Cutting and pasting is something elementary school kids are already well acquainted with, and it turns out these skills (plus a trip to the grocery store) can make bank for local schools.

The elementary schools in Mattapoisett, Marion and Rochester all participate in Box Tops for Education, a fundraising program sponsored by General Mills that offers schools ten cents for every unexpired “Box Top” logo mailed in.

The logos can be found on at least 250 products, from carrots to Cheerios and T-shirts to trash bags, and kids, parents and members of the community can participate.

Twice a year schools send in the Box Top labels in return for a check. Center School Principal Rose Bowman recently received one for $757.20.

“I always get the giggles when the check comes in,” said Bowman.

The school receives $1,100 to $1,500 each year from the program, often collected by kids who paste the labels onto a worksheet that the school sends home with them.

Bowman uses the funds to pay for field trip bus rides.

“When we go on a field trip…parents are only paying for admissions,” she said.

Old Hammondtown School, also in Mattapoisett, has had minimal participation in the program for a few years, but has a new coordinator looking to ramp up its collection.

Sippican School’s Box Top coordinator Jennifer MacDonald, a member of the Volunteers At Sippican School parent group (VASE), said they receive approximately $1,500 each year through the program.

Kids are incentivized by having their name entered in a monthly drawing for bringing in labels.

VASE, a nonprofit organization, uses the funds to provide cultural education programs at the school.

There isn’t really a reason not to do it, say coordinators. The labels otherwise go into the trash.

“It’s like free money,” MacDonald said.

But Box Tops do require hours of organizing. At Rochester Memorial School, Box Top coordinator and mom Erica Thomas counts out 50 labels and puts them in small plastic bags.

Each label must be inspected to make sure it hasn’t expired. “This year my neighbors have started to help me. We just hung out and did Box Tops,” she said.

The school took in around $3,500 dollars since last January, so Thomas and friends had plenty to organize. The Parent Teacher Organization uses the funds for programs and needs that arise.

At Center School, a robust group of Box Top clippers, lead by parent Sarah Collier, organizes the labels. In addition to the school, Box Tops are collected at the senior center and Town Hall.

“It’s absolutely wonderful. The senior citizens help us. Neighbors stop by and donate them,” said Bowman.

Online shoppers can also contribute e-Box Tops through companies that participate through website sales, something Collier wishes more people would do.

“It’s just a missed opportunity,” said Coller. “The e-Box Tops program sometimes gives you double or quadruple points for what you spent.”

To get started and help local schools, visit www.boxtopsforeducation.com.