Schools receive over $50,000 from Longmont Dairy

Courtesy photo

Gary Schlagel, community service director for Longmont Dairy Farm, presented Meiklejohn Elementary School in Arvada with a check to support technology in the classroom.

By Amber Foster

RedFusion Media, Inc.

Local schools have collected over 1 million milk caps to help them earn over $50,000 in fundraiser monies, provided by from Longmont Dairy Farm. Two years ago, Longmont Dairy, a local dairy farm that delivers milk products in glass bottles to Denver metropolitan area homes, created a fundraiser to help local schools with tight budgets to earn funds for education. Milk Caps for Mooola allows participating schools earn 5 cents for each milk cap collected from Longmont Dairy’s glass milk bottles. During the first year of the program, the dairy farm gave 57 checks to the 55 participating schools. That number has since grown to 215 schools.

“We are pleased with the success of Milk Caps for Mooola,” said Susan Boyd, owner of Longmont Dairy Farm. “Having the opportunity to provide over fifty thousand dollars to local schools is priceless.”

In celebration of the program’s success, Longmont Dairy recognized the top three earning schools for their fundraising efforts. Meiklejohn Elementary in Arvada, Lafayette Elementary in Lafayette and Silver Creek Elementary in Thornton were awarded with a special certificate and a check for a little extra “mooola” totaling $600 dollars. Each of the three schools collected roughly 20,000 milk caps.

Students and teachers have found creative ways to participate in Milk Caps for Mooola. A Vanderhoof Elementary School student created a paper-mâché cow head to cover the school’s milk cap collection container. The school even held a school-wide cow naming contest to choose a name for the cow. “Moolinda” (the name chosen by students) is fed milk caps through an opening in her mouth. Vanderhoof, located in Arvada, collected over 6,000 milk caps in just one school year.

The $50,000 has been used to purchase a variety of school supplies, including iPads, laptops, art supplies and more. To learn more about Milk Caps for Mooola, visit www.longmontdairy.com/milk-caps-mooola.php.