Back to School with Bonus Box Tops

POSTED BY Nicole Brady on Friday, August 6, 2010 at 6:55 PM
TAGGED Children, Food, Giveaway, MyBlogSpark, Public Service/Charitable Cause

It's time for the kids to head back to school. As much as they love each other, they're ready to not be in the same house with each other 24x7. And as much as I love them, I'm ready to have a quiet house for at least a few hours a day.

In preparation for back to school, we're stocking up on all the things we need. School supplies, clothes, shoes, backpacks... all those essentials.

Then the other day, I received an email from the school. The lunch schedule for August.

As I surveyed the schedule, I remembered that my girls aren't fans of all the cafeteria food. Miss M takes a lunch about 1-2 times per week and Miss K about 3-4 times.

Then I realized that I hadn't given any thought to lunches. A trip to Sam's Club was in order.

Perfect timing, too, because MyBlogSpark had a back-to-school campaign for General Mills and Sam's Club. Heck, figured I would be there anyhow so I might as well participate in the campaign!

General Mills has provided bonus boxtops on participating General Mills products. 6 extra box tops on each. While this might not mean much to parents without kids in school, those of us who do have kids greatly value the Box Tops 4 Education program.

I had some of the information in hand from MyBlogSpark but wanted to confirm with my local club since I didn't recall seeing anything in the local paper. We headed to the Sam's Club in Davenport, Iowa and I spoke with Linda at the customer service desk. Despite being very busy, she didn't mind spending a few minutes answering my questions.

While the schedule will vary by club, our Sam's Club organized their event to coincide with Iowa's Tax-Free weekend. That's this weekend! For people who upgrade to or sign up for a Plus membership from August 6-13th, they'll receive an additional 150 bonus box tops. 150! That's the equivalent of 150 boxes of Hamburger Helper. As an added bonus, our Sam's Club will include a free pepperoni pizza or rotisserie chicken to introduce you to their "Fresh" departments.

So why a Plus membership instead of a regular? Well, for one, the hours. You are allowed into the store when regular members are not. As someone who has done this, I have to say it's the best way to shop... quiet... not crowded... and often free coffee at the front door. Check out the membership page, but among other things, you also can participate in their eValues program.

I put together a Whrrl story to show you how our trip went!

Not sure if Sam's Club is your thing? They're having a free open house this weekend (Aug 6-8) for you to test the waters! That means no membership required and no add-on fee.

In the meantime, here's a chance to win a $25 gift card to put toward your next purchase at Sam's Club. Keep reading for details!

The Prize: $25 Sam's Club gift card

Participants -

...must provide a US shipping address
...must provide an email in the first comment, email me directly with an email address or have email accessible from their profile.

Sometime on August 19, 2010, a winner will be chosen at random from all valid comments left. Winner has 72 hours from posting/notification to respond. If winner cannot be contacted, I will move on to the next random selection.

How to enter:

For the first entry (required) -

(1) Subscribe to the SAHM Reviews feed via RSS or email

(2) Leave a comment on this post at SahmReviews.com letting me know what item at Sam's Club is on your back-to-school list!

If you want to increase your chances of winning, here are some options to earn additional entries. Leave a comment for each additional entry -

-- Three Entries: If you have a blog or website, add my button to your page. (Here's the code:)

-- Three Entries: Publish a blog post regarding this contest and link back to it.

-- One Entry (Daily): Follow SahmReviews on Twitter and Tweet this contest by clicking here or copying the following text:

"Bonus boxtops on select General Mills pkgs @SamsClub. Trying to win a $25 gift card from @SahmReviews http://bit.ly/ao1GS7 #MyBlogSpark" Comment with a link to your tweet.

-- One Entry: "Like" SAHM Reviews on Facebook.

-- One Entry: Follow SAHM Reviews using Google's Friend Connect feature.

-- One Entry (Each): "Like" Sam's Club on Facebook or Follow Sam's Club on Twitter. All I ask is that you post a note for them saying that SahmReviews.com sent you.
-- One Entry (Each): Be the first to post about this giveaway on an active (current) giveaway link-up or carnival. Leave a link to where I can find it. Mr. Linky-style submissions should read "SAHM Reviews - $25 Sam's Club Gift Card (Ends 8/19)"

-- One Entry: Name the General Mills product that was available for sampling while during our visit. (Hint: It's in the Whrrl story.)

-- One Entry (Daily): Read any non-giveaway review here at SahmReviews.com and leave an appropriate comment on that post. Come back here and leave a comment stating which product/post you left a comment on.

Disclosure: As a thank you for participating in this campaign, I was given a $25 Sam's Club gift card by Sam's Club and General Mills through MyBlogSpark at no charge. In addition, they offered to upgrade my account to a Plus Membership to take advantage of the bonus boxtops but I declined since I already have a business membership. They will still provide the bonus boxtops. In addition, an additional $25 gift card was supplied for the giveaway. No additional compensation was received. I've been a long-time Sam's member so the statements, comments and photos provided here are my own and were not impacted by MyBlogSpark or General Mills. Sam's Club, however, can take credit for the great service and club that make me keep coming back!

156 comments

156 comments so far:

Mami2jcn August 6, 2010 at 6:52 PM , said...

I'm an email subscriber.

I'd like to stock up on fruit roll-ups.

mami2jcn at gmail dot com

Mami2jcn August 6, 2010 at 6:52 PM , said...

I follow your blog on GFC.

Mami2jcn August 6, 2010 at 6:55 PM , said...

Pillsbury Toaster Strudel was available for sampling during your visit.

Josh Healy August 6, 2010 at 9:20 PM , said...

Hi, hope it's OK to contact you here. We would love to include your blog on our giveaway search engine: Giveaway Scout (http://www.giveawayscout.com). Have a look and if interested, use our online form to add your blog (http://www.giveawayscout.com/addblog/ ). thanks, Josh

JC August 7, 2010 at 12:18 PM , said...

I'm a subscriber.

Cheerios is on my list.