TOTS-EAT Register

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Timeline/planning

Registration forms will be available September 1.

 

Registering your troupe or team

Your troupe can register either individually or as part of a team.  A troupe team is defined as two or more troupes that combine their collections into a single donation to a single location. 

Print either the troupe registration or team registration form, fill it out, and fax or mail it to the home office. Your registration form must be received by October 15th. Pre-registration is required for troupes to be eligible for ITS community service awards.

After you have completed your collection, a properly completed donation verification form must be received by November 7th to complete the award eligibility process. This form must be signed by a representative of the charity who receives your donation.

NOTE:All registered troupes are eligible to win one of ten $100 gift certificates, good toward a purchase from the EdTA Resources or Thespian Gear and Honors catalogs.

Thanks for being part of the ITS team, “because hunger is a very scary thing.”

 

TOTS-EAT Timeline and planning ideas:

Below are some helpful suggestions to help you prepare for a successful TOTS-EAT collection night.

August-early September

  • Learn about the TOTS-EAT program. Read the TOTS-EAT general information and FAQ’s to learn more about the big difference your troupe can make in many lives.
  • If your troupe plans to register as part of a team (2 or more troupes working together on a single collection), confirm this possibility with the other schools.  

 

September

  • Register as a participating troupe or team by filling out the appropriate registration form. Fax or mail it in to the home office by the October 15th deadline.
  • Make sure your troupe’s annual ITS dues have been paid by the October 15th deadline. Only active Thespian troupes are eligible to participate.
  • Involve other departments to make your collection as successful as possible. Will a teacher offer extra credit for every two cans brought in by a student?  Will the football team allow students to collect food from fans as they arrive at the game? Can the art department create a giant banner to display?
  • Organize your student leaders. TOTS-EAT is the perfect program for students to coordinate.  Students can earn points toward Thespian induction or honor Thespian status through their efforts. See the recommended Thespian point system for details.
  • Find out when your local “Beggar’s Night” will be held in October and plan accordingly.
  • Contact a local food bank program and ask if you can work with them to collect food on their behalf.  Each troupe or team is free to coordinate their plans with any local charity.
  • Plan a post-collection celebration to reward your efforts. If you have a Thespian booster group or PTA, this may be a great project for them to arrange. 
  • Create TOTS-EAT pre-collection flyers and collection night thank-you notes.  Samples of some suggested wordings are in the “forms” section. 
  • Coordinate with other participating area schools to ensure collecting from as many different neighborhoods as possible without overlapping houses. Map out the streets your troupe plans to visit and share these with the other schools.
  • Order your official TOTS-EAT T-shirts NOW to be sure you have what you need for your campaign.  Orders must be received by the deadline on the order form.

 

October

  • Before your collection night, have everything pre-arranged to get your donations weighed and delivered. Contact the charity to confirm arrangements for delivery of collected items.
  • Be prepared to have bags or boxes ready for collection night to make it as easy as you can for the charity.
  • Ask all participants to read the TOTS-EAT general information so that they can answer questions easily and make a good impression on the community.
  • Distribute pre-collection flyers house-to-house in collection areas to raise awareness of the campaign. Hang posters in your school and local businesses. This is a perfect time for students to wear their TOTS-EAT T-shirts.
  • If possible, participating students should wear their TOTS-EAT T-shirts and buttons to school and other activities to raise awareness of the upcoming collection.
  • Try to get your TOTS-EAT campaign mentioned during your school’s announcements.
  • Send a pre-collection news release out to all local media.  Your goal is to remind them of the program coming next week.  Feel free to use our sample as a guide. 
  • If you successfully contacted the local press, make sure you remind them on the day of your campaign. Invite them to be there for the delivery of your donations at the charitable organization you’ve selected.
  • Have a safety discussion with all participating students and adults before collecting.
  • Dress in costume from your fall show if possible.  Otherwise, have troupe members wear the commemorative TOTS-EAT T-shirts you purchased in September, or identify them with a TOTS-EAT badge.
  • Collect only during the community’s approved collection hours.
  • Hand out a thank-you card to all donating families.
  • Meet at a pre-arranged time and location to load food into delivery vehicles, take photos and celebrate your efforts.
  • Weigh your donation.
  • Deliver food to the selected charity as quickly as possible. The following morning is recommended.

  • Have a representative from the charity complete and sign the TOTS-EAT donation verification form.  The representative must sign the verification form for it to be valid.  Properly completed forms MUST be received by the ITS home office no later than November 7th for your troupe or team to be eligible for awards.

 

November

  • Share information about the program’s success within each participating school, neighborhood, and involved family.
  • Send post-collection press releases to all local media announcing the tremendous success of the program. Keep them brief-editors will not read long press releases.
  • The ITS Community Service Award winners will be announced around November 15th.