Have questions about our Gift Card Fundraising Program? This page aims to answer those questions and show you how the program can work for you! Take your time looking through it. Answers can be found by clicking on each question. Still have questions? Please feel free to contact us at anytime.
We offer many kinds. Please see the Gift Cards link for the complete list. Most retailers now offer gift cards, but some still offer gift certificates. There is no expiry date on any cards.
You buy them for their face value either by paying cash, cheque or debit. For example if you buy $10 in gift cards, it will cost you $10 in cash. They come in various denominations depending on the type of gift card. For instance, No Frills gift cards come in $25, $50, $100, and $250 denominations and Canadian Tire gift cards come in $10, $25, $50 and $100 denominations. You can purchase any amount of any kind offered.
You can order them in person at the LCES office, by backpack mail, by telephone, or through the LCES website. We will have a separate office, staffed by volunteers that will be open Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday mornings(8:30-9:15) to handle your gift card orders. Orders brought to the office outside volunteer hours will be processed for the next day. The secretary will no longer be handling orders in the morning from families that attend the school but will continue to assist the wider school community. Orders can be paid at the office by cash, debit or cheque. No Frills, Tim Hortons and Canadian Tire gift cards are also available during business hours at My Neighbours Closet (Clarke Road, just north of Dundas), with payment by cash, cheque or debit.
You can use them the same as cash. For example, if you buy groceries at No Frills that total $100.00, you can pay your bill using $100 in a gift card.
These work on a declining balance. When you pay for your merchandise you will see the amount subtracted on your receipt and the balance remaining on the gift card. If you loose your receipt, you can call the number on the back of the gift card and you will be told the balance remaining on the card.
We only keep on hand the most commonly used gift cards. All others need to be pre-ordered. All pre-orders placed and paid for by Tuesday 9am will go home with backpack mail Friday or can be picked up Friday after 3pm.We keep many preorder gift cards in stock in small quantities for your convenience.
Yes, you can. Just indicate on your order form or when you call in your order that you will need one and it will be sent with your gift cards.
Since the school buys in large quantities, it gets a discount on the purchase price of the gift cards. This discount is shared, with 60% going directly to fundraising and up to 40% available for the Gift Card Tuition Credit Program. Discounts range from 2%-20%. For example, at this time all our grocery stores, Shoppers Drug Mart and Tim Hortons give a 5% discount, Canadian Tire 4%, Blockbuster, Rogers Video, The Gap, Old Navy, East Side Mario’s, Jack Astors, The Keg, 7%, Chapters, Pizza Pizza 10%, and Creation Book Store 20% (percentages are subject to change).
Up to 40% of the monies earned through the discounts can be used as a credit against school tuition fees. You can use this for yourself or for another family that you might designate. As well you can designate T.A.F. (Tuition Assistance Fund) to receive the credit. When you fill out the Gift Card Order Form, just fill in the name of the family for whom you are designating the credit for the current school year. If no order form is used, or no name is filled in for the credit on the order form, the monies earned will go to the general fundraising account, (assisting in the overall operating budget of the school society).
Each fall, you will receive a report that shows all the credits you have earned during the past school year. In addition, it will show any credits that may have been donated to your family by others. You have till the date listed on the letter to inform the tuition coordinator if you want to have this amount credited against tuition fees, which you will then receive by December of the same year. All unclaimed credits will go to the general fundraising account.
YES! Just purchase them in the normal way as outlined earlier, and indicate on your order which family is to receive the credit. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, etc can all designate your family as the recipient of the credit. You will receive an annual statement showing how much you have earned. All earned credits are to be applied towards the first year of school attendance. All unclaimed credits will go to the general fundraising account.
When you place your order, include the name of the family or TAF on the gift card order form in the space provided. In the fall, you will receive a statement that shows how much you have donated to the specific family or to TAF for the previous school year. Because some donors wish to remain anonymous, all donated credits will appear as "Anonymous” on the statement.
