Dear Thompson Families,
The beginning of the school year is a busy fundraising time for the PTO, with our two largest fundraisers held in September and October. The Arlington Community Card (ACC), which is launched in September, and the October Direct Donation Drive contribute to the bulk of the PTO’s annual budget. This year, both drives broke previous records, bringing in more than $53,000! Thank you to everyone who supported these fundraisers and the many parent volunteers who strategized, organized, and implemented the two drives. A special shout-out to the leads, Juliet Moir and Yael Beals for organizing the Direct Donation Drive and Ashley Lorenz and Gaggi DeStefanis for spearheading the ACC.
With the major fundraisers behind us, for the rest of the year we will have smaller programs to continue to build the PTO budget. These include one-time events such as the recent Halloween candy buy-back program and the election day bake sale, and others such as the upcoming Otto Pizza fundraising night (Nov. 19). Additional easy ways to continue to support our school year-round include:
Amazon: If you shop on Amazon, please use the Amazon banner on the PTO website (www.thompsonschoolpto.org). Last year the PTO earned $2,400 through the Amazon Associates program. The PTO earns a percentage of sales at no cost to you. Check out the FAQ.
Stop & Shop A+ Rewards: Register your Stop & Shop card online and support the PTO with every purchase.
Box Tops: We collect Box Tops throughout the year, and each box top is worth 10 cents for Thompson. You can find a pink and yellow Box Tops container in the lobby below the mailboxes.
Besides financial donations, all PTO events are only made possible with many helping hands. Whether you have an hour or more, consider volunteering your time for an event. There is a fun PTO event most months, so keep an eye out in this space for volunteer announcements or reach out to our volunteer chair, Yael Beals (yael.beals@gmail.com), with questions.
Nandana Mewada & Christy Murphy-Macinta
(President & Vice President) |