Trick or Treat So Kids Can Eat^SM
“Because hunger is a very scary thing.”

Complete listing of the 2009 TOTS-EAT award winners

2009 troupe and team totals

Go to TOTS-EAT forms page
List of suggested collection items

According to Feeding America, the largest domestic hunger-relief organization in the United States, at least ten percent of the children in each state, or twelve million children nationwide, suffer from hunger. Regardless of where you live, hunger affects you and your community: nearly twelve percent of rural households and nine percent of suburban families struggle with food insecurity. Your neighbors need your help. All you need to spare is a little time to help alleviate hunger in your own neighborhood by participating in the 2009 Trick or Treat so Kids Can Eat food drive.

TOTS-EAT is the International Thespian Society’s (ITS*) annual nationwide community service initiative to collect food for the hungry. This is the perfect project for students who want to help the less fortunate in your community. Everything you need to conduct a successful food drive can be found right here.

With the help of 300+ Thespian troupes, more than 308,000 pounds of food were collected during last year’s TOTS-EAT food drive. Imagine feeding every one of last year’s 2,500 International Thespian Festival participants breakfast, lunch, and dinner for nearly a month! Last year’s generous donations were delivered to local organizations, which distributed them to where they were needed the most. Thanks to the ITS, it truly is easy to have a big impact on hunger in your community with a little work. As a bonus, your Thespian troupe may earn some terrific publicity.

To find out how to get your Thespian troupe registered and how your school or ITS chapter may win an ITS community service award, just use the links below. You’ll find lots of collection ideas, forms, promotional materials, announcements, and much more. We’ve provided samples of just about everything you need to have a successful collection.

Our official TOTS-EAT T-shirts will help your community understand that you are part of a legitimate national charitable program. Wear these shirts the week before and the day of collection to draw attention to the food drive.

We challenge all Thespian troupes to help us reach the 2009 goal of 325,000 pounds. Will your troupe help? Please join us in giving back to the community, “because hunger is a very scary thing.” Pre-registration and award eligibility ends October 15.

TOTS-EAT logo
Download the TOTS-EAT buttons form; simply copy and cut out your own buttons.

TOTS-EAT how to
Registering your troupe or team
Finding an organization to accept your TOTS-EAT food collection
Creative promotion and collection activities
Dos and don’ts
Weighing or calculating your total donation
Post-collection celebration ideas
The TOTS-EAT logo

Finding an organization to accept your TOTS-EAT food collection
The International Thespian Society does not have any restrictions about where you deliver your donated food. The important thing is that you find a local organization that has a need and is able to accept your donation.

Most communities have many food banks and other charitable organizations. Some are affiliated with local churches or other places of worship; shelter houses for battered women or unwed mothers are another possibility. Your local welfare or family services office is also likely to be able to give you some direction.

Feeding America, the largest domestic hunger-relief organization in the United States, has locations all around the country. Their website, www.feedingamerica.org, has a search feature on their home page (under “Food Bank Locator”) for finding the location closest to your community.

Be sure to speak with a representative of the organization to arrange for delivery of your collected donations. Some organizations have one central location that accepts donations. We don’t want you to show up at a location that is not prepared to receive what you’ve collected.

Find out if the charity has the ability to weigh the donations for you. If not, you’ll need to make other arrangements before you deliver the food so that you can be credited for the proper total weight of your collection.

Creative promotion and collection activities
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1. Set a collection total goal for your troupe. People are more motivated when there is a “target.” A troupe of twenty students, for example, can collect 1,000 pounds of food with a little effort. Make sure the whole school, the press, and the community are all kept updated with your progress toward your goal.
2. Don’t collect food on only one night. Spread activities throughout October, since the items won’t spoil; this tactic can add that much more to your collection.
3. Put up posters around school, at grocery stores, convenience stores, beauty salons, places of worship, and in your car windows for at least a week before your official collection night.
4. Collect canned food at a school sporting event. Be sure to promote the collection in advance through newsletters, at stores, and anywhere you can think of.
5. Have the football team run through a giant “Trick or Treat so Kids Can Eat” banner as they take the field before a football game to promote your upcoming collection. Make sure to have the announcers inform the fans about the significance of the TOTS-EAT program and when you’ll be around to collect donations.
6. Challenge a rival school to collect as much food as your school. You could have everyone in the losing school’s troupe donate an extra can of food, or have the losing school’s troupe wear the winning school’s colors to the next rival football game. Be creative. It’s one more chance to beat your rival, and the benefits will help many people.
7. Collect canned goods at a dance or other school activity.
8. Put on an extra performance of a show and “charge” two canned goods as an entry fee.
9. Put on a talent show at school and “charge” two canned goods to participate (or attend).
10. Offer a discount for anyone turning in two canned goods when they purchase a show ticket.
11. Challenge classes to build a can sculpture or pyramid, with the largest or best one being named as the winner. All items go toward the school’s collections for the year.
12. Get the PTA or boosters involved in your food drive. Perhaps they’ll sponsor a post-collection party for the troupe. They can certainly help spread the word!
13. Promote the fact that your school is eligible for ITS community service awards to everyone in school, especially your principal. This may help get some of the support you need for your ideas. Remember that you must register your troupe and follow-up with a donation verification form to be eligible for awards.
14. Get a local store to donate bags to which you can attach your pre-collection announcement card. This way you can provide bags for donors and promote the company that donated them. This may also prompt people to donate more since one can in a bag looks pretty small by itself.
15. Convince a teacher to offer extra credit points to students who bring in two canned goods.
16. Have a sign company prepare a banner that you can put up in front of the school or at events to raise awareness of your troupe’s collection. Have the sign company contact Chris Hunt, EdTA director of marketing, at
    chunt edta.org to get the logo use approved and get an electronic copy of the TOTS-EAT logo.
17. Enter students who donate two cans into a raffle to get free admission to homecoming and the dance.
18. Make an announcement, and then collect goods at your school’s choir concert.
19. At a pep rally honoring all fall student-athletes, charge an admission of either one nonperishable food item or a $1 donation for the food bank.
20. Hand out fliers and collect food at home football games.
21. Go through the neighborhood on collection night with grocery carts or wagons to collect the donations.
22. Park a big truck in front of the school with a big “Trick or Treat so Kids Can Eat” sign on the side. Collect donations over time and try to fill the truck. Keep your school, local press, and community informed of your progress.
23. Reward donors with a half-price or two-for-one ticket to a show.
24. If your fall show is a musical, sing selections from the show periodically as you go through the neighborhood in costume while collecting the donations.
25. If your school administration will support it, have several “dress-down” Fridays at school. Every student who brings in four canned goods will get a dress-down pass for the next Friday. Each Monday the collection for the upcoming Friday starts afresh. Use the official licensed TOTS-EAT logo on the dress-down passes. Print the passes on a different color of paper each week. Students then wear the pass pinned to their shirts for the day.
26. For one week, collect donations at every homeroom period. On the first day the Thespians should make a short presentation about the TOTS-EAT collection, what the troupe’s goal is, and why TOTS-EAT is such a worthy cause. Ask a local pizza place to donate a pizza party for the winning homeroom.
27. Have collection containers placed in the study hall room. Offer a reward for the study hall period that donates the most food.
28. Use school announcements and/or television channel to announce and promote TOTS-EAT.
29. Have your troupe conduct a kick-off party after school. Invite everyone and explain the importance of TOTS-EAT and stress that all donations are distributed locally.
30. Talk to the local food bank before the collection night to see if they have any specific needs. Print these requirements on fliers and distribute them a couple of days before the actual collection night.
31. Get a local grocer to donate paper bags. Put a flier on each bag and pass these out to announce your upcoming collection night. Ask people to leave the bags by their front doors if they won’t be home on collection night.
32. Team up an all-girls school with an all-boys school for the collection and then have a dance or party after the donations are delivered to the food bank.
33. Partner with your local American Legion, place of worship, or some other organization that already collects and distributes “food baskets” locally. They can help promote your collection and distribute the food to needy families. Be sure to volunteer to help with the deliveries and meet some of the people you’ve helped out.
34. Buy Trick or Treat so Kids Can Eat T-shirts (only available through the official ITS licensed company Successful Products) and give them to all participants. Have your troupe wear them around to recruit volunteers from outside your troupe. (And let the students keep the shirts.)
35. Set up a pie toss or dunk tank at your school and have students and faculty volunteer to be the “target.” Charge two canned goods per throw. Be sure to alert your community press of this event; it’s a great public relations opportunity. If possible, try to get your city’s mayor or other local politician to volunteer too.
36. Build a pyramid of cans in a highly visible location at school throughout the month of October and continue adding to it during the campaign. Keep a count of the cans in the sculpture and provide weekly updates to your local media.
37. Borrow grocery carts from a local store and use them to collect the canned goods. Make large signs for the carts advertising TOTS-EAT to promote your efforts.
38. Arrange to perform a short Halloween Trick-or-Treat safety skit at the local middle or elementary school. Ask the school to assist you in your collection efforts by encouraging its students to bring a canned good for “admission” or holding its own food drive.
39. Contact a local pizza delivery service and ask to tape fliers that advertise your troupe’s collection date and time to their pizza boxes.
40. Divide your troupe into smaller groups of students. Give each group a theme and ask them to dress appropriately on collection night. The group with the highest donation total wins.
41. Visit Wal-Mart in September and give them a tax-deductible form. The form and the advanced notice will make it possible for them to give a larger donation.
42. Invite a staff member or volunteer from the food bank to your school to talk to students about local hunger issues.
43. Keep track of your donations by using a “food goal thermometer.” Color in donation amounts daily to motivate the students to reach their donation goal.
44. Ask other student organizations, such as Student Council, to help with a school-wide food drive to generate excitement and participation from a broader student base.
45. Collect canned goods at sporting events and give donors strands of beads in school colors to wear at the game.
46. Collect food for the entire month of October. Sponsor a different letter of the alphabet each day and encourage students to bring in food items that begin with that letter.

Dos and don’ts
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DO…

• Create and distribute a permission slip for all participating students if your school requires them for events such as this.
• Check and verify permission slips before collection day if your school requires them.
• Dress in your fall production costumes if possible and make sure every participant is wearing a TOTS-EAT badge or button so that your community understands you are part of a legitimate national charitable program.
• If you choose not to wear your show costumes, consider purchasing this year’s official TOTS-EAT T-shirts and wearing them on collection night so that your community understands you are part of a legitimate national charitable program.
• Meet before collecting and take attendance.
• Create a list of the neighborhoods your school is collecting in.
• Assign drivers and cars with specified passengers.
• Make sure someone in every car has a cell phone.
• Create a cell phone master list for every car.
• Be certain that at least one adult and one person in every vehicle has a cell phone and everyone has a cell phone list.
• Always stay with your assigned group and stick together.
• Remind everyone how important this event is, and that you are representing not only yourself but all Thespians and your school.
• Be polite no matter what.
• Act maturely and know what you’re talking about. Be sure you understand what TOTS-EAT is all about. Reading the website’s introduction, talking points, and FAQs will help.
• Remember which charity you are collecting for.
• Meet after collecting and take attendance to be certain everyone is accounted for.
• Keep car lights on at all times while out collecting, especially if you’re out at the same time as children in your area.

DON’T…

• Collect after your local “official” hours on “Beggars Night.”
• Be late getting back to your agreed-upon central location.
• Be immature or impolite.
• Separate from your group.
• Drive recklessly. Remember, there will be hundreds of small children running around.
• Go inside anyone’s house for any reason.
• Forget your mission: to collect as much food as you can, “because hunger is a very scary thing.”

DO…

• Make sure to have fun. Remember the greater purpose of helping others.

Weighing or calculating your total donation
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To build a successful program and get the greatest recognition and publicity for your hard work, it is important to measure your results.

1. Ask if the food bank or charity can weigh the amount of food that is donated. If they cannot, check with local feed stores, public scales, or weigh stations to arrange to have your collection weighed.
2. If you are weighing the food in a vehicle or in containers, you must weigh them when empty and later subtract that amount to get the net weight of the actual food collected.
3. Find out how the donation needs to be packaged for delivery to the charity. Paper bags may be acceptable, or they may prefer boxes. You’ll make the weighing and delivery process much smoother if you know the best way to pre-package your collection.
4. You can ask the math class at your school to calculate the total donation:
   • Bag the items in similar bags and quantities. Weigh one bag, and multiply this amount by the total number of bags to calculate the total weight. Or,
   • Sort items by size—8 oz, 16 oz, etc.—then count cans or boxes and multiply the item weight by the total number of each size of can or box to get the total weight for each container size. These totals can then be added together for one grand total.
   • When all else fails, count all the cans you have and figure them at one pound each, net weight. That’ll give you a reasonable average weight for your donation total. Boxed items may have to be grouped and then counted, and the total weight calculated by multiplying the number of boxes and the individual box weight.

Post-collection celebration ideas
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• Have one school be the host for a party after collections are completed.
• If schools get together, have each school bring some refreshments so the host school isn’t responsible for providing everything.
• Recognize teachers and students who helped with the food drive at an assembly.
• Give individual recognition to students who go above and beyond (for example, a certificate to the student who donates the most food, or spends the most time volunteering, etc.).
• Have schools meet with their donations at one location and take pictures of everyone standing with the results of your hard work. You’ll want photos to send to the press too!
• Have decorations, a fortune-teller, games, etc., at your party.
• Plan a caravan of delivery vehicles when you go to the food bank if you have collected that much food. Make sure local news stations know you’ll be doing this, in case they want to meet you at the food bank.
• Send post-collection press releases as quickly as possible after your collection night. After a week, your story will be “old news” and you’ll lose most of the publicity value. Be sure to include photos of your “haul.”
• Mail or fax your donation verification form to the EdTA home office right away so that you are eligible for ITS community service awards! Remember that the deadline is November 7.
• Be sure to report your donation total in school announcements, newsletters, etc.

Logo
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To help you promote your TOTS-EAT campaign, we encourage you to incorporate the official licensed logo for the TOTS-EAT program into as many things as you can. Below are a number of suggestions that may help you.

When you registered to participate in the program, you were sent a sheet of logos that you can photocopy as you see fit. Electronic copies of the logo, in black and white or color, are available on request. To receive these files, click on this link to send your request by e-mail; include your name, school name, school address, e-mail address, and a statement about how you intend to use the logos. Be sure to read the TOTS-EAT logos terms of use and print out a copy for your records. By submitting a TOTS-EAT logo request to EdTA, you agree to abide by the usage restrictions and terms of the TOTS-EAT logos terms of use. A set of compressed files will be e-mailed to you after your request has been processed.

TOTS-EAT logo terms of use

To unzip the compressed file, you must have the WinZip program installed on your computer. (You can get it here.) In Windows Explorer, go to the directory on your hard drive where the zipped file is located, and click on the file icon. The WinZip window will come up; click the I Agree button. A new window will open, showing the files within the zipped file that will need to be decompressed. Select the files you wish to unzip and click the Extract icon in the toolbar above the list.

TOTS-EAT logo ideas
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1. Posters
2. Fliers
3. Coupons
4. Literature
5. Program book/playbills
6. City, school, or drama club website
7. Newspaper
8. Grocery bags
9. Tickets
10. Banners
11. School bus windows
12. Newsletters to parents, alumni, and the community
13. Book covers
14. Bulletin boards
15. Subliminal messages with fall productions

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