The

scramble for fund-raising dollars through

door-to-door sales may become a thing of the

past, based on the success of several new

approaches at work in Fayette County's public and

private schools.

J.C.

Booth Middle School has just signed on with an

on-line shopping site appropriately called

shopforschool.com. Parents at Kedron Elementary

and St. Paul Lutheran School are using scrip to

buy everything from gasoline and groceries to

Victoria's Secret lingerie and home improvement

items.

According

to Booth's fund-raising chairman, Mary Kay Rudd,

the proceeds donated to the school from online

purchases of clothing, books, toys, office

supplies are earmarked for wiring the schools' 13

trailers for computer hookups. There is no

computer availability in the portable classrooms

at this time. "Teachers who use the trailers

are at a significant disadvantage," Rudd

said, noting that this is the school's number one

fund-raising priority.

Companies

such as Barnes and Noble, Land's End, REI and

Office Max are just a few of the recognized

retailers marketing on the school shop line. Rudd

pointed out that relatives in other states could

pitch in and help their grandchildren's or

godchildren's schools by simply typing in the

name of the school to benefit from the sale. Busy

parents tired of hustling gift wrap, candy and

fruit can make their contributions easily in the

comfort of their homes, Rudd added.

This

is Kedron's third year in the scrip program and

its coordinators, which include Debbie Dixon,

Brenda Vogler and Bonnie Hahn, have found that

persistence does pay off.

Their

receipts have grown steadily since the

fund-raiser's inception, and the mothers believe

their participation has helped them improve their

household budgets. Their motto is "Carry

scrip, not cash."

"The

first year, we raised $5,000 and the next year,

$11,000," reported Vogler. The school has

already raised in excess of $4,000 and Christmas

sales made with scrip will boost profits

significantly, the team predicted.

The

committee purchases scrip, which can be compared

to a gift certificate or travelers check, through

the National Scrip Center in California based on

the orders placed by parents at the beginning of

the month. Profits are based on a percentage

level offered by the company accepting scrip. The

profit margin can be as low as 4 percent or as

high as 20 percent.

"The

key is talking to everyone in the school,"

said Hahn.

Getting

in the habit of carrying scrip in place of cash

has caught on among Kedron parents. Some

loyalists only patronize businesses that honor

scrip.

Parents

can also designate how they want their percentage

of scrip profit directed, according to Hahn.

Initially,

placing the scrip orders and sorting out the

paper certificates was a time-consuming affair,

taking 18 to 20 hours. A computer program has

been designed to handle the hours and the

volunteers said they expected to streamline the

process to about three hours.

The

money raised from fund-raisers can be used for

big projects, such as providing computer

capabilities to Booth's trailers, or providing

additional books and software for schools' media

centers. With the failure of a referendum for a

one-cent special sales tax in September,

fund-raisers have become even more important.

Enrichment

materials, clinic supplies, fine arts programs

and a host of other items would be unavailable

without the money raised by PTOs through scrip,

online shopping and Market Day, food order

program, which is available in most elementary

schools in the county.

<!--

-----------