Coupon Book Information

The West View Band Program is participating in a number of fundraisers this year, beginning with the East Tennessee School Coupon Books fundraising campaign. This program has been a successful money raiser for the Middle School as well as the West High Band Program. Our goal this year is for band students to sell 10 coupon books. The sale will start Thursday, September 20th, 2007 and run through October 5th, 2007.

Why have a fundraiser for the band? Well, a band program requires certain things to function successfully, and almost all of those things cost money. And remember, the band program functions all year - not just "one season." Each year the money raised for the band program is spent in the following categories: New equipment, new music, maintenance/repair of existing equipment and travel expenses.

Some of the current instrument inventory has exceeded its life expectancy and frankly, is dying. It needs to be replaced. We also have to purchase some new equipment to accommodate a growing band program. The costs involved could be anywhere from music stands at $40 a piece to a new vibraphone which could be in excess of $3500.00. [Tubas are as much as $4500.00 or more to replace]

Each year the band performs several songs for the holiday and spring concerts, as well as pep band music for football games, arrangements for Jazz Band, small ensembles, etc. The cost of music is going up, just as everything is these days, and in order to have a quality music program, one must have a quality music library. For middle school music, individual arrangements range in price from $35.00 to as much as $100.00 per song. The band typically spends a couple of thousand dollars per year on new music.

When you put middle school students and expensive school-owned equipment together, even in the most careful of settings, you sometimes need to repair a few things. And that equipment I mentioned earlier that exceeded its life expectancy - well some of it is on life support. The band program also keeps some repair supplies on hand so quick repairs can be made so instruments do not have to be sent off to the "instrument hospital" for a week or more. Repair is a part of every school band budget, as is equipment maintenance. Some of our equipment requires regular maintenance so as to prolong its life with the band.

The band travels to and from the two middle schools by school bus for rehearsals and concerts throughout the year. The band spends several hundred dollars for this each year. [And that was before a gallon of gas was more than TWO dollars...Cha-ching, Cha -ching!]

Yes, an instrumental music program is an expensive program to maintain - but with rewards so great, I believe it is worth every penny. A lifelong appreciation and understanding of music is priceless. That is why we need your help supporting our band program in Morristown.

The East Tennessee Coupon Books are $10.00 each, and the band program gets 65% profit from the sales - $6.50 per book sold - a much higher percentage than most school fundraisers. And the beauty of this product is that someone can buy a book to support our band, and get ALL their money back by redeeming the coupons inside.There are over $6,000 worth of coupons included in this year's book. The Home Depot coupon is also honored by Lowe's. Save up to $30 at Home Depot or Lowes. Food City's coupon is good for $5 off of a $50 purchase. Just one free pizza from Domino's more than pays for the book itself! The list goes on and on.

Our goal is for every band student to sell 10 coupon books. [If you have more than one child in the middle school band program, the goal for you will be 10 books per family. This would generate approximately $6500 for the band. Obviously, the more we sell, the more we make. This money goes directly into the band account, not a "general fund."

I hope you can support our program this year and participate in the coupon book fundraiser. Please remember we do not have middle school concessions this year to fund our program - that usually generates $6000 for the band!

Students and Parents: Take orders from your family and friends by using the brochure and let potential customers look through a coupon book. Write the names of your customers on the order form. Return the order form to your teacher to get additional books. Deliver the books to your customers and bring your money back to school. [If you KNOW your family can sell more than 10 books, let me know as soon as possible so I can order more books!!!]

We can return unsold [unwrinkled, unfolded, clean] books, but there is a charge of 1.00 per book to do this - last year I had to return 150 books because students ordered extra books before they sold their original 5! First day to turn in $$$ is Monday, Sept. 24th!! All students who sell their first 5 books and turn in the money on Monday will receive an extra prize.

To help this sale go smoothly, please remember: Turn in payments for books sold on time and requests for more books as quickly as possible. This helps with our accounting system. Put the student's name and Mrs. Gorbski's name on all order requests.

Customers may pay with cash or check. Sorry, no credit or debit cards. Make checks out to WEST VIEW BAND, or LINCOLN MIDDLE BAND.