WHAT IS SCRIP? SCRIP is a gift certificate or card, exactly like those issued by participating businesses, both local and national.  You just purchase the gift certificates from our school and use them instead of cash where you already shop or eat.  Our school is able to purchase these certificates at a discount, which is noted on the order form as Profit.  That profit provides another source of income for our school to help keep the cost of tuition and the parish subsidy from rising. 

WHO SHOULD PARTICIPATE? Everyone should participate to some extent.  We all buy groceries, gas and clothes.  Many eat out frequently.  Using SCRIP is just a matter of anticipating where you will spend money during the next week and then purchasing SCRIP in advance to use instead of cash.

WHAT DOES IT COST? IT COSTS YOU NOTHING EXTRA!  If you purchase $50.00 in SCRIP, for instance, you receive $50.00 in gift certificates at the businesses of your choice.  Every time you use SCRIP you are helping the school, because the school pays a discounted price. 

T.R.I.P. ACCOUNTS and THE CHURCH FUND:

• A TRIP account (Tuition Reduction Incentive Program) can be set up at any time.  A TRIP account is where 40% of the school’s profit on the certificates you buy is accumulated until June 30th and is then applied to your tuition at the beginning of the next school year at St. Joseph, Regis Middle School, Xavier High School or Religious Ed.  (If none of your children will be in one of these programs after June, you should switch to the new Church Fund, unless you want to specify another family’s TRIP account.)   Grandparents, other family members, friends and neighbors can all purchase SCRIP, and specify that it is for your TRIP account
• The Church Fund is new as of May 2007 as a “TRIP” account to benefit St. Joseph Parish  with your 40% profit when you do not have the need for a tuition credit.  Now we all have the ability to generate income for both the church and the school, without costing us anything extra!  Just check the “Church Fund” box on your SCRIP order form, or tell the SCRIP seller to specify the Church Fund on the log sheet.  You don’t need to sign up in advance to designate the Church Fund.
  

HOW DO I BUY SCRIP? SCRIP can be purchased with personal check or (exact amount) cash or can be ordered after every weekend Mass in the church hall.  We also sell on Thursday mornings from 8:00 to 8:45 in the school’s Before-and-After-School Care Room when school is in session or in the church hall during the summer.  Order forms are also available outside the school office and can be printed from St. Joseph School’s web-site at www.crareacatholic.com/stjoseph.  Complete the order form and submit it with your check, to the SCRIP sellers or at the school office.

We order local SCRIP on Monday, but national orders are done Sunday evening from Great Lakes Scrip Center.  You can see what’s available from them online at www.glscrip.com, click on RETAILERS.  If you need something from Great Lakes that we don’t show, just write it in on a blank line on the back of the order form.  We can order anything they carry.  Great Lakes orders usually arrive here on Wednesdays.

FULFILLMENT OF ORDERS: :  Orders are processed on Mondays and Thursdays. Your SCRIP is usually available for pick-up in the school office after Wednesday or from the weekend SCRIP sellers. It may be sent home with your child when your order is processed (but only if you have signed the current permission / waiver form to do this).  Your processed order will have a slip indicating SCRIP enclosed or on back-order.   Please retain this receipt for your records.

If you have any questions about SCRIP or would like to volunteer in some capacity, call Roger & Sharron Konzen at 373-0719 or Teresa Boston at 378-8035.