The Give or Get Program is designed so that all parents, including staff members with students at Akiva, fulfill a commitment to provide certain “services or funding” to the school. In reality, tuition does not begin to cover the expense of educating our children and embodies the philosophy that the parents of all of the students should participate in making up the balance of the expenses. The Give or Get Program increases parent involvement in school activities and fosters school pride.

The Give or Get Program is part of every parent’s tuition contract (Nursery through Grade 12). Give or Get is in addition to other tuition requirements. Unfulfilled Give or Get obligations are considered outstanding liabilities.

To satisfy the Give or Get commitment, parents have a choice to provide 20 hours of service work on creditable Give or Get school activities, or a $500 payment, or any combination of service work and $25 per service hour. The list below contains the most common Give or Get creditable school activities. Please share with the Executive Director other school activities that are not listed but would benefit the school either through service work or funding. A statement of each family’s fulfilled Give or Get commitment will be provided by the Executive Director.

Give or Get Program Choices from Creditable School Activities

(Total 20 Service Work Hours)

The creditable school activities listed below imply active involvement and assistance:

Solicit and collect new donations to Akiva

Alumni activities and follow up of past students

Annual Chinese Auction

• Preparation before the event, i.e., development of program, securing auction items, delivering complimentary tickets, decorating
• Service work during the event, i.e., registration table, selling tickets, announcements
• Service work after the event, i.e., clean up, thank you letters

• Preparation before the event, i.e., development of program, $1,000 or more in new patrons/new journal ads
• Service work during the event, i.e., registration table, assisting with program
• Service work after the event, i.e., clean up, thank you letters

• Prepare mailings, assist with making copies

• Calling parents for notifications

• Clear and salt walkways during the winter, remove weeds from flower/shrub beds, trim bushes, plant flowers, etc.

• Inventory, catalog books, move books, restock books

• Hot lunch program
• Student picture program
• Staff appreciation via breakfast/lunch/dinner during special academic programs
• Grandparent activities
• After-school enrichment program
• Picnic before start of school year
• Welcome new families
• Parent directory
• School calendar
• Yom Ha'atzmaut, Lag Ba'omer
• Chanuka concert
• High school play
• Coordinating and participating in fundraising activities—each $50 of sales equals 1 Give or Get hour of service work or $25—Bartons Candy, Sally Foster, Target, Lands End, Market Fresh, Hiller’s, box top program, J C Penney, bricks for Path of Honor

Give or Get Program Stipulations

1. The chairperson of a “group” creditable school activity must have Give or Get pre-approval from the Executive Director, i.e., Art Smart, hot lunch program.
2. The chairperson of the creditable school activity will submit parents’ names and amount of time for service work via the appropriate form at the conclusion of the activity.
3. A parent desiring to do service work on an individual creditable school activity must have Give or Get pre-approval from the Executive Director, i.e., working in the Library, clear sidewalks, pull weeds.
4. An individual parent will submit to the Executive Director his/her amount of time via the appropriate form at the conclusion of the activity.
5. Give or Get payments to be directed to the Executive Director.
6. Give or Get obligations (service work time or payment) are not transferable between families.
7. Attendance at meetings of the Board of Directors or executive board or similar meetings is not creditable time.
8. Give or Get does not cover mystery readers in the classroom, yearbook, fundraisers or programs related to a specific grade level, i.e., 8th grade Washington trip, 12th grade raffle.
9. All decisions of the Give or Get Committee are final.