Fundraisers

Dance-A-Thon

The Eldersburg Elementary PTA is busy working on the PTA's only fundraiser, the Dance-a-thon. This year's event is scheduled for Friday, September 26th. We are asking students to collect monetary donations from family members, friends and neighbors, and in return students will dance their way through the decades while participating in new and old dances, and celebrating music from different cultures - all while learning a bit of history. All of these fun-filled activities will take place during their specials time.

Students will collect pledge donations in an envelope that will be provided by the PTA on September 8th. This pledge envelope will detail all the prizes and all the pertinent dates that pertain to this fund raiser. All students that turn in donations will be entered in a drawing to win a $25.00 gift certificate to Wal-Mart, Little Professor Bookstore, Game Stop or Kohl's. For the next prize category, each student that brings in $30.00 in donations will get a special EES Sports backpack, as well as being entered in the drawing to win a $50.00 gift certificate to Wal-Mart, Little Professor Bookstore, Game Stop or Kohl's. The two students who bring in the most donations will win a $50.00 gift card. The pledge money is due BEFORE the Dance-a-thon event on Friday, September 26th. This is clearly detailed on the pledge envelope that students will receive.

We need lots of volunteers on the day of the Dance-A-Thon. Please contact Lani Hrones at 410-795-1606 or via e-mail at hrones@verizon.net,and let her know when you will be there to help.

Innisbrook

Innisbrook, the #1 fundraising company in America is widely recognized as the manufacturer of premium gift wrap and accessories. Our school receives 50% profit from every order. For families that enjoy Innisbrook, the PTA is offering the opportunity to purchase these products directly. You can place your order online at www.innisbrook.com, pay by credit card and have your order shipped directly to your home. Remember to designate Eldersburg Elementary (school ID# 103501) to receive credit for your order. Simply visit www.innisbrook.com and click on STUDENT REGISTRATION. Registering eliminates errors and ensures that the school get credit for the orders made online.

Market Day

Since 2001, our school has participated in a fund-raising program called Market Day. Many different types of high-quality foods are available to purchase including: butcher shop meats, roasts/ribs, poultry, beverages, fish & seafood, appetizers, side dishes, family meals, lunch & snacks, desserts, and breakfast items.

Our goal this year is to earn $4,000.00 through Market Day. This will top our profit last year of $2,102.37. We can earn this money without our students going door-to-door, without purchasing products we wouldn't ordinarily purchase, and with the knowledge that all products are of exceptional quality and covered by a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee!

Order sheets will be sent home each month with your student.

Please take a few minutes to review it and place an order. We are confident that this fundraising program will not only benefit our school and the programs we support, but will also benefit you as the consumer.

Ordering is as easy as 1-2-3!!!

• Order online at www.marketday.com (Account #15262) or complete the order form and return to school.
• Pick-up your order at Eldersburg Elementary on the sale date. Orders will be filled and ready for pick-up.
• Pay at your sale with cash or personal check. If you order online you have the option to pre-pay by credit card.

Please give Market Day a try!  Visit www.marketday.com for more details! We look forward to seeing you each month at our Market Day sale!! If you have any questions, please call Cindy Tetzloff at 410-552-1620 or e-mail at cmaet@msn.com.

Campbell's Labels

Thanks to the participation of the parents and children in the Campbell's Labels for Education program last year, Eldersburg was able to bank 9,000 points. We hope to be able to acquire a CAMCORDER this year with your help. The Labels for Education program is a great way to get FREE merchandise for our school and it's even better this year. Campbell's has made it easier for Eldersburg Elementary School to reach our collection goals with over 150 products now worth 5 points and quarterly goals with free bonus points!!!

Please review the qualifying items below and begin collecting immediately. Depending on the product, you will collect either the UPC codes or the lids. We will collect UPCs and lids each month..

To meet our goals, we need to collect 11,000 points. With your help, the Eldersburg Elementary School can make this year the best ever with a camcorder for the school to use!

Participating in the program is easy -- simply save proofs of purchase from participating Campbell products and send them to our school. Some of the products eligible for redemption in the program include:

• Campbell's® soups
• Campbell's(TM) or Franco-American® SpaghettiOs® pasta
• Campbell's® beans, gravies, and canned pasta
• Prego® pasta sauces
• Swanson® broths and canned poultry
• Campbell's® tomato juice
• Pepperidge Farm® breads, cookies, crackers, and frozen products
• Campbell's® Foodservice products

The following products are now worth 5 points!

• 26 varieties of condensed soup in specially marked cans
• All Campbell's® Microwaveable Soups
• All Campbell's® Supper Bakes(R) Meal Kits
• Al V8 Splash® Beverages
• All Pepperidge Farm® Goldfish® crackers
  Visit labelsforeducation.com for a complete list of products and point values.

Help multiply our efforts by asking your friends and family to collect proofs of purchase on behalf of our school. Community members can pledge their support by making a Community Pledge at labelsforeducation.com. Simply invite friends and family to visit the website, and click into the "Community Pledge" link. Here they can make a voluntary pledge to help our school reach our collection goals.

If you have any questions, or would like to help with our Labels for Education collection drive, please contact our program coordinator, Cece Revay, at 410-552-0782. Don't forget to visit labelsforeducation.com for a complete list of participating products and more information about the program.

Collection Periods are October 1, 2008, January 30, 2009 and May 29, 2009.

Box Tops

Please continue to collect Box Tops and send them in with your child. This fund raiser has been a great success in past years. Last school year earned our school a total of $1,258.54. What an easy way to earn money to benefit our school and students. There are so many products with Box Tops that many of you are probably already purchasing them. Please check your boxes and packages and take a minute to cut out the Box Tops and send them in at any time. Collection containers are located in each suite. You can really make a difference! Listed below are some of the many participating products:

• Betty Crocker products
• Cascadian Farm products
• Cottonelle paper products
• General Mills Cereals and Cereal Bars
• Gold Medal flour
• Kleenex paper products
• Lloyd's barbeque meals
• Nature Valley granola bars, trail mix
• Old El Paso taco shells, salsa, etc
• Pillsbury biscuits, dough, cookies, pancakes, waffles, toaster strudel, etc.
• Pop-Secret popcorn
• Saran Wrap
• Scott paper products
• Totino's pizza rolls, sandwich rolls, etc.
• Yoplait yogurts
• Ziploc Bags
• Hefty Products
• Huggies diapers and wipes
• Kotex, Poise and Depends personal care products (new for 2008)
• Juicy Juice (new for 2008)

A full list of products is available online at http://www.boxtops4education.com/Downloads/Global/products.pdf. We would also like to get everyone to register in The Box Tops for Education Booster Club. There are many benefits of becoming a member for your family and our school. You can download and print money-saving coupons for Box Top brands each month. Our school can also earn up to an 8% donation from purchases you make at over 60 online stores, including Lands End, JCPenney, Oriental Trading, Wal-Mart, Target and Avon. The school also receives bonus points (which equal $) just through your family's participation in the program. Please sign up at www.boxtops4education.com and start earning these free rewards.

Collection Dates are October 1, 2008 and February 1, 2009.

Safeway

eScrip is a hassle-free way to raise funds for Eldersburg Elementary through everyday purchases at Safeway. During the prior school year, Eldersburg Elementary earned $1,484.00 simply by shopping at Safeway. eScrip and Safeway have created a system that rewards customer loyalty by contributing up to 3 percent of purchases at Safeway to Eldersburg Elementary (applies to purchases made from October through May). Parents, teachers, friends and families are encouraged to register their grocery club cards as supporters with the eScrip program. If you participated last year, don't forget to renew your commitment to the program by November 1st for uninterrupted contributions. If you do not renew, your contributions will stop. Upon receipt of registration, a percentage of all purchases made at Safeway will be given back to Eldersburg Elementary. There are two easy ways to register. Either log onto www.eScrip.com and go to sign up, or forward your information including your club card number to your Safeway coordinator, Amy Coleianne, through your child's teacher. There is a flyer you can complete with this information and forward to your child's teacher.

DATES TO REMEMBER: Applies to purchases October 1, 2008 and May 31, 2009.

Target

The TAKE CHARGE OF EDUCATION program through Target provides cash to schools. Whenever you use your Target VISA or Target Guest Card (credit card) at Target or Target.com, Target will donate 1% of the purchases to our school. When you use the Target card elsewhere, Target will donate 1/2% to our school.

Here's how it works:

1. Call 1-800-316-6142 or by visit www.target.com, and sign up for the school fundraising program.
   (Eldersburg Elementary School I.D. 57806)
2. Target will track purchases and distribute accumulated donations to our school in March and September. Naturally, privacy is assured.
3. Anybody can participate, so spread the word to friends and family that shop at Target stores.

If you have any questions or need additional information please contact Amy Coleianne via e-mail at colieoliefam@comcast.net.

Restaurant Nights

Domino's

Domino's night for EES will be the 3rd Wednesday of every month beginning with September 17th. Domino's has agreed to donate 15% of the total orders to our PTA. The flyers will be distributed to all students the Monday prior and reminder stickers will be given out on the actual fund raiser night. In order to get credit for the school, the coupon on the flyer must be filled out and given to the pizza delivery person. I will tally the total orders per class and will work with Domino's and the room mom for the winning class each month to arrange a pizza party.

Other area restaurants that participate in fundraising opportunities include McDonald's and Panera Bread. Look for more specific information coming soon in the EES newsletter. Please support these businesses and help us generate funds for the PTA! If you have any questions or suggestions regarding Restaurant Nights, feel free to contact Meghan Lyons at 410-552-3962 or mmlirishgirl@verizon.net.

UnitedScrip Gift Card Program

Buy All Your Gift Cards From Eldersburg Elementary PTA
- It Is An Easy Way to Support Our School Without Spending Any Extra Money!

Here's How It Works...

UnitedScrip purchases millions of dollars worth of gift cards yearly from national retailers. Our school purchases these same certificates from UnitedScrip at a discount. We in turn offer the gift cards to our parents at face value. You receive dollar for dollar the value of cash for these items. Example: A $25 Exxon gas card will purchase $25 worth of gas at any of its pumps nationwide.

Each retailer has pre-established with UnitedScrip what the discount percentage is (see order form for percentages). That discount is the money our school earns. Example: A parent orders $100 worth of Martin's gift cards for $100. The school then purchases the $100 worth of Martin's gift cards at a 4% discount for $96. The school receives a profit of $4. Just think how much our school would receive if parents ordered Martin's and/or Safeway gift cards weekly from our program. An average family ordering $300 weekly in Martin's and/or Safewary gift cards would earn $12 for our school weekly! Ten families ordering would be $120 weekly. Just think if we could get 100 - 200 families to do the same.

Purchase gift cards for birthdays, anniversaries or get an early start on Holiday gifts. Don't forget yourself and family too! Order gift certificates for your personal everyday spending. Plan your personal monthly expenses and purchase them ahead of time for trips to the grocery store, gas pumps, dinner/movie nights, clothing, etc..

Ordering Schedule

This year we will be ordering gift cards on a weekly basis. You will receive an eSchool email reminder every Monday. Then simply print the form from the PTA website and submit your order form along with a check to your child's teacher NO LATER than Wednesday morning. You will have your gift cards by Friday. Thus, order by Wednesday and receive your gift cards on Friday!

You may have your gift cards sent home with your child or you may pick them up in the school office at your convenience.

HOW TO FILL OUT THE ORDER FORM...

• Complete all personal information at the top of the order form.
• Indicate the quantity of gift certificates ordering and total amount for each store.
• Subtotal columns A and B
• Add subtotal A and B for Grand Total.
• Choose gift cards to be sent home with child or pick-up at school by signing your name in the appropriate box.
• Place completed order form and check (made out to Eldersburg Elementary School PTA) in a sealed envelope marked UNITEDSCRIP PROGRAM and return to your child's teacher no later than Wednesday morning.

UnitedScrip Order Form

ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE CALL JULIA PROKIC at 443-609-4210 or e-mail at julia@prokic.org

Martin's A+

Eldersburg Elementary has been offered an opportunity to participate in the MARTIN'S A+ School Rewards Program again this year. Every time you shop at Martin's using your BONUSCARD starting October 5th through March 14th, Martin's will donate 1% of the total BONUSCARD purchases to our school. During the prior school year we were able to earn $5,800.00.

Eldersburg Elementary will have the opportunity to earn CASH through this exciting program. All you have to do is register your BONUSCARD. You can register either by logging on to www.MartinsAplus.com or filling out a designation form and returning it to school to the attention of the Martin's A+ plus coordinator, Rebecca Goold.

Taking just a minute of your time to designate your card can make a huge difference to our school. Don't forget, even if you participated last year, you must re-register your card to continue to support this program. Please be sure to designate Eldersburg Elementary, using ID #00297 on the Designation Card. Also, don't forget to encourage your friends and relatives to do the same. It could mean the world to our children!

Good Search

What if Eldersburg Elementary earned a penny every time you searched the Internet? Well, now we can!

GoodSearch.com is a new search engine that donates half its revenue, about a penny per search, to the charities its users designate. You use it just as you would any search engine, and it's powered by Yahoo!, so you get great results. Just go to www.goodsearch.com and be sure to enter Eldersburg Elementary as the charity you want to support. Just 500 of us searching four times a day will raise about $7300 in a year without anyone spending a dime! And, be sure to spread the word!

Fall Fest

RAIN or SHINE! Join us for this fun social event on October 11, 2008 from 10AM - 2PM at Eldersburg Elementary school back parking lot (or inside if raining). This year our Fall Fest will be growing...new games to play, obstacle course, contests - prizes to win - such as extra PE time, scarecrows to make, entertainment to watch, food to eat and lots of fun to be had. You don't want to miss the famous CAKE WALK! There will also be a SILENT AUCTION with lots of cool baskets of goodies to bid on. Tickets are inexpensive and will be sold before and during the event. If you have ideas to improve this event, please call/contact Lorie St. Cyr. We will also be needing many volunteers - to run the events, bake cakes, work the concession, etc... Many adult and student volunteers are needed to make this event successful. Time requirement is 1-6 hours on the day of the event. Please call or e-mail Lorie St. Cyr for more details. (443-280-0990 or lorie_333@hotmail.com).

Silent Auction & Children's Raffle

In addition to the fun activities at Fall Fest, join us in the gym for the Silent Auction and Children's Raffle. This year the auction will include the class sponsored themed baskets, and additional items to fit everyone's budget. And for the second year in a row we will hold the Children's Raffle. Children will have the opportunity to place their purchased tickets in a bag specific to a raffle item donated by local businesses. Volunteers are needed to gather donations from local businesses, and collect, assemble and 'fluff' class sponsored baskets, prior to the day of the auction. On October 11, volunteers are needed to monitor the auction and raffle tables throughout the day. Time requirements would be 2 - 6 hours on the day of the event. Requirements prior to the event will vary. Please call Shawne Carver for more details. 410-549-3131; shawnecarver@hotmail.com

Basket Bingo

The Eldersburg Elementary Annual Basket Bingo will be held in late winter. If you have never been, it is a great night of family fun. There will be bingo games, raffles and door prizes. Watch your child's backpack for further information and ticket order forms. I will also be looking for helpers for that night so if you want to help doing something fun... keep basket bingo in mind. More to come...

Spirit Wear

Show your school spirit! Students are encouraged to show their school pride by wearing spirit wear or school colors (green & white) the first Friday of every month.

Spirit wear is sold at the following school/PTA functions.

• Back to School Night
• September PTA meeting/Volunteer Training
• Fall Fest
• Holiday Gift Shop
• Ice Cream Social
• Periodic flyers that are sent home with students

Spirit wear may also be purchased at any time during the school year by sending an order form and payment to school with your child, or by contacting Jeanine Norfolk at 410-552-0792 or fourfolks@comcast.net.