Every day choices where and how you shop can make a huge difference in your child’s education

June 4, 2010 - PRLog -- With just a few conscious choices, these families earn significant funds for important Miramonte programs like:
•   academic field trips
•   drug and alcohol education
•   science program support and
•   teacher collaboration

When you shop each day, whether at the grocery store, eating out, or buying your tires, you can earn money that comes back to your school.  eScrip is a FREE fundraising program that signs up merchants both in your area and online to donate some of the money you would normally spend, back to groups you choose in your community.

Orinda mom Josie Kelley signed up for eScrip 11 years ago when the business was run off of physical paper coupons. “Back then, you purchased a coupon, or scrip, and then submitted to Safeway,” said Kelley.  But now, the program is all run online with secured servers and top of the line privacy software.

Kelley signed up all of her immediate family about five years ago and has contributed $60.87 for January through March of this year. While sixty dollars doesn’t seem like a lot, when you include the rest of the school year and multiple that by over a 1,000 individuals and their immediate families, it now is resulting in $65- $70k a year.

Most recently, Kelley went to Big O’ Tires and had her car serviced. By remembering to use her Debit card registered with eScrip, and shopping in the eScrip Online Mall during the holidays, she and her family are taking advantage of what they would normally spend to earn a significant amount for Miramonte’s programs.

“I’ve never had any issues with my cards and I feel very comfortable with how the program protects my privacy and the security of the information I register online,” said Kelley.
Other registrants that have really excelled in taking the time to shop where eScrip participates include:

•   Cynthia Barber
•   Valentine Free
•   Hera Blazer
•   Glen Petersen
•   Mary VanHorn
•   Kathy Friel

Cynthia Barber recently won an Apple iPod Touch for her diligence in shopping with those merchants registered with eScrip from November through January.  Barber raises money by selecting Miramonte as a group and shopping in the eScrip Online Mall as the percentages donated back are significantly higher than the grocery Rewards Card donations.

“We value education so much. We also made sure we linked our Safeway Club Card and our Debit card so that it tracks when we shop at Diablo Foods,” she said.
“This is one of the easiest says to help a program that means something to you,” she continued.

“Unfortunately, about 40 percent of the Miramonte families still aren’t signed up, and of the hundreds of families not signed up, only twelve families have signed up in 2010,” said VP of Fundraising at Miramonte Jackie Moreau.

For the eScrip committee at Miramonte High School, this is a frustrating phenomenon.  
“Despite the weekly emails, presence at sporting events, targeted emails, contests, banners, and building out the eScrip section of the Parents’ Club website, our plea goes unheard,” said volunteer Marketing Strategist Christine Temple-Wolfe. The program cost families nothing to participate in and the monies that are raised are critical to the Parents’ Club educational budget.

“Bottom line, we are leaving anywhere from $30-$100,000 on the table that our school could be using to supplement budget cuts,” said Temple-Wolfe.

So why aren’t families signing up? Based on a recent survey, Moms are telling us that they have concerns from potential identity theft, the complications of picking three groups to give to, and that their busy lifestyles have prevented them from taking the time to sign up.

Families can sign-up online at www.escrip.com under the “Make a difference in four easy steps” section and register either their Safeway Club Card, and/or their Debit/Credit cards in a secured system. They can also sign up during Miramonte registration in August. Community members interested in learning more can visit the Miramonte Parents’ Club website under Support MHS tab; then, click on eScrip.

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Excel in Marketing is a San Francisco marketing agency made up of skilled marketing professionals who serve companies large and small in the Bay Area. Started by Christine Temple-Wolfe in 2002, this Bay Area marketing expert and her team of strategists, writers, project managers, web developers and public relations experts help brand and differentiate their clients for strong competitive positioning