URGENT: General Fund Balances PAST DUE

Greetings, all.

I hate to sound alarmist about this, but I have a number of travelers (7, at last count) that still owe a balance toward the General Fund. As you recall, this is the amount per traveler that is needed to cover our shuttle/busing expenses to and from Minneapolis, as well as our obligatory tips to the tour director and guides.

I was expecting that travelers would make any final payments at our last meeting, but that did not completely happen.

If your balance sheet contained any amount in the middle column (General Fund Balance), please get a check to me in that amount, made out to Chi-Hi. I must be able to order the check (from our school account) next week for the amount we owe, and it takes a few days for this process to happen, because of the signatures involved. If I don't have those funds by next week Tuesday, I will be in serious danger of not being able to get the funds we need, as the school offices are not open/personnel are not always present once summer hours begin.

Culver's Night - May 10th

Our final "Culver's Night" fundraiser will take place Monday, May 10th!

Just like last time, students will be receiving "coupons" to hand out to anyone and everyone who might come to support us that evening. The Culver's restaurant in Lake Hallie (by Wal-Mart) is generously donating 10% of the sales receipts from those who present coupons anytime during that day. These proceeds will benefit our "general fund" for tips and busing.

Since our next Lunch & Learn Meeting is May 3rd, students can pick up their coupons at that time.

Oh, and don't forget, May 3rd is also the day that our Butter braids come in for pick up (after school).

Butter Braid Orders Due April 12

Our Butter Braid sale kicked off last week on March 29th, when forms were distributed at our Lunch meeting.

Be sure to gather orders from friends, family members, co-workers, neighbors, and anyone you can think of! This was a very good fundraiser for us last year, and I'm hoping for good results this time around as well, given that we may have some "repeat" customers.

Order forms and payments are due to Mrs. Welle by April 12th. Don't miss out on this last chance to raise money for your general fund (tips & busing) obligations!

Also, please note that you (or a representative) must be able to pick up any orders after school on May 3rd. They need to be delivered (or placed in a freezer) immediately, as they will arrive frozen).

Culver's Night: November 3rd!

The folks at Culver's are helping us out again! On Tuesday, November 3rd they are assisting us with a "Culver's Night". For the entire business day, Culver's will donate 10% of the total order cost of anyone PRESENTING THIS COUPON with their order.

This is a win-win for us and the restaurant: they get more business on a normally slow day, and we get money for our trip!

How do you participate? Hand out coupons to EVERYONE YOU KNOW and encourage them to eat at Culver's on November 3rd. Mr. Kinville and I will have mass-produced copies for anyone interested. Otherwise, you can feel free to print as many as you need from this website. The money we raise (since it is impossible to track back to individual contributions) will benefit our general fund (transportation and tips).

FYI: It is not advisable to simply stand outside the restaurant distributing coupons on that day. For one, you need to be in school, and for two, the point of this fundraiser is to help Culver's draw in extra business. If we only cater to their regular clientele, they will not see the need to help us in the future.

See you at Culver's on the 3rd!

Reminder: Final MANDATORY Meeting for D-Day Travelers

I hope everyone had a relaxing Memorial Day weekend. With only two weeks to go in the school year, things are wrapping up fast! Personally, I have more to accomplish than time to do it, so it's going to be a rough couple of weeks. Eeeek.

ONE of the things I am preparing for is our final pre-departure meeting for the D-Day travelers, which will be Sunday, May 31 at 6:00 PM in the Chi-Hi cafeteria. We have a lot of lose ends to tie up, including:

• Final departure information & itinerary
• Packing rules and tips
• Money/Currency
• Emergency contact protocol
• Collecting any remaining contributions to the general fund

This meeting is required for all travelers (and, if applicable, a parent), due to the importance of the information being shared.

Butter Braid Forms Due Monday

Don't forget! Butter Braid orders and money are due Monday, April 20th! This means you've got one remaining weekend to get last-minute sales. For D-Day travelers, this is your last opportunity to raise money to meet your General Fund obligation (or for your trip, if you've met your obligation already).

Please drop the forms off to me directly in Room 136 (D-Day Travelers can do this during our regular meeting at lunch), or place them in my mailbox in the main office. Good luck!

Culver's Night to Benefit D-Day Trip - April 7th

Once again, the nice folks at the Culver's in Lake Hallie have agreed to help us out with raising money for our D-day trip! A "Culver's Night" has been planned for April 7, 2009.

At our meeting on April 5, I'll distribute coupons to be used for the fundraiser. Travelers hand them out to friends, relatives, co-workers, etc. For anyone who presents a coupon when making a purchase on April 7, Culver's will donate 10% of their total sale to our group. What a deal!

We've done similar events in cooperation with Culver's in the past, and they've always been very nice to us. Let's do our best to honor their goodwill by generating record turnouts this time around! One rule to keep in mind: Culver's does not want us to just stand outside the restaurant handing out coupons to anyone who goes in. They are able to provide this service because they are relying us to bring in more customers than they would generally get on a slow weeknight. So, gather your friends and head to Culver's on Tuesday, April 7th!

Butter Braid Sale Kickoff Planned for March 23

Our next major fundraising initiative will launch next week Monday. During the lunch hour, Jim Knobloch of J & M Fundraising will meet with student travelers to present information about their featured product, the Butter Braid. He will also have free samples to eat, so you don't want to miss this one!

Students will be able to pick up order forms and promotional materials to share with potential customers. Students will have until April 20 to collect orders and payments. This allows studenst to gather orders over the Easter holiday. Products will be delivered May 1 at 3:40 PM. Since it is important that your orders remain frozen, you must be able to pick them up by 4:00 PM on May 1.

Both D-Day Trip and Italy travelers are eligible to participate in this fundraiser. For D-Day travelers, proceeds from this sale will benefit your contribution to the group's general fund (unless you have already met your obligation). If you are unsure how much you need to raise yet for the general fund, please see me for an updated balance. Proceeds raised by Italy travelers will benefit their individual trip accounts.

Note to D-Day Travelers: I hope to make this the LAST major fundraising effort for our general fund. Save for candy sales, this will be your last opportunity to meet your obligation to the general fund (which is approximately $67, but I'll have updated figures at our next meeting), so please plan accordingly.

Should Mrs. Welle Order More Candy Bars?

Well, even though I thought I had ordered plenty of candy to meet our needs through the end of the year, it turns out the boxes flew out of here in less than two weeks! Either you folks are excellent salesmen/women, or Chi-Hi is madly hypo-glycemic...

I need to know whether there are travelers (or their assistants) who would like to continue selling. It's especially important that I get an accurate count for this order because I don't want to be sitting here at the end of the year with candy yet to be sold. Particularly because I purchase the candy with money from the General Fund (which you then pay back when you pick up your boxes). The last thing that we want is to be in "debt" to the General Fund when the departure date for the D-Day Trip arrives!

Please respond to the poll question at right. I'd like to place the order no later than Monday, March 16.