in Box Tops. Today, add a zero and multiply by three to get closer to the Box Tops sum the school will earn, coming in at over $3000! All this extra credit is made possible with Greenforest’s Box Tops Moms, a team of four fantastic ladies working hard for their school: Sherlonda Martin, Ursala Maddox, Rhonda Worthem and Mary Chatmon.
According to Sherlonda, the Box Tops Moms – who all work full time in addition to their Box Tops roles – are each responsible for a different section of the school. “Their commitment to this program really shines through,” said Sherlonda. “We meet at least once a month to strategize on what we want to do, what we want to accomplish, and how we’re going to make that work.” That said, they’ve created banners and bulletin boards; they plan and organize contests; they distribute, collect and tally BTFE clip sheets. In all, the team will do whatever it takes to engage with the kids, parents and teachers at various levels.
“It’s nice to work as a team,” explained Sherlonda. “When I took this on I realized the challenge was bigger than I could do on my own. You see the excitement build, you see other parents get excited; you see how it impacts the teachers and the school as a whole. The kids see us as the Box Tops Moms – they don’t know our names, but they know us for our work and what we do at the school. That is rewarding.”
The academy is a private school of 500 students, ages 6 weeks to 12th grade. Most recently, the school’s Early Learning Center celebrated receiving $1,000 in new toys, which were purchased with Box Tops earnings.
“We use different approaches to get each level of our school community excited,” Sherlonda explained. “Each level of students and families are motivated differently, so we customize our efforts.”
Ursala oversees the Early Learning Center’s Box Tops earnings. She created bright bulletin boards to track the ELC’s success and showcases the kids’ photographs on a Wall of Fame. She also displays their pictures in groups to highlight their contribution – e.g. The Itsy Bitsy Spider Club consists of the kids who bring in up to 15 BT; the Bubbling Over club includes those kids who bring in 100+ BT.
Rhonda oversees the Lower School, grades K-4. Here, contests work really well – pizza and ice cream parties have been a big hit. In fact, Rhonda had 150 students qualify for a chance to win a Valentine’s Day pizza party. The PTA is allocating more funds for contest prizes, Sherlonda explained, as they see the benefit of hosting contests to generate more Box Tops clippings.
Sherlonda oversees the Middle School, grades 5-8. She features students who contribute to Box Tops clippings by writing their names on a Box Tops-themed star and posting it in a main area of the school. Children also can win classroom pizza and ice cream parties.
Mary oversees collecting from families of students in grades 9-12. Noting that parents with teens tend to visit the school building less frequently, the Box Tops Moms created a flier and handed it out to parents (in their cars) after they dropped off their high-schoolers. And, they award extra credit to the students that bring in Box Tops.
“In my line of work, marketing and sales, I’m always motivating people to get more done with what we have,” explained Sherlonda. “What’s worked well is we have a team of people who are all excited, have so many ideas and want to see our kids be successful.”
Sherlonda admits she’s very passionate about her Box Tops, and her friends and family know – and love- that about her. “My daughter collects; my neighbors do too, even my best friend in Washington, D.C. clips for me. It was funny this year, for my 44th birthday, she sent me a card with 44 Box Tops – she said…’There’s nothing I could have gotten you, Sherlonda, that would have made you happier than these Box Tops.’ She is right! I was so excited!”
Box Tops Moms from left to right:
Mary Chatmon, Rhonda Worthem, Ursala Maddox, Sherlonda Martin
