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Visit www.KidsFirstCouponBook.com or call 423- 498-7212 for more information.
It's Kids First Coupon Book time again.
Over the next two weeks, Hamilton County elementary school students will sell the $10 booklets, each packed with deals from 175 local businesses. The booklet, which weighs in at nearly 200 pages, offers savings for area stores, attractions, restaurants and service providers.
The 30-year program, an initiative launched by the nonprofit Hamilton County Schools Fund for Excellence, helps keep money in consumers' pockets, while putting money toward school needs.
"It's a win-win-win program because it saves consumers money, it brings customers to local businesses and helps the schools," Kris Humber, executive director for the organization, said of the coupon books. "You get your money back with one or two coupons."
The schools keep $7 for each coupon book sold, which pays for technology upgrades, instructional materials, art supplies, playground equipment, library books and educational field trips, Humber said. The money is allocated based on individual school needs.
The other $3 goes toward production costs and other projects to benefit schools, she said. Everything is managed in house by the Hamilton County Schools Fund for Excellence, so all the money stays in the county.
The program has raised more than $15 million for Hamilton County Schools in the last 29 years, Humber said.
Hamilton County Schools Superintendent Bryan Johnson praised the coupon book initiative in a statement.
"I am extremely grateful to Fund for Excellence for taking on this enormous task each and every year," Johnson said. "The funds our schools raise through the coupon books goes right back into the schools. What better way to urgently work towards becoming the fastest improving district in Tennessee?"
A pair of school principals offered their thoughts on the program in an Kids First Coupon Book announcement.
"One of the things I like most about the coupon book sale is that I can see the impact made, as the proceeds go directly into the classrooms from book sales," Barger Academy of Fine Arts principal Greg Bagby said.
At Hardy Elementary School, coupon book dollars have helped purchase technology and provide student incentives, principal Shannon Braziel said.
"All of the money we earn goes directly back to our students to celebrate their success and foster a positive school culture," Braziel said.
At the launch of last year's coupon book fundraiser, Red Bank Elementary School principal Haley Brown said the program allowed them to replace a worn out public address system.
Contact staff writer Paul Leach at 423-757-6481 or pleach@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @pleach_tfp.