Bang! Did you hear that? We just started the year out with a bang! Just prior to the start of this school year the Made in the Shade Committee received some very exciting news. RL Stevenson Elementary is one of 37 schools nationwide to receive an $8000 grant through the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) through its 2010 Shade Structure Program.
During the last school year, local dermatologist Dr. Jeffrey Ashley agreed to sponsor our efforts and we applied for the grant, which required demonstrating an ongoing commitment to sun safety education, a need for playground shade and the funds and ability to complete the project. We were one of just 4 schools/organizations in California to earn the award.
In the coming months, we will work with Principal Ginnetti and Families For Stevenson to solidify building plans. We can’t wait to celebrate the realization of this goal that many have contributed to and worked toward. Special thanks to every parent, teacher, and extended family member who has done their part through signing up for escrip, purchasing gift cards and also – applying sunscreen liberally!
Also, each fall the escrip program requires that you ‘re-up’
your grocery cards into the program. So if you are registered already, please go to the website and with only about 2 clicks, you’ll be set for the year. You can also register your credit cards so that they earn contribution to our school. If you haven’t registered, there has never been a better time. Through Sept. 15, many items that you purchase at the store earn 10% back for Stevenson. For more information click here.
You may have noticed those spectacular new shade structures that adorn the kindergarten yard. The older canopies that shaded the tables where the kindergarten classes eat were on their last ‘sunny day’ and through the quick work and streamlined cooperation of Made In The Shade Sun Safety Committee, the Stevenson PTA and also Families For Stevenson they were replaced with these striking and durable shade canopies that were installed at the end of February.
The three organizations agreed that the need for shade was great and immediate and each organization contributed funds in equal amounts to allow for the purchase. Stevenson parent (and member of all 3 groups) Kari Conahan researched the options and then, with the approval of all, drove out to Riverside and brought back four E-Z UP® structures and UP they went!
In a classic case of great timing, Kari, with the help of Monika and Jeremy Gosch, was able to assemble the shade structures just before the final site review of Stevenson for the 2010 Distinguished School Award, not to mention just prior to the rising temperatures of spring and early summer here in the valley.
This great accomplishment reinforces the commitment to sun safety by the parents and booster organizations of Stevenson. As we work to raise the funds needed to install permanent shade structures on the playground, please continue to show your support by participating in eScrip and by purchasing cards from the gift card program. Revenue from those two programs is specifically earmarked for more shade in 2010!
eScrip Dining is offering $5,000.00 in cash prizes to winning groups: 2nd Place: $1,000.00 1st Place: $1,500.00 Grand Prize $2,500.00
Winning groups will be those with the highest percentage increase in qualified dines in February and March 2010as compared to December 2009 and January 2010.
Here’s how you can help:
1) Simply use your registered Credit or Debit cards to pay for your next dine at one of thousands of eScrip
Dining locations. Search for Restaurants. In fact, your group is already a winner with up to 5% contributions
on the entire bill (including tax and tip!)through the eScrip Dining program all year long!
3) Do you have an iPhone or BlackBerry? Download the eScrip Dining iPhone app or BlackBerry users can click here – a great way to find restaurants on the go!
4) Take that someone special out at a participating restaurant – you can search for restaurants at www.escrip.rewardsnetwork.com.
5) Use Facebook and Twitter to post the promotion and get the word out.
In just one month, I earned $10 toward Stevenson Elementary’s shade structure fund via the Escrip dining program. Wow! Just think about what would happen if a mere 100 families participated: $10 x 100 families x 9 school months = $9,000. And $9,000 goes a long way toward some nice, cool shade for our kids to enjoy.
Through Escrip’s dining program, local restaurants contribute a percentage of your food bill to the organization you support — which is, of course, Families For Stevenson!
Click Here to find out more about this great fundraiser.
Here’s the way it works. You register your credit and debit cards on Escrip and indicate up to three organizations you support. Since you’ve probably already registered your grocery cards, this last part is likely done. Then, magically, when you dine at a restaurant that participates in the program, 2.5% of the total bill (the total including your generous tip!) is put in Stevenson’s account. To get an additional 2.5% added to the fund, you answer a simple restaurant review that is emailed to you. The review is quite short and completely painless. So this unique program (again) costs you no extra money, and there are no coupons to clip or codes to memorize.
Everything good has an app these days, and this is no exception. You can download a free app from the iTunes site (search RN Dining) and find restaurants wherever you are that participate in the program.
Do you like sushi? Octopus Japanese Restaurant participates. Does your family prefer Chinese? China Inn Bistro contributes. Mexican? Tequilas is in. Just like restaurants that begin with the letter B — then there is Burbank Bar & Grille or Black Angus. My favorite restaurant, Monte Alban near my office, participates. Lucky Strike, Katsuya, Jillian’s, Tokyo Delve’s, Formosa Café . . . OH MY!
Click Here to find out more about this great fundraiser.
It’s the time of year for numbers. Good or bad, numbers ring as loudly as the bells of the season. How many days until Christmas break? How many hours does the turkey need to cook? How many houses does Santa Claus visit? OK, you get the idea. And speaking of numbers, this year gift cards are among the top-requested presents for the holidays. The National Retail Federation’s recent survey found that holiday shoppers plan to spend nearly $140.00 each on gift cards and that total spending on gift cards is expected to reach $23.63 billion.
Bringing that home, if every family at Stevenson Elementary chose just one $40 gift card from the Shop With Scrip program this holiday season, we would add $500 toward the fund to bring shade to the playground. And that would really help. We are one third of the way into the school year and almost one third of the way to funding the first shade structure. Now that is something we can celebrate.
Another cause for celebration – The Made In The Shade committee has secured a local dermatologist, Dr. Jeff Ashley, as a sponsor for our application to the American Academy of Dermatology’s Shade Structure Program. That’s also terrific news. But there are challenges ahead. The budget crunch has affected corporate funding and we have received a handful rejection letters on our grant proposals to date. We will continue to forge ahead with persistency, sending out more grant applications and identifying more opportunities to bring sun safety education to our families.
And we need more help. Only one in seven families at Stevenson Elementary participate in the Shop With Scrip gift card program. The escrip program, having been in place longer, boasts 56% of families participating, but there is room for improvement. Please help increase these numbers by visiting http://stevensonpirates.net/home/ffs/about-made-in-the-shade. Make sure your family is participating and offer your additional family members, in and out of town, the information they need to register their grocery and credit cards and purchase gift card in our program. It’ll go a long way toward reaching the winning number – 1 – as in the goal to construct our first shade structure in 2010.
Bang! Did you hear that? We just started the year out with a bang! Just prior to the start of this school year the Made in the Shade Committee received some very exciting news. RL Stevenson Elementary is one of 37 schools nationwide to receive an $8000 grant through the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) through its 2010 Shade Structure Program.
