• by Danielle Oster , July 16, 2024

Box Tops For Education, the K-8 school fundraising program sponsored by General Mills, teamed up with EGOT-winning entertainer John Legend for its “Champion Legendary Teachers” campaign driving awareness of its educational funding program.

Box Tops got its name from its longstanding process of allowing families to send in labels from participating product lines in exchange for financial contributions to K-8 schools. The program -- first launched in 1996 -- made the switch to a digital app in 2019 and, according to a 2021 article in The Atlantic, redemption rates fell as a result.

“Champion Legendary Teachers” coincides with an additional app feature Box Tops claims will make it easier to contribute by allowing users to automatically earn donations by buying qualifying products, rather than scanning receipts.

The campaign features Legend in  a series of short videos, playing on the difficulties of being a busy dad, and sympathizing with the plight of overstressed school teachers. In the ads, Legend outlines the easier redemption process of downloading the Box Tops app.

“Box Tops for Education understands how valuable community support is for teachers and administrators who are making a positive impact on their students,” Lilly Moeding, Box Tops for Education brand experience manager, said in a statement.

According to Box Tops, the new app feature has already led to higher redemption rates, claiming “shoppers with connected accounts have earned 48% more cash for their schools..”

“I recently had the heartwarming opportunity to meet inspiring educators from Westport Heights Elementary School, right in my backyard of Los Angeles,” Legend said in a statement, noting that the Box Tops program awarded $30,000 to the school to support the development of a new outdoor space for environmental science.

In addition to Westport Heights Elementary School, the program is making nine donations of $30,000 to schools in need across the country.